Does Art Have to Say Anything?

When you see any kind of art work done by children, what do you see? They may be trying to replicate something (mom, dad, house, sibling), but the way they do it is pure self expression. If they want the sun to be blue, then it is done in blue. If they want a house to be rainbow colored, then they happily make it that way. What we can learn from this is that there is no wrong way to express yourself and that is what I love about art. If you can't get enough of the color purple, then you simply use it. If you like stitching daisies, or painting yellow daisies, then go for it. If you are looking to evoke some kind of emotion, that's fine too, create it.

What I want to do is simply to express my inspiration the way I see and feel it and there is no wrong way to do that. The only problem is, if I don't do it at all. It is unacceptable not to do the work. Every single one of us is given at least one important and individual talent. For some it is athletics, others an analytical mind, and then there are the creatives that encapsulate everything from writers and actors, to oil painters and weavers. There is a wonderful connection that occurs within us when we work at our craft and it is the right one for us. You can't force that connection, if you try, it simply fails miserably. If it flows and feels comfortable, inspiration will find you, you won't have to hunt for it. That's not to say that you don't have to do any work. You have to be an explorer too. You have to have curiosity and be observant. I have found inspiration in the craziest of places, one of them being a color and pattern combination I saw on a TV commercial! Yes, it happened! I love the texture of tree bark, the different colors of sand in deserts and on beaches, and the patterns of cracked cement. And if you would ask 1,000 different creatives about what inspires them, you would probably get a million different responses. There are no hard and fast rules about self expression. Be open to YOUR truth and it will find you in many different ways at many different times. It is always there, pushing you on to the next thing and letting you evolve as you should.

And look, some people like to color inside the lines and some people don't. You don't have to emulate anything you are not comfortable with, so don't even try. I love the work of artists that do both, but I know which category I enjoy being in, so that is how I work. I know that when I try to do a style or technique that I'm not crazy about working on but it looks cool, it is never going to come out right. I always think back to when I was in school and my mother told me I should take shorthand for a future job skill. I thought it looked neat and was a great  concept, but I knew it wasn't for me and I would be no good at it. So I focused on typing which I enjoyed and was good at. Years later I broke down and took a speed writing course which is supposed to be easier than regular shorthand, and guess what, I totally sucked at it. Even though my mind was there and I was doing the work, my heart wasn't. I always look back at that as a great source of experience in trusting what feels right. We all have this knowledge because we were created to succeed and these are our tools.

So the take away on this is to follow your heart when it comes to what inspires you and feels right. That is your compass, and if you follow it, the path will never fail you.