There was a time when I was afraid to even mention the word art on this blog. I didn’t think I was qualified.
I felt I didn’t have the necessary knowledge, skill, talent, or training to approach the subject. And therein lies the problem.
Art’s So Big. I’m So Small.
Many of us who are drawn to art are afraid to even approach it. It seems so much bigger than we believe ourselves to be.
How do we dare doodle once we’ve gazed upon the Mona Lisa? Who are we to wrap our clumsy hands around a lump of clay once we’ve witnessed the marble masterpieces of Michelangelo? What business do we have writing love poems once we’ve read the sonnets of Shakespeare?
Approach it Anyway.
Well, the answer is this: we just do it, because we want to. Maybe because we have to.
They say it takes ten thousand hours of practice to master an art form. That’s cool.
But it only takes one hour (or less) to make your first piece of art. That’s even cooler.
Making Something is a Move Towards Mastery
Who said you had to be a master to make something? You don’t have to bleed and weep and flog yourself for ten thousand hours before you’re free to make something and, god forbid, show it to someone.
You don’t even have to wait that long before you, should you get the urge, put a price on something you make. Sure, no one has to buy it, but you’re certainly free to ask.
Even if you’re committed to the pursuit of mastery, all the hours you invest in making things count toward the full ten thousand. And you ought to be able to have some fun along the way.
You Have to Begin Somewhere. Somewhere is Here.
But you have to begin somewhere. You have to approach the edge if you’re ever going to reach the center. You do that by making things.
I don’t know what it takes to become a serious artist, but I know what it takes to become a happy one. Lighten up. Relax. Dig in. Make something. Have fun.
Lighten up. It’s only art. Subscribe to the Mildly Creative Newsletter.
