Are you an artist? 3 questions to ask.
Image: Becoming Artist Chantelle Goldthwaite, She Spoke, 1st International Becoming Artist Exhibition, Prague, CZ
Tell me if this has ever happened to you…
You’re at a party, mingling and meeting new people. Naturally, someone says to you, “So what do you do?”
You stutter and stammer, not sure how to answer the question.
Should you say that you’re an artist? Should you tell them about your day job? Which answer is true?
You might want to say that you’re an artist, but the words still won’t come out of your mouth…
Defeated, you wonder why can’t you just say it!
Your friends know you’re an artist and you’ve always made art, so why can’t you say it out loud?
Here’s the thing…
Self-doubt is normal. So is questioning yourself from time-to-time.
The questioning is only a problem when “Am I really an artist?” is not a genuine investigation but a way of keeping yourself small.
Until you claim your calling and own it fully you’ll be in a perpetual state of dis-ease. You’ll keep wasting your precious energy trying to answer this question instead of doing what you love.
It’s time to know the truth.
The only person who gets to decide if you’re an artist is YOU.
Are you willing to ANSWER THIS QUESTION once and for all?
The following 3 questions will help you to answer the burning one.
QUESTION 1: Whose voices are you listening to?
Hovering right beneath your question is a slew of other people’s thoughts, judgments and declarations about what an artist is and isn’t. Can you feel them? My guess is that most of these ideas aren’t even your own.
In your journal make a table with three columns (in this order): What a Real Artist Is, What I Believe an Artist Is, What a Real Artist Isn’t.
In the left column, list all of the things that you’ve come to believe a real artist is. Make a note beside each about how you came to this conclusion. In other words, whose voice are you listening to? E.g. A real artist doesn’t think about time when they’re in the process. (Brian T. in college)
In the right-hand column, list all of the ideas you’ve accumulated, and tell yourself, about what an artist isn’t. E.g. A real artist has no interest in making money. (Norm)
Stop and notice. Can you feel how these ideas are not necessarily your own?
In the middle column, list all of the things that YOU think an artist is or does. Once you’ve cut through everyone else’s ideas you can start to identify your own. E.g. I believe that an artist is someone who is genuinely engaged with what goes on around them. I believe that an artist is a barometer for society.
When you’re done, do some journaling about what you discovered.
QUESTION 2: What happens when you don’t make art?
The next step is to take a look at what you know to be true through past experience. Make a list of all the things that art-making brings to your life. What happens when you’re in the flow? What benefits does it bring? What is the feeling you get from picking up the brush, starting the drawing, or putting your hands on the clay?
Then, make a list of what happens when you’re not making your art. What are the feelings that arise? What happens in your body? What happens in your relationships? How do you sleep at night? What habits and patterns emerge?
And again, spend some time noticing and journaling. What conclusions can you draw from this?
QUESTION 3: What else is there for you to do?
I must admit, this question pissed me off when I first heard it. A beloved professor of mine asked me in grad school. He looked me square in the eyes and said, “What else is there for you to do?”
It took years of personal growth and working job after job for me to appreciate the wisdom in this. What else is there for you to do? Sure, there are things that you can do, and do quite well. There are things that you do better than most, but when it comes down to being the person you’re truly here to be, what else is there for you to do?
Gay Hendricks calls this our Zone of Genius. The real magic happens when you’re operating from this place. It isn’t always easy to get there, but when you’re in it it’s the easiest place in the world to be. It’s usually so easy that you don’t even realize you’re doing anything special!
Trust Yourself
No one else can answer these 3 questions or the burning one for you.
Deep down you've always known the answer. Now it’s time to trust it.
It’s completely possible to make your art.
Authentic art. As a highly sensitive soul. As YOU.
But it’s not always easy…