Rooted in the Making: Creative Women of San Diego pt. I
Part one: Paige Reidarson
Grounding the Work
Paige Reidarson uses she/ her pronouns and her mediums are that of digital design and photography. In fact, she helped tremendously in building the website for my private practice. You can see some of her incredible work and attention to detail unfold as you glide through Sol & Ser’s site with a sense of ease and balance – a few of the photos were even taken by her. You can follow her on IG at paigeyreid.
Something that Paige feels she’s had to learn is that of giving herself grace and walking away from projects for a while if needed, rather than pushing through as she once did when she was still learning about her process. “I know enough about my craft that I can do much better design if I learn to accept that I can't show up at that exact moment.” She also identifies naps as being pretty powerful.
The Path Inward
A pivotal moment for Paige’s creative process was when she found herself being unhappy in her previous major in college and found that she was happiest when taking silly photos for fun. Our good friend Taylor suggested that she change her major to fine arts and thus she found herself in the digital design program at University of Colorado, Denver.
She notices that she’s beginning to feel overwhelmed or getting off track in her work when she struggles to fit pieces together. Often, while simultaneously scanning her numerous open Chrome tabs. This is usually her sign that she needs to walk away and take a break from screens. Given her history and having once worked for big tech, she feels a sense of relief in having outgrown the version of her that was pulled into the grind mindset. She explains, “Working (for a big tech company) used to be a dream. I idolized those designers. Now I just try to be a good person and make things people love. It's lifted the pressure of building a life I don't actually want. I love living and working remotely. I've had to accept that means giving up certain opportunities. My nervous system just isn't built for that culture. I need to be tethered to my work in my own way.”
Restoration
When she’s not producing anything and she’s away from screens or a camera, Paige is ultimately a goofy gal who enjoys looking at the clouds, taking in the flowers on the mountain she lives with her fiancé and their two dogs and of course – taking a nap.
She ends the conversation by sharing, “Creativity doesn't have to be on a canvas or a screen. It can be cooking or arranging a bouquet or your room… It's anything new in your eyes. And it's really healthy to feel that often!”
