Jill Sykes: Designing Safe Spaces
Did you think of yourself as a creative kid?
When I had to answer the age-old question in first grade—What do you want to be when you grow up? I answered artist. Creativity wasn’t in my vocabulary yet, but looking back I lived it out in everything I did. I attempted to create anything that popped into my head even when some of those attempts failed. I remember the summer I wanted to try carving wood. My parents wisely started me with a bar of soap to practice. The intricate sculpture in my head resulted in a series of different-sized triangles.
I always loved having something creative to do and watching my ability grow. Pulling yarn through lacing cards became hand-sewing doll clothes which turned into sewing my own clothes when I got older. The doodles in the margins of my history notes inspired me to paint pictures on fabric at home.
I document my whole creative journey in my essay Van Gogh Home:
How much time do you get to work on creative projects?
I work as a designer for the nonprofit, Humble Design, which furnishes and decorates homes for people emerging from homeless situations. After a family or individual has received housing, the agency they worked with refers them to us. My teammate and I find out their favorite colors and style to help us choose items from the donations in our warehouse. I get to follow as many creative impulses as I have time for. If I can’t find the right piece of art I’ll grab a canvas and paint. If we need a certain color pillow, I use our donated fabric to sew it. Sometimes our well-loved furniture needs a little upgrade, and I use paint or decorative contact paper to give it new life.
When I’m not at work, I look for creativity in snippets at the end of my day or my days off. I seem to collect creative hobbies and spend time knitting or cross-stitching, but my newest obsession is using ink and watercolor. I bought my kids the drawing book Adorable Art Class for Christmas, and they accused me of really buying it for myself. I’ve been using the adorable food pictures to draw and paint art for some of the kid's rooms I decorate for work.
Tell us about a day in your life, how do you fit in creative moments?
My days can look one of two ways. I work 3 days a week as a designer so at the beginning of the week, I spend my time as a writer. But when the words aren’t coming and my brain needs space to think, I like to be able to pull out some watercolor and process that way. If I leave them out until after my twin boys are home from school, sometimes they’ll join me. I also enjoy knitting or cross-stitching after they are in bed.
The work portion of my week starts with a video chat with our client. We talk about each of the kid's favorite colors and hobbies. With a little more inquiring, we ask the parent what would make this house feel like their home. After they show us around the house, we draw out the rooms and go through our warehouse to pick out the large pieces of furniture.
Our clients often have had to flee an unsafe situation and leave all their possessions behind. When they leave the shelter and receive housing, they don’t have the items they need like kitchen items or beds. They often sleep on the floor or on an air mattress.
Once we pick the big furniture, we use our two prep days to choose bedding, lamps, art, toys, kitchen and bath items, and decorative accessories. On the 3rd day of our work week, the family leaves their home in the morning, and from 9 am- 2 pm, we move all the items into the house with the help of our movers and volunteers. We hang the artwork and curtains, set the table, make the beds, and prepare everything to welcome the family or individual home. They often can’t believe it when we do the reveal.
How did motherhood change your creative practice?
As a mom, I’ve always been ready to pop open the play dough or get out the finger paint. I noticed my creativity shift when I decided to homeschool my twins for kindergarten. I curated our curriculum from a few different resources, and when I followed my creative impulses, I was practically giddy. My favorite was the night I decided to make a giant board game to help the boys learn their different C sounds. I made a track to use their Hotwheels to drive to the word with the correct C sound. Illustrating it with a city, cactus, and corn, they drew a card to read the rhyming instructions to get them to the big circus tent at the end. In motherhood, I realized that creativity didn’t have to fit in the artist box but could expand to so many different areas of play.
What do you hope your kids will learn about creativity from you?
A few years after I made the game, the boys had a friend from school over. “My mom MADE this game,” I overheard one of my sons proudly saying to the friend. So I hope they learn that whether they succeed or fail, attempting to make something is always worth a try. I want their first impulse to be how they can make the costume, art, or game before they buy it from the store. I like to say I follow creativity wherever it goes, and I hope they will too.
Jill Sykes is a designer for Humble Design Detroit, a nonprofit that designs and furnishes homes for the previously unhoused. She loves to follow creativity wherever it goes in writing, drawing, or sewing. She lives with her husband and 9-year-old twin boys near Detroit, Michigan. She writes monthly for her publication, The Braid, on Substack. Subscribe to The Braid at jillmsykes.substack.com to receive a free watercolor and ink download to your inbox. Connect through Instagram @jillmsykes.
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PS—The fastest way to grow as a writer is to book a manuscript critique or a creative coaching session with an expert.
My clients get agents, sell books, and win awards. They also learn how to find ease and joy in the creative process, so they can keep going when life gets hard.
