Art In Progress

I’ve always been drawn to art. Not that I am excellent at it, but I’ve always had this inner need to create. As a little girl, my favorite things to do were drawing, making pottery and sewing clothes for my dolls. I apologize to said dolls for making them look like potato sacks but, in my defense, I was just a child so what did you expect?

During my school years, the opportunities to create became fewer and fewer, as getting an education and a job became the focus. And never fully grasping how abandoning who I was at the core would later affect me in life, my artistic sense was put aside.

Fast forward to adulthood. I started feeling like something was missing, a sort of longing that couldn’t be explained. Until, one day, my whole outlook changed. I finally realized what was missing; I wasn’t creating anything. And it became very clear to me that I needed to start creating again in order to truly be fulfilled in life. And that’s exactly what I did.

But letting go of fear hasn’t been easy. What if I’m not good enough? What if others are better than me? These are questions that still go through my mind on a regular basis. And I know I have to let go of self-doubt, as the ideas that only great artists are worthy to create and that value is measured by success are simply not true.

Because the beauty of art lies in that it reveals something deeper about ourselves. It’s like a slice of life seen through our own lens, our own perspective. It’s how we interpret our life experiences; what we choose to emphasize and blur, what we choose to say or not say, and all the space in between.

So don’t be afraid to create. Don’t be afraid to express yourself and reveal something about you. The world needs different perspectives, including yours.

Note: the painting featured in this post is mine. It’s simply called “Sunflowers”.