Day Fifty-Five: Art

I've never thought of myself as an artist. I'd see drawings and think that I couldn't draw or I couldn't paint. With that attitude, I was right; I could never do those things if I didn't tell myself I could. This semester I'm taking a theatre class called Fundamentals of Costuming. In this class we learn all about costume design, and how to draw our designs. In order to draw clothing, we first have to draw the figures on which the clothing will be drawn. Slowly I've learned how to draw, but more importantly, I've learned to have confidence in my drawing. I now know that I can draw if I'm looking at something which I can base my sketch on. It's hard to draw a face or body perfectly from memory, and it's okay to look at a picture to help. It's the only way you'll get better. Because of this newfound confidence, I've started to love drawing. I've been practicing drawing faces in a blank sketch pad, just trying to get better and more confident that I can draw people and that I will be able to draw for this class.
This all has made me realize, though, that to be an artist means so much more than just to be good at studio art. I have always been an artist. I'm an artist in the way I write; my poetry is an artistic outlet and a viable form of art. I'm an artist because of the music I create, both with my voice and with my flute, whether I'm alone or in a large group. I'm expressing myself and the art of the song. I'm an artist because of the photos I take; be it a quick instagram picture or a more thought out studio portrait, my pictures are art. All of this, as well as my creative attitude and outlook make me an artist. There's more than one dimension to being an artist, just like there are so many dimensions to every aspect of life. If there's something you want to be, or a skill you want to become better at, just go do it, because no one is holding you back. No one can tell you that you can't be who you want to be.
-Libby Morehouse