Howdy,
Would you ever think of going up to a child who is playfully drawing, take the crayons out of their hand and tell them, “You're not talented enough?” so they should probably stop? Would you berate them for colouring outside the lines? Would you tear them down for not being a better artist than they are at their age? Would you shame them for even wanting to make something or to play? Of course you wouldn't. You're not a psychopath ( I hope ).
Yet so many of us, in some way shape or form has had this done to us. I still hear the trope “I don't have a creative bone in my body!” at least a few times a month off my clients. If you've ever said that, if you still think that, please know that this sentence is a wound. It is a pain. It is a weight that you carry that you may have no means to express or even articulate. What's worse still is that even when we are free of institutions that grade our creativity solely upon it's ability to create money we often continue to abuse our creativity in the same ways it was done to us. We continue to hurt ourselves over and over again.
So what if you just didn't? What if, on a very real, visceral level you told anyone and everyone who has ever stunted your creativity to, not so politely, fuck all the way off?
Yes, you are allowed to say that. I said so.
Now, pick up a pencil and draw something. Write a few lines of a poem. Sing a song. I don't care if it's shit. It will probably be shit at first but that's the point of art, theres ALWAYS room to improve. Even seasoned artists have goals and ways they want to get better. That part never ends. Just make a start. Don't try to be a “good” artist, just remember that you've always been an artist and that you're only job is to turn up and make something. Not sell something. Not show something off. Just make something and then make something else and keep going until you end up covered in paint, albums worth of songs and a stack of half edited books.
Monetary success in art is not guaranteed but what is, is that if you don't show up to the plate you'll just be a little more miserable than you need to be. Honour your inner child. Give it room to be the artist it always was. You have 206 creative bones in your body, now, go play!
Big love,
Ryan James x