Shelby is a poet, musician, and the founder of Creations by Florea, where she offers her hand made herbal blends and plant-infused oils.
She also does extensive research and work on decolonization and healing through plant medicine, where she explores how People of Colour can use plants to reclaim their autonomy, provide generational healing, and restore colonized natural medicinal practices.
Pretty inspiring, right? Oh, and she also does Oracle readings too! Shelby is constantly creating new and beautiful work across many different mediums and seems to have an endless outpouring of it. Here she shares more about her work and creative process, how she turns the seemingly mundane into something magical, and some very insightful wisdom on moving through blocks.
What’s your sign?
I’m a Virgo! I was two weeks late, so I could’ve been born a Leo. Instead, my sun sits in 0° Virgo. I’m also a (strong) Pisces moon, because I was born under the Full Moon, so the Virgo-Pisces axis heavily influences me in everything I do.
What’s your medium? Can you tell us about your work?
I’m a creative on all levels. Physically, I create poetry and lyrics, watercolor paintings and plant-based medicines for my independent apothecary Creations by Florea. I recently released my first poetry compilation, Stellium, which draws on my experiences as a woman of Color and spiritual being in healing. I’ve never been satisfied sticking to just one medium of expression, and I do my best to experiment with forms of artistic expression that seem out of my comfort zone or that I’m not particularly ‘good’ at.
My work as an artist is also informed by my relationship to spirituality and self-awareness, so in that way I work beyond the physical and into the energetic realm. The opportunities I create for myself, whether it relates to my career, relationships or travel, are also an extension of my creative abilities as a spiritual being. I’m learning how to move through the world as an “entrepreneur” and my intention is to become self-employed through my art, words and medicine.
How do you manage your time to get so much done?
I think I’ve mastered prioritization in my personal and work lives, which is something I think I’ve always been fairly good at as a headstrong person who struggles to do things if my heart isn’t in it. I’ve learned to take care of myself by doing the tough or the mundane things by finding ways to always get something fulfilling/enjoyable out of them. A doctor’s appointment becomes a treat-myself-day, giving myself motivation to leave the house. A grocery shopping and errands day becomes a new opportunity to try out an outfit I’ve been wanting to debut, and so on. I try to get the most out of everything I do, and my mind runs on 100mph pretty consistently throughout the day, so it’s all about directing my thoughts towards things that I can be proud of at the end of the day rather than letting my mind idle/obsess.
When is your best time to create?
Being in my own energy and awareness fuels my creativity, and when I can tap into this creative consciousness, I’m able to make art at any point in the day!
I am a night owl and I’ll usually spend my nights working on existing projects. Sometimes I’ll work on a song, a painting or a set of poems from 7pm to 1am, and I won’t stop until I’m happy with the finished version. I’d say I create pretty consistently throughout the day. I bring a journal with me everywhere, and I’m always jotting down thoughts, revelations and poems on the bus. I also try to use my social media time to think of potential collaborations with local creators, or gather inspiration for branding my apothecary. I try to bring awareness into most of my day-to-day activities and take advantage of the creative opportunities they offer me.
How do you get yourself in the mood?
Some days I need to meditate and sun bathe before I write poetry, and that’s when I know I’ve been mostly emotionally blocked that day. Creating is personally very therapeutic and it has always come naturally to me. And because I am always healing or making peace with something, there’s always art to be made.
I don’t usually need to ‘put’ myself in the mood but I do need to do frequent self check-ins. I’m easily influenced by what others are doing and if I’ve been scrolling mindlessly too much, I start to feel self-conscious about my art. “Should I be doing this, too?” “Maybe this isn’t good enough, maybe people don’t like this because it’s not good.” And then my creative mood becomes fueled by people-pleasing or feelings of self-hatred.
Energetic responsibility is important for me as an artist with the kind of visibility and influence that I have. Getting myself “in the mood” to create is extremely alchemical and transformative. My art reflects my self-healing experiences, and my artistic process is actually within itself very healing. I know that what I share can affect other people’s energy, and so if my intentions for creating are not clear or are energetically irresponsible (like using my art for validation, to enhance my ego over others, etc), I use the artistic process itself to work through those feelings. And when what I’ve created is finished, I feel good about sharing it because it reflects the inner-process that brought me peace, and can hopefully inspire others to be more self-aware. It’s cyclical in a really beautiful way.
What inspires you the most?
I’m inspired by people living their truth. Seeing people my age, especially other people of Color, create lives for themselves both outside and within the States is so inspiring to me because I’d love to leave the country in the next 10 years. There are communities of people dedicated to land-healing and art that I long to be a part of! It’s so cool when I learn about young women in their 20s, like me, who leave their physical homes in search of self-discovery and growth. I’m virtually connected with some women who have even left the country, lived out of their vans and found peace in nature, wherever that might be in the world. I left home at 17 to attend college across the country, so I see myself in these modern day nomads, and I’m just inspired to keep going with the flow that may take me anywhere.
How do you overcome creative blocks?
Meditation, self-compassion and journaling, being with nature, and making the art anyways. When I am blocked creatively (which, for me, is different than simply not having anything to share with others at the moment), I know it reflects something internally. Sometimes I’ll push through and keep writing poems, even if I’m not proud of them, just so I can express myself regardless of how ‘good’ it is. Other times I know I need to just sit down, and be. Sometimes the creative blocks reflect an internal program that tells me my creative ‘results’ are a direct reflection of my worth. No, I know I am worthy regardless of what I make, my art is just an extension of my energy and when it wants to be expressed in many forms, it will be.
What keeps you creating?
I don’t know how I would keep existing if I didn’t. It’s always been my nature, and because it’s been unconscious for so much of my life, I continue creating because I want to continue bringing awareness to it.
Are there any other hobbies or interests you want to pursue?
I’d really like to start gardening with my local farms. Getting my hands dirty and connecting with plants in their living, natural form takes me back to my childhood. As the seasons shift and spring is nearing in my city, I’m ready to just spend more time outdoors and socialize with folks who also care about the Earth.
Best advice for others wanting to follow their passions?
Your passion is something nobody can ever take from you. What drives, inspires and keeps your fire going is your unique superpower. So who’s going to make your dreams come true, fulfill you in the ways you want to be fulfilled, and invest in your growth if not you? It’s not easy to be a dreamer and high-aspiring individual when you may not have access to all the tools you need for your passions to flourish. And we certainly live in a global culture where doing things simply because we feel “called” to is looked down upon as being too emotional, irrational or naive. But I think it’s those very things that make life exciting and direct us towards the spaces where we can grow exponentially more than we would if we kept putting a lid on our own potential. We are all so gifted and needed in this world, and I believe your passion is also your unique way of being of service to something larger than yourself.
