Briana James: Collaborating Symbiotically

What would bring to a favorites party?

These Muji pens, these shortbread cookies, and this thai tea. 

Tell us about a day in your life, how do you fit in creative moments?

“How we spend our days, of course, is how we spend our lives.” -Annie Dillard

On the days I work in the office, I’m often out of the house before my kid goes to preschool. I leave her a little card or sticky note doodle in her lunchbox.  My 30-minute ferry commute is my time to read, draw on my ipad, or meditate. Because I work in children’s publishing, a lot of creative moments are built into my day: writing a book jacket, reviewing artists’ sketches, or talking about actual and imagined manuscripts with my colleagues. 

At home, a lot of our family time is built around parallel play.  My kid and I will sit at the dining table, or in the bed, and work on our respective artistic endeavors, while my husband, who works from home and has held down the house for the day, gets some personal time. Once the kiddo is asleep, I’ll work on the publishing projects I have in the pipeline. I give myself one-hour to work and then hang with my husband for the rest of night. We’re currently in our late-night-crème-brûlée-and-rewatching-90’s-sitcoms era. 

What’s your favorite super easy creative practice to do when you’re looking for fresh ideas?

I take a walk or make a mind map!

When do you feel most creative?

“You can’t use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have.” Maya Angelou

I always feel the most creative when I get to share what I’m working on with friends and colleagues, and hear what they’re working on. Creativity for me is very symbiotic. Collaboration, showing, sharing, and receiving are the grounding forces of my creative life. 

Who would you love to collaborate with? What’s a dream project for you?

Librarians! I’d love to make an illustrated adult book about libraries. 

What do you hope your kids will learn about creativity from you?

“Pay attention. Be astonished. Tell about it.” - Mary Oliver

Honestly, my kid does a lot of the teaching.  She pays so much attention to everything! It’s constantly “Mommy, look at this!” It’s very cool to notice what she notices. She reminds me to slow down and be amazed at the world around us----core tenets of living a creative life. 

—

Bri is an illustrator who writes. She’s the co-founder of The Young Historian’s Club and the Children’s Editorial Fellow at Chronicle Books. She lives in Oakland, California with her husband, four-year old daughter, dog Grizzly Bear and trio of chickens: Bubbles, Baba, and Flowerlicious (aka Golden Butterfly Unicorn Rainbow). You can see more of her work at brijames.com. 

—

Hi! I’m Heidi. Writer. Editor. Mother. I’m interviewing 100 creative mothers, because I believe the more we see other mothers making beauty and meaning in small moments, the more we will be inspired to make our own kind of art, whatever that may look like during this intense season of life. Support the project by sharing with a friend.