Bethel Creatives, no. 21: Kendall Clark

Interview conducted by Savannah Mirabal in The Crossings’ series on creativity and diversity within Bethel University’s student body.  The heart behind this series is to explore creativity in a broader sense and to be encouraged and inspired by the creatives on our campus and the things that they are doing.   

Kendall Clark is a senior pursuing her degree in Painting and Drawing. You can almost always find Kendall somewhere on campus, but if the weather is nice, you can usually find her outside the art studio by the pond painting. In the evenings, she is often in a library study room, inside Heritage Hall, or the lower level of the Everest Rohrer Fine Arts Building. You might also find her in the esports lab in the dance building working on graphics and social media for her internship as the Bethel Pilots Esports manager. Kendall enjoys crocheting, embroidery, and other fiber arts, along with painting and drawing. She also enjoys sculpting, stained glass, theatre, voice acting, photography, and a bunch more artsy hobbies!

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Creativity

How would you define creativity?

Kendall defines creativity as "the ability to intentionally breathe life into the ideas and concepts within one’s mind." Being able to share these things with the world and give others a brief glimpse into her mind is something she believes is truly special.

How do you express your creativity?

The easiest way to answer this question is to look at Kendall's list of hobbies. The more personal answer is to look at her day-to-day life; things like the stickers on her water bottle or laptop, the color of her hair, her tattoos, the pins on her bags, makeup, and even the jewelry or hair clips she wears. She tries to bring as much whimsy into her life as possible, because "life is too short to ignore the things you love."

At what age did you discover your creative outlet?

Kendall discovered her outlet at a very young age. She grew up surrounded by creativity. Her father is a published poet, her uncles are wood carvers, and her grandpa was a pastor and even drew with chalk while giving sermons. She grew up surrounded by so many forms of art. Kendall believes she was always meant to create and that God put her in her family to show all the ways she could share her gifts with the world.

Do you have a routine? If so, what is it?

Kendall tries to carve out at least 2 hours of time a week to just create, not only in class, but to work on whatever she feels she needs to. Sometimes that is working for a class on her own time, or other times that is working on a crochet commission, and on rare occasions, it's something that has popped into her head and strongly felt the need to give it physical form. Most of her time (even sometimes in class) ends up being spent on creating things or sharing the ideas and stories in her head.

Creative Preferences & Inspiration

Do you gravitate toward a specific genre?

No, Kendall doesn't, not because she doesn't prefer one over the other, but because each creation requires a different form. Trying to force something with one medium that strongly wants to be created as another tends to end poorly. If she finds herself becoming frustrated with a project not taking shape after a few attempts, her first step are usually to try and change mediums, and typically it solves the issue.

Where do you find inspiration?

Kendall finds many places for her inspiration. Such as in nature, fantasy, folklore, mythology, other cultures, her faith, and the people around her. The world inspires her, just as she hopes her work can inspire others.

Balancing Academics and Creativity

How do you balance your workload with being creative?

For Kendall, balance and workload are closely connected. Her job in event technologies often involves design and organization, and her classes are largely studio-based. Her internship actually focuses on graphic design and social media. Creativity is woven into every part of her life, so balancing it comes naturally.

How do you explore creativity on campus?

Kendall enjoys using sidewalk pastels, painting outside with music, and photography—many of which connect back to the spaces she already spent time in around campus.

Words of Wisdom

Kendall encourages others to find the purpose behind their work,

“My reason for creating is because I simply am made to create. Nothing brings me more joy than creating and sharing these creations with the world. I don’t think I could ever survive if I was rendered unable to do what I do. It is just part of me that demands to be nurtured, like everything else.”