Organization Gives People Free Opportunities

Creative Mornings shares Anna Lee’s creative path

M. SCHLEIF PHOTOGRAPHY | PHOTO COURTESY Anna Lee shared how she became successful in her design career.

As college students, we are always looking out for free food, free coffee and free opportunities. Creative Mornings is an organization in the Fargo-Moorhead area that provides all these things and much more.

Creative Mornings is an organization that brings together people from the community who are passionate, hardworking and willing to connect and learn from others.

Once a month, Creative Mornings has an event at Drekker Brewing Hall with an inspirational entrepreneurial speaker. Each event they have a theme or word that represents the creative thought for the day.

In previous meetings, people have heard from different speakers such as Anna Lee, a Minnesota based artist and designer who has a heart for community and creativity. Lee has done it all from designing hats, fashion product development, client design work and mentoring others in their personal creative practice.

“I live in the surreal. I like metaphors. I experience life through colors and shapes,” 

Anna Lee

While working under her studio and business Workerby, she provides services from technical development to design with a focus on hats and other accessories. Also under Workerby, Lee designs and sells her line of hats, “Ruby3,” and produces collaborations as part of what she calls the “Gray Matter Series.” On top of all that, Workerby offers career coaching, workshops and creative consultations.

The latest event focused on the creative word “surreal.” Lee shared with the audience her creative career path and how living in the surreal has helped her along the way to channel creativity, find direction and bring art to life. “I live in the surreal. I like metaphors. I experience life through colors and shapes,” Lee explained.

During her presentation Lee shared three ways to make use of the surreal in your creative process.

The first piece of advice she gave was to “get acquainted with formlessness.” She said this is the voice inside your head saying, “I don’t know what’s next, I have a new idea, but I don’t know how in the world to make it happen.” Lee described this feeling as a crucial step in the creative process. It is OK not to know exactly what you are supposed to be doing or creating. That is why the second tip she gave the audience is so important.

The second piece of advice she gave was to “ask more questions.” Lee shared the importance of asking questions as a way to cultivate learning and finding a direction. “What if I started an organization for this or what if I spent 20 minutes a day on this?” Whether it’s career questions, starting a new business or just cultivating a passion, asking questions can lead to learning and direction.

The final piece of advice that Lee gave was to “seek and cultivate connection.” Who and what we surround ourselves with in our life is a big reflection of who we are and where we are going. Having positive, interested, inspired and supportive people around you is crucial in the creative process. “The more you can cultivate that and group yourself as a person and as a creative, the more you can build that network,” Lee explained. “So, you know that the ideas you have are connected to things greater than yourself.”

Through her life of being a business owner, fashion designer and mom, Lee is living proof that living in between the surreal of art and reality and investing in yourself is a major key to success.

Creative Mornings shows us how a community can come together and bring a supportive networking energy to the F-M area. At Creative Mornings they believe everyone is creative. Whether you study art, engineering, nursing or fashion merchandising, these Creative Mornings events have something to offer everyone.

For more information on Anna Lee and everything she does, you can visit her website at Workerby.com. To sign up for the next creative mornings session, you can follow them on Instagram @cm_fargo, Facebook @creativemorningsfargo or visit their website Creativemornings.com/cities/far.

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