Create Joy

Nobody starts making art because they think it will be a great way to earn a living.

Many start creating as young children. Being a Gen-Xer, traditional gifts I received as a child were colouring books and crayons, pencil crayons and sometimes watercolour paints. Once we started school we were often introduced to other materials, glue, scissors, construction paper, and finger painting.  Some of us embraced the opportunity to express ourselves and were deeply invested in our artwork even at a young age.

For me, it was a means of expressing my feelings. I was (still am) painfully shy. Very unsure of my place in the world. My time spent painting and listening to my favourite albums in my room growing up were happy times for me. I was lucky to find joy in an activity at such an early age. And even though my life’s journey was not a straight path I am equally fortunate to have found my way back to that early joy now as an adult.

As a child, I’d never considered that my artwork could be a source of income. What child thinks of such things?? It was purely a source of joy, contentment, my happy place. As I matured and was asked by teachers and parents “what do you want to do when you grow up” I’d always say, I want to be an artist. I had no idea then just how steep a climb it is to achieve that goal. Most days now, I feel I am still climbing.

It’s truly a lifestyle, the life of an artist. Regardless of what your art is, music, dance, theatre, comedy, painting, sculpture etc – the life of artists is unlike that of anyone else. We have to learn to see rejection as opportunities for growth and not take it personally. Since many of us are highly in tune with our emotions it’s difficult to let rejection flow past us. A work in progress.

But the real danger to artists is when we start to look at money as a means of motivation. The art suddenly becomes secondary. Joy starts to bleed away. And we stand alone in the middle of a crowded room and wonder how we got here and if its even worth it.

To break out of this downward spiral I immerse myself in the work. The work of artists. My work. I entertain my weirdest ideas in the studio allowing the work to take over and wash away the fear and concern over material ideals. This has been my way to cope with the slow down of sales over the past year. The concerns of the world, hard economic and political times affect us all, unfortunately. I focus on recalling my childhood joy of creating cool things. Make things for me. Make things I love. Make things that bring me great joy. For me, when I stop obsessing over finances (since worry really solves nothing and can only make you sick if you don’t stop it) somehow things work out. Of course, I check my spending and keep my daily life simple because that helps to manage the flow of personal finance. And then I focus on the work.

Nobody starts making art because they think it will be a great way to earn a living. But those who choose to make art their life are blessed with an existence of joy and discovery that can be shared with others so as to bring joy to their lives too!

Thank you for reading. If you would like to experience the joy of my artwork please visit my website here: cherylannhillsartist.com