Welcome To Creative Growing Pains
by 
Tariq Ibrahim

Thesis Statement

“Creative Growing Pains” is a multimedia exploration of Creativity and the Growing Pains of Creative Freedom. It is an idea that was born from my own personal frustrations as a student, an artist, a freelance creative, and as someone who wants to forge their own path in the worlds of film and storytelling.  Through a series of digital triptychs comprised of photographs, video clips, and audio interviews, I explore the idea of lost and regained passion, as well as the stories of those who have lost and/or regained their creative passion.

In the first panels of these triptychs, we explore the idea of how as children, we have a carefree nature that allows us to explore our imaginations and creativity as we see fit. These panels are presented as digital collages depicting an artist whom I’ve interviewed surrounded by images of happy, active children, and childlike artwork similar to what you would find in an elementary school classroom.

The Center Panel Introduces the idea of the losing of, or lost passion. When pursuing our creativity into adulthood, we may find it harder to create as freely as we had when we were children. As we grow and mature into adulthood, take on more responsibilities and begin to forge our own paths, we may find that our relationships with our passions may change or become lost to us. These panels are presented as videos containing snippets of each artist answering various questions and speaking on the hard truths and lessons they have learned over the course of their creative journeys.

The Final Panel represents the culmination of each artists’ lessons and hard truths with a headshot of each artist. I wanted this panel to represent the idea of balance and to show that despite each artist’s personal and creative struggles, they still continue to remain true to themselves as well as their passions.

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This project was made to inspire creatives to hold onto and manifest their creative aspirations, remain true to themselves and to let them know that each artist, though we may all practice different mediums, face similar struggles on our creative journeys.