Artist Musings: Five Reasons Why I Shared This Blog
Six years ago I would have laughed at any suggestion that I would pick up a paint brush and paint a picture, market that picture and actually sell it. I envisioned possibly sharing my creativity through writing and maybe some amateur photography but never ever through paint. However, life does provide us with many forks in the road and I feel like I veered to the right with an option to take an exit to the left anytime I wanted - and chose painting and writing!
My passion for the written word translated to a paint brush because of opportunity rather than a quest. Here is what I have learned in the process.
Creativity lives within but requires a conduit to be expressed. You can imagine and conjure and think in your head but until it comes out in words or pictures or music or home design or some other outward measure it does not exist in the world. If held inside it can entertain, challenge and expand your capacity to think and imagine but it cannot influence or create joy in others until you let it out. Choose your conduit!
Creating requires effort. We all have gifts and preferences for one creative expression over another and may even experience a certain amount of ease to create but it is in the honing of the craft and in the pursuit of creating something you can share where you grow. And it is never just instantly throwing paint on a canvas or words on a page - it is the thought, the imagining, the practice, the education, the continued production and the work of creating that which only you can do that makes you better at it.
Creating is what connects the inside you to what is outside of you. Ever wonder why you do it? or why anyone does it? Each of us might come to a different conclusion but I believe that I create (paint or write!) so I can share that inside me with my outside world. It can be scary and intimidating. But, I believe that holding it back and insulating my ego from all will stunt my ability to grow or even my desire to create. Think about the child - your child or your grandchild. When they make something they want to shout out to the world that they just created it. They want it up on the wall or on the fridge or mailed to Grandma. Be that child. Be fearless! Be connected.
Creating flourishes in connection. It is stalemating to create and create and never share. In sharing, the greatest artists over the centuries got even better at what they were creating. New techniques were generated. New formats were discovered. Artists learned from each other and, in turn, the purveyors of their art learned and experienced and were inspired also. All through connection.
Creating is both selfish and selfless. When I create I am fulfilling my desire to invent, discover, express. I experience joy in doing so. But, how much better is the experience if my painting or story or blog creates some joy or inspiration for someone else. Or, challenges, encourages, or opens up another's imagination. It is a gift worth sharing.
So create, write, paint - with abandon.
But if you want to grow in skill and in joy, share.
