Art Creates Art

Inspiration is everywhere, all around us, all the time. It's staring back at you from that bowl of Special K, the leaves turned over before a rainstorm, the spider weaving a web outside your front door. With unhinged creativity, even the most mundane can become art. The challenge is getting to that point, to see the world in overexposed neons instead of black and white.

Perhaps the fastest route to living without creative restrictions is exposing yourself to other art forms and letting yourself enjoy it. Art creates art and no one medium can be executed without drawing from others. So, why limit ourselves to just one?

I'm a writer first and foremost. It's what I define myself by. I'm always upfront and honest about it, but when people hear this, they often assume I am solely a writer. They believe I spend all of my creative time writing, and while that may be true on some days, it isn't always the case.

Just as one particular genre may not be right for a story, sometimes words are not the most accurate way to convey what's happening in my brain. Sometimes, I need to write a song. Sometimes, I need to paint. Sometimes, I need to pull out a long forgotten musical theater piece and just sing. Sometimes, I need to record my best friend and I talking about an old television show for an hour.

I never claim to be the best at these other artistic mediums. In fact, I never even claim to be good. The thing is, spreading out my creative urges like this makes my writing better. Restricting myself only makes my inspiration problems worse. It's better to just let the art happen and worry about the consequences later.

During the writing of my first novel, when things got particularly dark, I found myself conflicted. My characters were miserable, but I was in the prime of my life, feeling fulfilled and excited to graduate. There was no room for my joy and happiness in a book about personal destruction.

There was, however, room for me to place those feelings elsewhere. My happiness was better suited for visual art. I ended up starting a series of paintings on old records, each one modeled after a Fall Out Boy album. (Shocking, I know.) Even if they may not be the best, even if they never end up in a museum, I am proud of them, because I gave myself permission to make them.

Half the set is completed. I'd like to let myself finish them one day.

Some would probably say this pursuit took away from time I should have spent writing. Maybe so, but I can promise you, it was a lot easier to jump back in to the book without feeling restricted.

Human beings are creative creatures. We take the world in front of us, twist it, and try to make it something beautiful. Letting ourselves explore all the various ways to make art is our greatest gift to ourselves and surely increases productivity.

I'm so over feeling bad about spending time doing anything other than writing. There's more to me than words on a page. There's more to me than the black and white portrait people picture in their minds.

I am a writer. I am a singer. I am a songwriter. I am a painter. I am a podcaster.

I am an artist.

What do you think? What other art forms are your go-to's? Tell me what you think below and, as always, thanks for reading!