Presented by Equity Bank
As an author, artist, entrepreneur, and strategist, Becky Blades has learned that one of the keys to creativity is, simply, starting.
Her blog, StARTistry, explores the art of beginning. And it all came into focus after she graduated from the Journalism School at the University of Missouri.
Blades took her journalism training a different direction from writing newspaper or magazine articles, although she has done both. But somehow, she knew there was more. “Journalism school was indeed a creative discovery,” says Blades. “Journalism requires constant stARTistry. Every day you must start from scratch, with curiosity, to find and tell a story. Then you do it again the next day. That transferred to the public relations firm I built and a lifetime of creative curiosity.”
She creates mixed-media artwork, acrylic paintings, monoprints, intaglio prints, functional art, and driftwood sculpture. Her artwork is in private collections from San Francisco to New York to Paris and is sold in four galleries nationally.
Since merging and selling her public relations firm, Blades & Associates, in 2003, Becky has launched four other businesses, worked as a strategic consultant, served on corporate and nonprofit boards, and as a civic advocate for the arts and entrepreneurship. She lectures at UMKC’s Henry W. Bloch School of Management, The University of Kansas School of Journalism, and The Kansas City Art Institute.
Blades is also a past chair of ArtsKC, the Regional Arts Counsel, where she helped lead the organization through a region-wide community process to create the first-ever Regional Cultural Plan and, separately, to build a five-year strategic plan for the organization.
She lives in Kansas City with her husband of 38 years, Cary Phillips. Their two daughters, Taylor Kay Phillips, and Tess Phillips are off on their own creative pursuits.
Your book Start More Than You Can Finish: A Creative Permission Slip to Unleash Your Best Ideas urges us to tap into whatever vein of creativity we possess. How did you first learn to tap into your creative self?
I found my creative self in my mother’s sewing scrap bin at age 4, then in third grade, when the teacher put me in charge of the classroom bulletin board to keep me out of trouble, and the result was life-defining. I learned that ideas come freely when they have places to go, that I can start and stop and change my mind—that I can joyfully create without a finish line or outside reward. It taught me how to face the blank page, because there is no bigger page than the bulletin board of Room 5 at George B. Longan Elementary.
Why is nurturing your creativity so important—even if your job doesn’t require it
Neuroscience proves that creating makes us happier, healthier, more confident, and less anxious. But that’s just the gravy. Acting on our ideas reveals the best, unique parts of ourselves. It’s how we learn who we are. It’s the way to knowing and loving ourselves, to thriving and flourishing.
And creativity is always always part of the job. It’s problem-solving, innovation, growth, and renewal. Every organization and job description requires creativity, and what I call “startistry”—creative initiative. We’re all creative. Survival requires it. Some might misunderstand the word, thinking it only applies to artistic creativity—music, visual arts, writing. Certainly, art is included, but the mindset I’m offering is about acting on our ideas, whether it’s starting a book club, a business, a cake, or a donkey rescue.
You have written books, worked in live theater and a sold-out comedy show, learned to pilot a plane, but say you’re a bad cook. What is your worst recipe?
Since this is just between us, I’ll answer with a story. When my daughters were 5 and 7, I was sick with the flu, so I made a pot of soup. (I can actually make pretty good chicken noodle soup.) When the family sat down to eat it, they were all prepared to be very nice to me, because I was sick. Well, I had burned the soup. The problem is never the recipe.
I’m not an idiot. But I don’t have the patience or motivation to spend hours pot watching and setting timers—just to make food to be consumed by people who whine that they’d rather have pizza. Besides, I can make a painting in the time it takes me to burn a good sauce.
How has the Kansas City area helped you and your family (including daughter Taylor Kay Phillips with her new book, Midwestern Conversations) thrive? Is this a good place to hatch great ideas?
Absolutely! Kansas City is an inspiring place to be a creator, and to raise one.
I grew up in midtown, a few blocks from the Hallmark offices, and I’ve always held that Hallmark puts creative juice in the water. As a kid, every time I picked up a Hallmark card, I remember thinking, “I know where this was made.”
I did not need to leave Kansas City to fill Start More Than You Can Finish with powerful examples of inventors, entrepreneurs, artists, and inspiring educators.