Become an Artist (or Rediscover Your Artist-Self)

Would you love to become an artist? Maybe you’ve always had a sense of an inner urge to be creative, but always felt you needed some sort of validation (whether from inside you, or from others) before you could fully own your artist-self.

Maybe you actually did consider yourself an artist, once upon a time; but that feels like a faded memory now, and you’re not sure whether it would be possible to resurrect that part of you.

This blog post, and the next one, are intended to get you started (or re-started) on your journey of being an artist.

Because the first steps along this journey are about how you allow yourself to feel, inside. Feeling like an artist (whatever that means to you) will help you act like an artist. Acting like an artist means including art-making in your daily life.

It’s also about having a ‘both/and’ mentality. This means that you can be an artist and a (insert your current profession or day-job here).

Important note: This blog post is not about ‘How to give up your day job and earn a living as an artist instead’. Rather, I’m trying to help you develop an inner sense of valuing and allowing your artist-self to thrive and grow. It’s about adding ‘artist’ to your multi faceted identity, without taking away other aspects of who you are (which include your professional and economic life).  

Become an Artist, Part 1: Explore Your Stories

If you are not expressing your artist-self at the moment, it’s time to start being curious about where you block your creativity.

So let’s start by considering what your stories are.

We humans are story-makers. We live our lives according to stories (you could also call them protocols about how to get through life). The stories we attend to, or just follow unconsciously, can have a powerful influence over our behaviour and our feelings. 

What are the stories you tell yourself about why you can’t become an artist?

For example:

I can’t become an artist because I don’t have enough money

I can’t become an artist because I don’t have enough time 

I can’t become an artist because my parents/partner/children won’t let me

I can’t become an artist because I haven’t had any training

I can’t become an artist because I’m not talented enough

I can’t become an artist because of my gender/ ethnicity/ social class/ nationality/ income/ occupation

I can’t become an artist because I’m too introvert

I can’t become an artist because I’m too extrovert

I can’t become an artist because my disability won’t allow it

I can’t become an artist because it isn’t what people like me do

Notice which of those stories (or others) you follow. 

And really think: Do I really have to believe this limitation must apply to me?

Now, some of those stories will have a basis in fact (for example, many people in society are marginalised and do get squashed by the people and organisations in power) – but it can still be possible to subvert and/or overcome these limiting factors. You can still find ways to be an artist, despite the obstacles that may be in your way – especially if you team up with others who ‘get it’.

Question your stories vigorously, and see if you can imagine any ways round them.

For example: 

I can’t become an artist because I don’t have enough money

If you have no money, it means you’ll need to be more creative with the materials you use (maybe scrap materials, off-cuts, natural materials like driftwood or pebbles; some children’s art materials can be inexpensive and surprisingly effective).

I can’t become an artist because I don’t have enough time

If you have no time, make some, because this stuff matters. Instead of browsing social media, spend 15 minutes a day on making little drawings in a small sketchbook, or adding to an ongoing piece of embroidery. 

I can’t become an artist because I don’t have a studio/ space to work

Lots of artists can work successfully without a designated studio. Especially when they are just starting out (or re-starting).

If you don’t have a studio or designated art space, you might:

• Work with natural materials outdoors (like Andy Goldsworthy)
• Work at home, for example using a corner of the dining table and keeping all materials stashed in an art box or portable trolley
• Work on a very small scale or in a small sketchbook
• Work in a medium such as knitting or needlework that is traditionally done in a home setting
• Share a studio with someone else (perhaps on a time-share basis if there isn’t much room)
• Work using a laptop or tablet

If you don’t have a studio there will be limitations (safety/ mess/ practicality) as to what media you can use; but perhaps you can use your natural creativity to find work-arounds. Sometimes limits and boundaries are exactly what sparks a new creative trajectory.

Hidden beneath our ‘Why I can’t become an artist’ stories are very often ‘art wounds’ – you can read my blog post Art Wounds and the Sensitive Person here. 

What’s Your Mindset?

So – get curious about your stories! List as many of them as you can identify, and begin to question their validity.

Identify whether you have a fixed mindset about the stories (‘this story is simply the truth, and there’s nothing I can do to change it, short of a miracle or outside intervention’) or a growth mindset (‘interesting… I wonder what I can change here…?’)

If you realise you tend to have a fixed mindset, see if you can start playing around with the edges, and see what baby steps you can take. Most people can probably develop a growth mindset, if they want to. You just have to be willing to live with a little discomfort for a while, as you adjust to your new attitudes (yes – changing your mindset usually feels super-uncomfortable at first, until you grow into it!)

Join me for Part 2, coming soon!

And do leave a comment below, to let us know what you’ve discovered about your ‘why I can’t become an artist’ stories, and how you are starting to shift your mindset around them.