How to Invite Creativity into Your Life | Rose B. Simpson, Debbie Millman | TED

Overview

This conversation explores the intersection of art, sustainability, and self-reliance through the lens of multidisciplinary artist Rose B. Simpson. Drawing from her Pueblo heritage and upbringing, Simpson discusses how creativity, intentionality, and listening shape her work, from ceramics to custom lowrider cars. Themes of animacy, aesthetics, and the relationship between making and being are central to her philosophy.

Notable Quotes

- I like to remember that I don’t need the things I think I need. As long as I don’t need it, it doesn’t rule me. – Rose B. Simpson, on self-reliance and agency.

- When I cut the eyes into the clay the first time, I always say, 'Hello, welcome.' – Rose B. Simpson, on the animacy of her ceramic vessels.

- The silence I hope my work leaves behind is the one that is full of information, because there’s so much to learn when we shut up. – Rose B. Simpson, on the power of quiet connection.

🎨 Art as Life and Survival

- Simpson grew up in Santa Clara Pueblo, where art and life were inseparable. Her mother, a sculptor, used ceramics not only for artistic expression but also for practical purposes like building their home and creating everyday pottery.

- Art was a means of survival and communication, deeply rooted in ancestral traditions. Simpson emphasizes that creativity was applied to all aspects of life with intention and meaning.

- Her upbringing in an experimental household, including experiences like living without electricity, fostered a deep connection to sustainability and self-reliance.

🌱 Sustainability and Self-Reliance

- Simpson credits her mother’s decision to homeschool her and her brother, grow their own food, and live off the land as foundational to her understanding of choice and agency.

- She believes true sustainability lies in knowing you always have a choice and in cultivating the ability to adapt and innovate.

- By maintaining a relationship with the natural world and rejecting unnecessary dependencies, Simpson feels empowered to navigate life on her own terms.

🚗 Car Culture and Indigenous Aesthetics

- Growing up in Espanola, New Mexico, Simpson was immersed in a vibrant car culture, which influenced her love for lowriders and custom cars.

- She views cars as vessels for aesthetic and spiritual experiences, blending Indigenous aesthetics with modern automotive design. Her custom cars, like her 1985 Chevy El Camino Maria, are inspired by traditional Pueblo pottery.

- For Simpson, cruising in a lowrider is an act of presence, community, and empowerment, embodying the concept of applied Indigenous aesthetics.

🌀 Animacy and Listening

- Simpson’s work blurs the line between making and being, treating objects like cars, houses, and ceramic vessels as animate entities with their own consciousness.

- She emphasizes the importance of listening—to the materials, the environment, and the inanimate world—to create meaningful, intentional work.

- Her anthropomorphized ceramic figures, with open eyes and sensory features, serve as bridges to help humans reconnect with the animacy of the world around them.

🎵 Aesthetics as Tuning

- Simpson describes aesthetics as a process of refining and tuning to find what resonates deeply. She teaches students to trust their instincts and refine their sense of yum until it clicks.

- She sees aesthetics as a muscle that requires practice and self-reliance to develop, allowing individuals to trust their judgment and create with intention.

- Her work aims to leave behind a silence filled with information, inviting viewers to listen, connect, and reflect.