Why You Should Try Making Some Art (Even If You’re Not ‘Creative’)

Making art is never a waste of time, contrary to what some people might tell you.

It is only a waste of time if you expect it to pay your bills without putting in the labour needed to make good art. It is only a waste of time if you think that art is something that is good only if it is popular and perfect. It is only a waste of time if you think that art is something only ‘creative’ people can do. It is only a waste of time if you think that art is something that should compulsorily consist of suffering because you’ve romanticized the stereotype of the tortured artist.

Art is anything that is meaningful to you.

Art is the part of you that secretly knows that you’re crazy as fuck, and allows you to express yourself so that you feel less lonely. Art is something that connects you to others by creating something that someone else can relate to and deeply understand. Art is that soul-touching, awe-inspiring, decentralizing and mind-blowing experience that reminds you that you are having a human experience on this planet.

When you make art with an honest heart, you are creating something real, something that is irrevocably and unapologetically you. When you make real art, whether it is a great aesthetic masterpiece or just a bunch of fingerprints on a paper, you are making something genuine. You are getting in touch with the stillness and vastness of your true nature. You are slowly pulling down your mask, peeling back the layers of your consciousness, and delving deep into your subconscious. You are letting go of everything that is accepted, liked and approved by external validation, and you are learning to live honestly.

Art is a way of life.

You were made for a purpose, you with your fearful and brave heart, with your tired and inspired heart, with your soft and strong heart, uniquely carved into a living, beating masterpiece from everyone who has ever had the pleasure and pain of touching it.

Your heart is the burning, flickering fire around which people gather to listen to stories. It is the beautiful and divine parts of yourself that you want to explore and bring to light. It is the dark and terrible parts of yourself that you want to understand and bring to light. So please do bring it to light, where you can see it, where we can all feel it. Your heart has seen and felt poetry, colours and music that no one else has. So share your heart because someone will experience it as their own and change themselves. The secret about your heart is that it thrives on love. Your heart is only truly happy when it is giving, so show your art and give some love.

Art is love.

Your art is not an audition because you are doing it for yourself first and foremost. It is that space in your life that is meant for building empathy towards yourself so that you understand the meaning of unconditional love. It is only when you become intimate with your true self, will you ever be able to truly connect with another. You don’t have to be talented to make art, you just have to let your natural curiosity come to life. It is your sense of exploration and adventure that will help you to access the innermost reaches of your creative potential, and unlock the dormant reserves of your active imagination.

Once you get lost in the flow of something much bigger than yourself, it will magnetically pull you inwards to the center, towards your most authentic self and your best possible version. Creativity is the messy, turbulent, gut-wrenching process of self-discovery, and though it is never perfect, it is real just like you. And you, baby, you are pure magic. You are the stories of stardust. You are made from the constellations of cosmic chaos. You are insignificantly significant in this mad, mystical, mysterious universe.

Art is magic. So go make some art, even if you suck. You might even get good at it.