Fighting For Art
“Mox Adventu”
Self-Portrait, September 2021
There have been many times over the course of my creative journey where I have gotten away from consistent creation. This has happened for many reasons, but the main reason can be summed up in this one phrase: “It’s much easier to say yes to someone else and no to yourself than it is to say yes to yourself and no to someone else.”
What do I mean by that?
When it comes to giving away my precious time, it’s far easier to give it to someone else. When it comes to making time for myself, I am notoriously bad at not prioritizing the things that truly matter to me.
Call it an avoidance tendency (you’d be right) or something else entirely. This habit is so ingrained within me that it takes quite some time for me to realize what I've done. But sure enough, I’ll find myself on the other side of my time having given it to something that wasn’t truly important to me.
Creation is the most important area in an artist's life, but I will often find myself so far removed from creation that I hardly feel like an artist any more.
I’ve found myself in this dilemma several times in the past. Because of college. Because of a toxic job. Because of things I want to do. Because of giving away my time.
I find myself again on the side of the spectrum where I haven’t created in such a long time that the doubt starts telling me I’m not an artist. The doubt is a liar. I am an artist (as are you!) no matter how long it has been since I created something. I am an artist no matter how often I find myself giving my time to something else.
I am an artist no matter what, I just need to work on prioritizing creation. I need to work on saying no to others when it means keeping my time to create to myself. It may be easier to tell someone else yes and say no to myself, but it will not lead me to where I want to be.
Your time is precious. Keep it to yourself, fight for it. Prioritize the time you need for creation. The world desperately needs your art and will violently try to pull you away from it.
Fight for your art like your life depends on it.
