The Merriam-Webster online definition of the word Artist is 1) a: a person who creates art (such as painting, sculpture, music, or writing) using conscious skill and creative imagination. b: a person skilled in any of the arts 2) a skilled performer 3) a person who is very good at something. I would like to suggest that we can all be artists if we cultivate our conscious skill and creative imagination.
It is funny that the example sentence used in the definition was very similar to what I used to say about myself, “I am not an artist, but both of my children are very artistic.”
It is always easier to see qualities in someone else than it is to claim them for ourselves. Is it possible that we have skills that we have forgotten how to use?
It is understandable if we are not used to thinking of ourselves as artists. We have been trained to – “Be quiet! Don’t wiggle! Sit still! Stay put!” We were given the idea that logic was more important that creative imagination. The arts are always the first things to be cut from budgets and from our personal schedules. But life is so much more enjoyable and well rounded when we are using logic along with creative imagination.
Pablo Picasso said, ”Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up.” And I believe him, after seeing how my grandkids and I react to art supplies. They jump in whole heartedly, I hold back fearful of making a mistake.
But we learn by doing, the act of creating is what opens us again to the creative flow. We start where we are as we rediscover and nurture our artist self.
I found this out for myself the year I broke my leg and was forced to sit still for eight weeks. I spent an entire day making my first Book of Amazement (my art journal) and that night I had a dream. In that dream a woman told me I was an artist and instead of arguing with her I agreed! It was amazing, nothing had changed, but everything was different. I now had permission to play!
It is the process of creating that matters – not the results. Using our creativity nurtures us as it quiets our minds and opens our hearts. It brings us home to ourselves. Making art helps us to digest our experiences and opens us to new possibilities. We do it for our own physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual health and wellbeing. Imagination and creativity bring joy since they are the energy of our inner light.
If we are creating anything, we are an artist. And we are always creating something whether we plan to or not. Creation is ongoing and we are all participants. Our conscious creative skill resides in our intention and attention. When we invest these, the things we create become art.
Electronic devices (like our minds) are good servants but poor masters. They can help us find information and inspiration but we have to balance their use with the use of our intuitive, imaginative, emotional, and creative heart. By nurturing these traits, we are opening ourselves to creative inspiration and are closer to bringing our unique ideas into the world… and the world needs our creative ideas!
We can’t force ourselves to be creative any more than we can force ourselves to fall asleep – but we can provide the conditions that make it more likely to happen. If we like watercolors we can buy a set, get some brushes, and paper. If we like to write we can keep a favorite pen and notebook handy. Setting aside some space and time, even if it’s only fifteen minutes a day, puts us in contact with the creative flow.
I think it is time we let go of the notion that we need to be perfect in order to be worthy. We can say we play tennis without playing at Wimbledon, and we can call ourselves runners without competing at the olympics. We can also say we are artists, even if we are not professionals. We can let ourselves enjoy art and let it be important to us, even if we do not believe we are good at it.
It is the process of making art that makes us an artist. We were born creative. By setting our intention to pay attention to our intuitive, imaginative, emotional self, we can help ourselves realign with our creative heart. The creative spirit awaits recognition, not just from a chosen few but from all of us. Our creativity is meant to be lived and shared – we can give ourselves permission to play with what we love. It doesn’t matter what we do, but it matters very much that we do it.
For Further Reading:
We Need Your Art: Stop Messing Around and Make Something by Amie McNee
The Creative Act: A Way of Being by Rick Ruben
The Fantastic Bureau of Imagination by Brad Montague
The Snail and the Whale by Julia Donaldson pictures by Axel Scheffler
My Friends by Fredrik Backman
Primal Intelligence by Angus Fletcher