How We Killed the Little Artist Inside of Us
How We Killed The “Little Artist” Inside Of Us"
Hello friends, today, I want to talk about how we lost touch with the creative side of us and how we can get back in touch with that self again.
I actually talk about this in my YouTube video as well, so you can watch it here too if you want:
Everyone is born an artist
The famous artist Pablo Picasso was once quoted:
Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up.
This is the crux of what I’ll be sharing today. Everyone is born a creator. We naturally know how to express ourselves.
When you look at children, they don't hesitate to make art. Give them paint and they'll go crazy. Give them drumsticks, they know how to make beats.
Who remembers themselves being more creative when they were little? Probably most of us.
We are hardwired to create and express.
It’s a gift, because no other organism or animal on earth can expressive themselves through art. Only humans can.
But when we become adults, we lose that creative child inside of us. We become more analytical, word-oriented, numbers, calculating things, not taking risks, sticking with what we know. We become more "mature" and less "creative" or expressive." You might say we’ve become "dry."
So, what happened? Why did we become less expressive and creative?
We learned to limit ourselves
As we were growing up we learned to limit our expression. We learned that certain expressions are not acceptable.
We learned what was "good" and "acceptable" and what was not.
And we used this standard or rule to measure ourselves, in many situations. We started to believe that we need to make art in a certain way to be "good enough," be worthy, to be "creative" to be "artistic."
And usually these are pretty unrealistic standards - we expect to create Van Gogh worthy piece of work in 20 minutes when we're just making a doodle, and do not make art for a living.
It's like thinking we have to be a triathlete to enjoy bike-riding, or a professional chef in order to make a meal for ourselves.
Sometimes we begin to adopt these perfectionistic expectations and rules for making art from teachers, school, or from just our culture in general. (And, even artists also have this belief).
In this process, we limit our expression, we filter it, we try to control the results, and we think that it's unacceptable to create anything other than perfect.
We don't let ourselves be spontaneous, experimental, intuitive, trust ourselves, express ourselves, really - just be ourselves. We don't let ourselves just BE. We don't let our art just BE and let it be okay.
So we learned to not be ourselves, not let our inner creativity, our inner child live, breathe, celebrate. We quiet our own creative self. We lock it up. Confine it in a prison-like place inside of us.
Beliefs about ourselves
A lot of us decide that we are not creative or artistic. However, this is not a fact. This is simply a belief.
Because we have this standard for making art, we become afraid of making mistakes and being imperfect. Which makes us hesitant about making art. We distance ourselves from it. We don't try it. And then we explain that we are not creative or artistic. (We say, “that's why I don't make art - I’m not an artist”).
Problem is, many people really believe this and put a label on themselves. It becomes an identity we cannot change. And becomes a cycle: we belief we’re not creative, so we don’t create; we don’t create and this reinforces our belief that we’re not creative.
But remember, everybody's born an artist, a creator, an expressive human being. Art is just another medium to express ourselves, just like words are a way to express our thoughts and feelings. We all have the ability to express ourselves. (And actually expressing ourselves in a visual, non-verbal way is more natural and innate for us).
So what do we actually do?
How to nurture your creative side again
One of the most important thing you can do is to change your belief. And how do you that?
Let go of the label "creative," or "artistic."
These labels only confine us and encourage us to look at ourselves and the world with judgmental eyes. It divides people (and ourselves) into “creative vs. not creative,” “artistic vs. not artistic” and reinforces our fear of not being good enough to be creative. The fact is that everyone is born with creative abilities (remember, humans are hardwired to expressive themselves in creative ways).Don’t try to prove yourself.
Art is not a competition to see who's better or not, it is about expressing oneself. When we try to prove ourselves, we try to control the outcome, the result, the product, and we lose all the joy we can have for the creative process. The process only becomes a means to an end, and we also worry too much about whether we’ll meet the end or not. Whether we fail or succeed. But creating art is not about failing or succeeding; it is about expressing who you are right now. Without the need to prove ourselves, we become free to enjoy the process, become more curious about what will happen, and just be more in the moment, loving what is unfolding in the creative process.Accept ourselves more
Even when we have overcome our hesitation and we actually make art, we can have judgmental thoughts and negative feelings towards our artwork. Sometimes the most fearful thing for us about making art is dealing with these negative feelings or thoughts. That is why we need to invite more acceptance - noticing and allowing the thoughts and feelings to be there. This is really about practicing mindfulness - it’s just like meditation: you notice thoughts/feelings, you let them be. You breathe. You allow. In this process of mindfully accepting whatever feelings or thoughts that are coming up, you are essentially accepting your artwork and accepting yourself ultimately. When we begin to accept and allow ourselves to just BE, we can let go of the need to control our actions or our creations, we become more comfortable, more confident, and be compassionate towards ourselves and our artwork. We often forget the relationship between the artist (us, the creator) and the artwork. Practicing more compassion and kindness within this relationship can help release you from your fears or judgments about creating.
It really disheartens me when I see people stop themselves from even trying out art because of their own beliefs about creativity and themselves. But I do understand these beliefs were formed since early on, and it can be a great challenge to change them, let alone become aware of them.
That’s why I think art therapy is much more helpful for people, rather than just making art. With art therapy, it’s easier for people to use art as a way to express their feelings and thoughts and takes the focus away from “skills” or “techniques,” which are often traps for negative self judgments.
If you want to help others using this powerful and therapeutic medium of art, then I have something really awesome for you. I created my Therapeutic Art Facilitation School (TAFS) course for professionals like coaches, artists, teachers, therapists etc. who want to facilitate and incorporate therapeutic art into their work, without going the ‘therapy’ or ‘art therapy’ route - which is expensive, time-consuming, & inaccessible. You can start today with the skills and steps I teach in the TAFS. No certain background or degree necessary to learn. See details about my TAFS course here.
Thanks for reading this blog post. Share this with your friends or family, and I’ll talk to you next time!
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