souldare

Satisfy us each morning with your unfailing love . . . (Psalm 90:14 NLT)

Expectation (n): a belief that something will happen or is likely to happen; a feeling or belief about how successful, good, etc., someone or something will be

Maybe you’re thinking, how can art tell me who I am or where I’m going? This is crazy talk. Art is for the artists. I’m not an artist. Writing is for the published authors and English majors. I’m not a writer.

I used to think the same thing. I enjoyed craft stores and making scrapbooks to display our family’s photos. I loved my journals and reading books. But I didn’t CALL myself an artist or a writer.

I thought I would become a writer, when I had a published book, and sold several million copies.

My wise sister once challenged me to read the classics and take a creative writing class, and that’s when I started believing I was a writer. When I did the things that a writer does, through those practices I began to understand that a writer writes words. It didn’t matter so much, if the words were in my journals or published in a  blog post or a self-published book ; I was writing, therefore I could call myself a writer.

As I started using art supplies to attempt  mixed-media techniques in my art journal, I didn’t expect to discover that I was an artist.

Now, the qualifiers for what makes a person an artist have always been up for discussion. And I still struggle a bit with calling myself an artist, but not as much anymore, because my definition of an artist fits my purposes.

To me an artist makes art for her own enjoyment.  Others may witness my art, but whether they enjoy it or not, is not the point. For me art is a self-discovery tool. Art is a practice that includes skill, talent and technique, but the act of using art supplies can be satisfying, whether you define yourself as an artist or not.

Making art shows me what I like, and what I don’t like. It reveals inner fears and inner joys. I discover that I am drawn to certain colors more than others.  That doodling and drawing intimidate me. I find that abstract art works for me, because I’m not patient enough to draw or paint realistic portraiture or still life. Art is a way for me to play and to relax.

So whether you call yourself a writer or an artist is not really the point, but writing and playing with art supplies can broaden your perspective. You may just find out neither are for you or you may find out that you want to call yourself a writer and/or an artist. Again, it’s not really the main point.

My real question is,will you give these experiences a chance to reveal a bit of who you are and where you are going?

Here are today’s prompts:

I am . . .

I am not . . .

And if you want to try something artsy, check out this idea:

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