The creative spark is something most people are born with, but it takes something special to hold on to that fire and turn it into something real as an adult.
Adults are 96% less creative than they were as kids, according to a 2018 article in Inc. Recently, the University of Rhode Island held its latest TEDx talk, “The Creative Spark,” which featured stories about the importance of creativity from inspirational voices within the University community and far beyond.
Among those URI alumni and students is painter Jillian Eddy. Now living in Brooklyn, Eddy works on Saturday Night Live as a scenic artist. Eddy graduated from URI in 2016 with a bachelor of fine arts degree in theater and is now working on starting her own business, The Scrap Pile. Her TEDxURI talk, she told RI Inno, centers around her life as a creative person, the “odd path” that led her to SNL and launching a business.
Eddy said part of the magic of SNL is the way it works behind the scenes. As a “scenic,” Eddy works to prepare the background sets each week with a team of creatives. She credited landing the opportunity to being on the right list at the right time, as she'd just finished a job in New York and was looking for something new.
"It's an honor to be asked back each week. There are a lot of incredibly talented people who have worked on that show for decades," she said. "I wont say too much about the behind the scenes magic but it is a beautiful, chaotic dance with a million moving parts. Some of the most animated, talented, accepting people I've ever met. That crew has an incredible amount of integrity, they put in the work. I'm just grateful to be a part of it."
Eddy's forthcoming business venture, The Scrap Pile, is focused on reallocating entertainment industry construction waste to local artists and community building projects, something she saw first hand working at studios across the northeast.
"Entertainment creates an incredible amount of material waste, but this also creates opportunities for us to do more in its wake. An alarming amount of the construction scraps that are discarded are gently or never used, they are still highly sought after by local artists, designers and community building needs," she said. "With such clear excess and so many ideas for the art, think of what it could become if we give the right minds the space to turn these materials into something new or needed."
The Scrap Pile incorporated in February of this year and Eddy said they are currently in the process of finding a space to begin operations.
"For the last three years, I have been building relationships with studios across New York City working as a scenic artist. I have to tell people that it's 'coming soon,' because they want to give me their donations as soon as they hear about the project," she said.
Part of Eddy's TEDx talk dives into the creation of the business, the hurdles she had to overcome and advice for starting up. In addition, Eddy was asked to apply for the TEDx talk by one of my original board members when she began the The Scrap Pile as a nonprofit.
"A big piece of my talk is recognizing my array of skills and my ADHD mind are really assets, especially when it comes to the creative spark...they're like cartoon fireworks," she said. "My first draft of the talk was 18 minutes and it was really tough to narrow it down into something more concise but I think we did it. I worked weekly with my coach Alex DeCiccio, who has been incredible. He listened to so many versions of this talk and gave thoughtful, meaningful insights every time."
Eddy said she's almost ready to launch a Kickstarter for The Scrap Pile and she's hoping to add a gallery space to showcase some of the innovative art that comes from the endeavor.
“When you have a creative solution for an abundant problem, there's only one other thing that you need in order to create a story worth telling,” she said. “I'm a big believer that the universe puts you exactly where you are supposed to be. I didn't question it when It felt right to move to NYC during a pandemic and now I'm in Studio 8H on a weekly basis. I never wanted to start a business, and I never thought I would really give a TED talk, but I did want to solve the problem and I do have a lot to say about it.”
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