Creative Opinions- I'm not Creative! Pause...You are!

Have you ever gone to a museum and looked at a piece of art and thought to yourself, “Man could I do that?” I know sometimes especially with modern art, you might see a piece of painting that is a huge 48x48 canvas that is painted red and wonder how did that end up in a museum. Truth be told as much as it has been portrayed within the art world, art is not just for the elitist, it’s for the brave. Being a creative and artistic person takes courage. You’re opening yourself up and allowing yourself to be exposed in an intimate way and sometimes, because you are doing so it’s really hard to take advice or criticism. It’s easy to get discouraged and feel as if you are not an artist, when truthfully the only person that can tell you that you are an artist is yourself. I have heard various stories of directors, writers, singers, etc. That has shared stories of being discouraged, dismissed, and not acknowledged for their work.

Steven Spielberg applied three times to USC and was rejected all three times. Anita Baker was told once during an audition that she could not sing, in fact they told her that she was a horrible singer. Van Gogh’s extraordinary paintings did not get the well-deserved attention till after he died! Sylvia Plath was once rejected by the famous publication, The New Yorker.

 Now did that stop any of these artists from being the creative spirits that they are or/were? Art is very subjective, so it’s a constant see-saw of emotional opinions. I always prefer critical criticism to just plain criticism. Just saying the words, “Your piece sucks, or those pieces are horrible,” or “please…try something else.” These are all negative comments that only hurt the artist soul, and as I quote the lovely and intellectual musician Erykah Badu, “Keep in mind that I am an artist and I’m sensitive about my shit.” Everyone is born with a creative gene in them, we need it to survive. Everyone, I believe is also artistic, it’s all about facilitating your strongest artistic skill. Here is my impromptu idea for the week: Think of the most hurtful opinion someone has said to you about something you did creatively. Write it down, and then look up someone that you look up to in the field of your artistry. Look at their path and see how they handled their rejections. Use it as inspiration to create a new creative project that will inspire you be the best artist that you can be.
 

“Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up.”
- Pablo Picasso