Your Art is for You, Too

When we do this work of making art for others, we can betray and deny ourselves joy by always giving away our talent, time, and energy. Remember your art is for you, too.

For as long as I can remember, I’ve always loved to make art for other people.

It has always brought me joy and pleasure no matter what challenges I was facing in my life. Not only that, but it also gave me purpose, confidence, and a way to show my love and appreciation for friends and family.

But what I loved most of all about creating art for others and myself was the feeling of calm that it would provide me with. 

Making art gave me inner peace.

As I grew older though, things began to change. What once gave me so much pleasure to do for others began to fill me with anxiety. 

My early schooling, for example, set the groundwork for this disconnection. In college and art classes, I learned that art making was only worthwhile if others deem it so or if it was profitable.  No longer was making art for art’s sake a noble endeavor. Instead, art was supposed to only be enjoyed, valued, and judged by our teachers, peers, and the outside world. 

Having internalized this way of thinking for so long, I didn’t realize the harm I was inflicting on my psyche. No longer was art making a personal and self-exploratory experience of joyful self-expression; it was now fair game for everyone and anyone to consume, critique, and regurgitate.

I was so focused on pleasing others with my art that I had forgotten how to enjoy making art for myself. And overtime, this way of being slowly diminished my spirit.

Something had to change.

Thankfully, after many nights of quiet self-reflection, I had an epiphany:

We artists need to have balance and boundaries for our artistry when we make art for others, and we need to have some compassion for ourselves.

When we’re kids, we create freely and uninhibitedly from our hearts with no expectations and pressures placed on us to be perfect, please others, or strategize how to make a profit. We create because it’s fun and it fills our cups. And it still can even if we are making a living from our artistry. 

Creating is an activity that is always available to us for nourishment.  So long as we choose to keep our relationship with our art just for us, we can set limits on how our energy is used and who has access to our creative reserves. We do not have to remain open to any and everyone nor does it have to be for everyone and everyone’s gaze. Nor do we have to exclude ourselves from enjoying the art that we make for others. It can be just for our closest friends and family.  And it can be for our own enjoyment, too. 

So, if you have accepted some toxic scripts about what it means to be an artist like I have, then know that you can unlearn them.  You can reclaim what is yours and what will always be.

Why It’s Important To Prioritize Your Relationship With Your Art

Recently I learned the most valuable lesson in art-making that I’ve ever received:

To keep my creative reserves full, I must prioritize the relationship I have with my art.

It might sound strange, but have you ever thought about the relationship you have with yours?

Do you dedicate time out of your day just to create? Do you give yourself room to play? Do you nurture your creativity with good self-care practices? Do you set firm boundaries from negativity to protect it? Or do you neglect it?

Learning to respect mine was a lesson that the universe had been trying to teach me for a long time. Years, in fact. But I resisted its wisdom. Instead, I chose to learn the hard way by ignoring my own needs for boundaries, play, exploration, and rest. ‘Something must be wrong with me,’ I thought. Why else does it seem like my peers are having the time of their lives while I’m burnt out?

Needless to say, I took my creativity granted. And as a result, I suffered from artist block and crippling self-doubt whenever it was time to illustrate. 

Worse of all, I no longer found joy in making art.

Our creativity is our magic.

Working endlessly with no rest in sight, I’d forgotten the simple truth that our creativity is our magic. It’s how we alchemize our vision and dreams into a tangible force that can be seen and felt by many. And it’s the fuel we need as artists to show up and do our work.

So, when I didn’t protect my creativity by not honoring my relationship with my art, I limited my creative potential. I failed to understand how important it is to have a healthy art practice for my emotional and mental well-being.

Because, ultimately, our relationship with our art is a reflection of the relationship we have with ourselves.

To keep our creative reserves full, we have to take care of ourselves in order to show up for our art. Our creativity is our most valuable asset as artists—heck, as humans. It truly deserves the utmost care and protection that we can provide. And it should never be taken for granted.  We shouldn’t take ourselves for granted.

To maintain a healthy relationship with our art, we need to prioritize our self-care.

We need to play. We need to rest. And we need to devote time for making art.

So, if you’re unsatisfied with your relationship like I was, then take a moment to try and understand what’s straining it and do what you can to nurture it instead. It truly is one of the most important relationships you will ever have.

And lastly, cherish it just like you would with someone you deeply care for. I promise, you won’t regret it.