Something from Nothing
Why Creating Art Matters
I’m continuously inspired by the act of creation. Literally taking a thought, an idea, a hunch and making it into a reality. Creating something from nothing.
We see products of the creation process every day all around us and probably don’t even realize it.
The place we live in.
The clothes we wear.
The music we listen to.
The content we consume.
The car we drive.
Art is everywhere.
In fact, you’re experiencing it right now. This blog post is a piece of art. I had an idea I wanted to share with the world and am now executing against it. I’m putting my thoughts out there and contributing to a conversation I believe deserves attention.
As someone looking to become a professional writer, art has a special place in my heart. I love learning about the great artists throughout history and discovering modern day ones whose work and philosophy I admire. These men and women have set the foundation for the kind of creative career I’m interested in pursuing. I’m inspired by them and want to join their ranks as an artist.
But what if you don’t have an artistic talent?
What if your full-time job is not in the typical fields one would consider as art?
First of all, everyone has some level of artistic talent. We’ve all done work we’re proud of that’s ownable to us. Give yourself some credit.
Furthermore, creating art is not limited to those who pursue art full-time (e.g. writers, musicians, photographers, filmmakers, etc.). Being an artist is a mentality that can be applied to whatever work you do. Most of us just don’t even realize it. Think about all the things at the office that you inject your personality and style into: emails, projects, interactions with colleagues and clients, presentations, etc. Being an artist at works starts with awareness and continues with intentionality.
Whether you decide to make art full-time or dabble with it here and there is up to you. It’s just important that you do it. The world needs more art, and your perspective matters.
Here are 3 reasons why you should create art:
1) It’s a unique contribution to the world.
No piece of art is exactly the same. Even if you’re contributing something to the same genre of an artistic discipline, it’s going to represent your interpretation of it. You’re able to call it your own and say, “I made this.” It’s your form of self-expression as a human, and no one can take that away from you.
2) It has the ability to connect.
Art communicates some form of human truth, and there’s tremendous power in that. People who understand your perspective on life and intentionality with your art will be able to find the most meaning in it. The more you create for those people, the stronger the connection you can have with them and the more likely they are to tell others about your work. That’s how a tribe can form with you as its leader, and a new career could be born.
In addition, your creativity and work might even inspire them to invest more time in their artistic skills and produce more art of their own. To me, there’s nothing quite like knowing that my writing inspired others to write and share their work with the world. As they say, “Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.”
3) It pushes creativity forward.
If people stopped creating art, our standards for creativity would reach a limit and the world would become boring. As the world evolves, art should too. How does that happen? It starts with artists who are bold enough to ignore the way things have always been done. They need to write their own rules and innovate upon their previous work and the work of those who inspired them. The only way to do that, to take things to the next level, is to make more art. I have a funny feeling that quantity leads to new thresholds for creativity.
Why do you create art? I’d love to hear what keeps you going.
