Imagination runs free at Chronically Creative

Elisa Rutledge says she has been an artist from the day she was born. “I am first and foremost a painter, but I love to... (do) all things creative,” says the Sundridge, Pictou County, woman.

Although she has always been creating, it wasn’t until five years ago that she started her own business, called Chronically Creative. Although she does run a business for her art endeavours, she says being an artist is more innately part of her. She considers this more a part of who she is than being a business owner.

She does sell her artwork, but just because it helps her keep creating, she says.

Most recently, Rutledge has been into making Hypertufa globe plant pots. These are pots created by bonding various rocks and materials with cement.

“The pots are so fun to make,” she says. “I love to get my hands dirty, and they certainly allow me to do that!”

Besides the plant pots, Rutledge says she also has a variety of paintings on the go.

When it comes to knowing how to make her creations, she says it’s all about trial and error.

“I just keep getting my hands into things and if it works great — if not, I change my plan,” she says, noting the pots took a few tries before she got them right.

When she decides what to create, Rutledge says her imagination leads her.

“There are so many different and amazing artists, and I’m constantly trying to come up with new things that are different,” she says.

As for her pots, she says they all have a unique shape

and look, and when she paints, it’s purely from her imagination.

Her inspiration also comes from nature.

“I often paint my surroundings into my art — whether it’s mushrooms, plants, bees, snails, and one of my favourites, trees,” she says.

“If I ever have an artist block, I take my easel outside

and paint what I see,” says Rutledge, noting she always

imagination. adds a twist from her

She will also do custom paintings for people.

Out of everything she makes, Rutledge says her plant pots are very popular, especially as plants are a very trendy item right now. She knows this firsthand, saying how her own plant collection has grown into a jungle over the past year. She notes that people like to keep some of their more rare and unique plants in her pots.

Rutledge doesn’t work on her art, nor does she sell it on a full-time basis. Instead, she says she spends a lot of time working on self-care and her health, creating when her body allows it.

Chronically Creative, she says, was not only named because of her constant need to create but because of her chronic health issues and how

mindfulness she uses her art as her practice to help heal.

“I believe that art has the power to heal. I want to share my art and my knowledge to give everyone a chance to involve art in their lives,” she says.

Additionally, Rutledge says she loves to teach art. Before COVID, she says she taught kids’ classes and led paint nights. She would love to get back to being able to do this.

And when not doing this, she says she would like to continue learning new things and improving her artistic skills.

Anyone interested in viewing or purchasing Rutledge’s art can do so through her Facebook page, Chronically Creative. Otherwise, she likes to do markets and art sales in the summer and fall. When and where she is participating is always posted on her Facebook page.