Photos by Deb Downes.
Deb Downes recently came up with an idea for a project that would help promote her photography business, Take to Heart Images, as well as a couple of downtown Garland woman-owned businesses. Karin Wiseman at Wiseman Collection and Felicia Dunnican and Trayc Claybrook at The Frocksy, were happy to participate.
“I thought of doing separate photo shoots with different ages of models,” Downes said. “I have young teen granddaughters so I started with them. Later, we hope to do shoots with other age groups…The main objective is to have fun.”
“We will use frocks from Frocksy, jewelry from Karin and we’ll do different things to feature their creations,” Downes said. “I approach my photography like telling a story, so we’ll be telling stories with the clothes and accessories.”
All three businesses will use the photos for multi-media marketing.
“Women helping women,” she said.
Deb Downes, Take to Heart Images
Downes has lived all over the world which was a great opportunity to develop her photography skills. She said she took at least 25,000 photos during the five years she lived in Italy and added that most of the time, inspiration comes simply by going out.
“I really become in tune with my surroundings. It’s usually one thing in particular that will grab my attention,” Downes said. “As a writer for years, I look at it as an element of a story. It could be just about anything, a whole setting, or the way things are arranged on a table, or a person or the texture of a wall.”
She said that everyone has creativity as a child, but it often gets pushed down.
“Creativity is very much a part of our souls and if you don’t nurture it, you don’t feel fully alive,” she said. “We are all creative in different ways.”
Her advice for folks who would like to be more creative is to “go with your gut” and take a class for whatever interests you. It could lead to something special or just be an enjoyable time.
“Stop worrying about perfection and just go play,” Downes said. “That’s how I am with my photography. It’s fun. Once it stops being fun, I won’t do it anymore.”
Karin Wiseman – Wiseman Collections
Wiseman was thrilled to provide handmade jewelry to accessorize the outfits and believes strongly in the women helping women concept.
“It’s important for women who own small businesses to work together and help each other. Deb takes great photos and Frocksy has beautiful clothes, so I knew the project would be a success,” she said.
Wiseman feels that it’s important to get children involved in doing art projects at an early age so she hosts workshops for kids and adults as well.
“There are no rules. There is no right or wrong. I do projects that are open-ended. I don’t tell them to make a dog or make a fish because that place an expectation that their end product should look like a dog or a fish,” she said. “Children need to understand that art is freedom of expression to do what you want, then it isn’t scary. They won’t fail here.”
For adults who wish to develop their creative sides, Wiseman encourages people to simply try something.
“There’s no failure in art,” she said. “If I can do it, anybody can. Whatever you are into is your creativity. Cooking is creative. I have a friend who tells stories and that’s creative. People are afraid to be wrong or not know something. Don’t be afraid to play – with no expectations.”
Felicia Dunnican and Trayc Claybrook, The Frocksy
Felicia Dunnican and Trayc Claybrook, owners of The Frocksy were happy to participate in the project.
“Deb wanted to bring all our talents together as a marketing collaboration…
we had the styling and clothes, Karin had the jewelry and Deb had the photographic eye,” Dunnican said.
The Frocksy owners agree that many people are afraid to do anything creative and that the key is to try different things and keep trying until you find what you like.
“I think people hold back because they don’t want to be bad at something,” Dunnican said. “I understand that. I have a well-developed creative side and a logical side and I held back a little because I was afraid of disappointing my parents. But I wanted to do this, so I tried.”
Claybrook said that everyone has a creative side but creativity is narrowly defined, which inhibits people.
“My mom is a doctor. She’s very creative in the way she heals people. I feel like…you can apply the word creative to writing, drawing, painting, but also to people who manage data,” she said. “At its core, creativity is just critical or open thinking. You have to take judgment out of the picture. That’s hard for people.”
The Frocksy is the result of Claybrook’s and Dunnican’s creative collaboration.
“We put our hearts and souls and blood and sweat and tears into this place. It’s our canvas and that’s why it’s forever changing and growing and becoming more of an experience, not just a place to shop,” Claybrook said.