Vanessa Eryn: Stop Hiding Your Creativity — On Identity, ADHD, Imposter Syndrome & Building Real Creative Community

What does it mean to stop hiding your creativity — not just think about it, but actually do it? In this episode of The Creative Odyssey Podcast, host Sheran Ranasinghe sits down with multidisciplinary artist, marketer, tattoo artist, and community builder Vanessa Eryn at Future Ink Graphics in Cleveland, Ohio for one of the most honest conversations the show has ever had about creative identity, imposter syndrome, ADHD, and the real cost of shrinking yourself to fit into a world that hands you a box and waits.Vanessa opens by saying she stopped defining herself — and that decision changed everything. From there, the conversation goes deep: how a supportive mother created a home where even her friends could be more creative, the unspoken gravity that creative people feel about their work and why it's so hard to explain to someone who doesn't create, and how Vanessa learned to stop moderating her passion around people who didn't understand it.She also gets candid about her recent ADHD diagnosis — and how finally having a name for the way her brain works unlocked better systems, better time management, and a deeper trust in her own intuition. She talks about limiting social media to four hours a day, relying on her planner like a limb, and finding the one thing that quiets her mind enough to keep going.The conversation moves into Vanessa's work at FIG — Future Ink Graphics — a community-rooted creative organization in Cleveland's Clark-Fulton neighborhood that works with youth, emerging artists, and the broader creative community. It's here that Vanessa's natural ability to see potential in people who can't yet see it in themselves found its home.She and her collaborator Carla Wagner also created The Artist Dinners — an intimate gathering for artists across different mediums and career stages, built around food, jazz, and wine instead of networking anxiety — because Vanessa believes safe environments are the prerequisite for authentic ones.This episode closes with something both Sheran and Vanessa believe deeply: creativity is not a personality type. It belongs to everyone. The CEOs, the scientists, the athletes — anyone who brings their own style to what they do is already creating. The only question is whether you're willing to stop hiding it.This episode was recorded at and sponsored by Future Ink Graphics (FIG), Cleveland, Ohio.Guest: Vanessa Eryn | Instagram: @vavaeryn Host: Sheran Ranasinghe | Instagram: @thecreativeodysseypodcast Email: [email protected] Us A Message! We'd love to hear your thoughts!Support the show