Trade Secrets: Tavis Coburn | Creative Work Is Therapy

“My work is as much therapy for me as it is a profession,” says the illustrator Tavis Coburn. “It lets me escape the day to day by creating these strange worlds that I can dive into and disappear. I would do that whether I was paid or not. But when your work is your escape it makes it easier when you hit those downturns that everyone experiences. As long as I stay true to what I love to do, it works itself out.”

“No matter what type of creative work we do, we all have to execute mundane projects at times. With every project I do, I force myself to find one little piece that I really love. You have to detach yourself emotionally from some projects, but I always try to bake those elements of pure creativity in.”