How my daughter’s artwork taught me what it means to be an artist.

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Head pulsating as i keep myself under the cover of our blackout curtains. My children’s room serves as my sanctuary as I type away on my keyboard. The sounds of my two year old can be heard through the walls as my wife tries to clean up the house. I’m surrounded by my five year old’s artwork, which is displayed proudly. She is so happy about her work that she assumes the role of tour guide for our home and makes sure that each person has an opportunity to admire her creations.

I’m also proud of work but seriously they aren’t any better or worse then most five year olds but she doesn’t care. She’s just happy that she made them. She doesn’t worry if someone will share her pictures or that thousands of people will like them. She just enjoys her creations. Even those painted on the wall that she wasn’t supposed to color on. Oh, I wish I could be like her. I yearn to create without the internal pressure to be liked or popular, which can become poison to art. They make what should be a personal creation that is unique to the creator into a work that doesn’t offend and relates to the masses. When this happens art is no longer personal. It’s muted and sanitized for consumption. It no longer comes from the heart but from the head. This way of creating can be stifling.

My best work are usually created quickly and emotionally. Without much forethought and with my internal editor out for lunch. When I’m like this I feel connected with my work spiritually. I listen to that little voice in my head that screams to be let out. That wants to be heard without a muzzle. Writing gives voice to the story that is yet to be told. Stories have a spirit of their own and when we listen to them we’ll find ourselves being just a conduit to a higher power that guides your fingers over the keyboard or on paper.

Now don’t get me wrong there still needs to be editing. That is a part of the whole in relation to creating. Every comma and misspelling needs to be added and corrected. A story or article is just a rough draft in the beginning that needs to be refined and clarified to reach it’s full potential. That is where the work comes in but when you first write your story or article it needs to flow easily. If it doesn’t maybe that story doesn’t want to be told or you’re soul isn’t where it needs to be. The start should feel like a water faucet being turned on. Water should be flowing freely, however, when you start to self edit early on in the process you create a kink in your hose that chokes creativity to a point where you’re left with a trickle of water.

So the next time you feel yourself struggling to create ask this question, “Am I writing from the soul or am I hunting for a like?” You may find out that your struggles stem from the affects that social media (popularity) can have on a creative soul. If this is you take a step back and clear your mind of what others seem to want from you and ask, “What do you want from the creative process?” If you want to express yourself and you feel a story wanting to come out don’t worry about how popular it will be. Just put your feelings down on paper and see where it takes you. You may learn that creating from the heart means more then a like.

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Picture Credit: Joelle Birano