Guess What? You're An Artist! | Teen Ink

Guess What? You're An Artist!

March 11, 2014
By AngelaAxelson GOLD, Littleton, Colorado
AngelaAxelson GOLD, Littleton, Colorado
12 articles 11 photos 20 comments

Favorite Quote:
“Every day, think as you wake up, today I am fortunate to be alive, I have a precious human life, I am not going to waste it. I am going to use all my energies to develop myself, to expand my heart out to others; to achieve enlightenment for the benefit of all beings. I am going to have kind thoughts towards others, I am not going to get angry or think badly about others. I am going to benefit others as much as I can.”


― Dalai Lama XIV


Whether we call ourselves it or not, we are all artists. This is a new realization for me, as I’ve always thought of artists as being the people with things in museums. I certainly never considered myself to be an artist. The fact is though that I’m creating art right now, for writings is an art. In the past I’ve always thought of art through the narrow scope of drawing, painting, and sculpture. The traditional things like that. Then I realized over time that there was a much broader scope of art, like photography and writing. More recently though, I realized that everything is art. Everyone has an art, and everyone is an artist at every second of their lives. For the people that choose to wear makeup, that’s an art for them. Cooks, from sandwich makers to traditional hibachi chefs, have an art to what they do. Mechanics and car drivers have an art in what they do. Gardners, business executives, everyone. Everyone is an artist.

Art is like breathing, it’s part of us, always there, and not hugely noticed. Everything we do at any moment is arguably art. So why do we classify only some people as artists? Well, it could be like we classify monks. They dedicate much of their life to meditation, which is largely just focusing on your breathing. So the people we call artists are those who strongly focus on art, even though we are all both breathing and being artists at every moment. Now there’s the annoying argument of “good” and “bad” art. I believe that there is no such thing as “good” and “bad” art. I think all art is perfect as long as it feels right to you when you create it. It should be fun, make you happy, just feel right. That is perfect art. Why bound yourself to “good” and “bad”?

The simple facts come down to this. You are an artist. Everyone is an artist. Everyone is an artist at every single moment of their lives. Most importantly we’re all great artists, for art is perfect if it just feels right to create.


The author's comments:
I've seen a lot of people being negative about their own art, including myself. Recently I've come to this large realization, and decided to write an essay so others could share in it as well!

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