So I spent a lot of time refusing to call myself an artist, mostly because I saw it as a station I could not reach. I struggled to find value in my creations when words were not involved. I feel like most artists feel like this.
I once told a therapist that my brother was the artist in the family because he got all the talent. I remember the smile she had. She said perhaps he did get the talent, but I had skills. Skills are developed by the constant use of the ability. I had never thought of it that way before.
I am at a point in my life now where I realize that labels matter, both the ones that we give each other and the ones we give ourselves. We will hear that we should not call ourselves artist and we take it to heart. We will call ourselves worthless and we will take it to heart.
Perhaps the best way to handle the problem is to ignore the label and follow your heart. If you want to create… Create.
Pattimouse 