Seeing Yourself Through Artist Eyes
In a society where there is instant access to friendships and company, we often lose sight of the relationship that is considerably one of the most important relationships we can have: the relationship with yourself.
So how can art be a gateway to developing and growing that relationship you have with… well, you?
CREATING IS AN OPPORTUNITY IN DISGUISE:
I’m the artist/designer of BAE Collective and for me, art has always been a part of my life. Growing up I was always looking for new ways to create, whether it was drawing, watercolor, digital art, or animation. I would spend hours on end working on an art piece without even realizing how that time influenced the relationship I had with myself.
I’m a hardcore introvert, so I’m personally very used to my own company, but not everyone has that kind of comfort in solitude. But know that it is in the solitude of the artistic experience that we are given the opportunity of growing.
In my own experience, it’s when I’m creating that I learn most about myself. I learn my limits, my abilities, what I like and don’t like, where I draw my inspiration, and what resonates with me most. Most of all, art has really helped me be okay in my own company. In our previous BAE Podcast, we discuss how the relationship with yourself is constantly evolving. In the same way, so is the art you create. Art is not meant to stay stagnant, but to mirror the growth within yourself because it is the expression of the self.
I believe that in the silence is when we’re most receptive to the voice of God and the presence of the Holy Spirit. As you take time to create you are also constantly learning more about yourself and who God created you to be.
Creating art can be intimidating. For some, maybe the intimidation comes from being in your own head.
You might be flooded with thoughts of I’m not good at art or I’m not an artist, but the cool thing about art is that it doesn’t have to be GOOD. There’s always this innate fear within the human psyche that we aren’t good enough, but when you’re making art just to make art, it comes with no expectations or rules.
ART CHALLENGES YOU
I’ll tell you straight up: art is not easy. There will be moments where you are unsatisfied with everything you do, but the beauty in this struggle is that as you strive forward, you grow. In the struggle of being creative, we are challenged to go beyond our limits and to look deeper within ourselves for what we can pull out on paper (or computer if that’s your thing).
Art has taught me sooooooo much patience. It pushes me mentally and emotionally and sometimes even physically. I believe art opens your eyes to see what you have to offer and most importantly what God has placed in you to express. Just like your relationship with yourself changes, so should what you create: the more you create the further you progress and it’s in the dissatisfaction with your end-product we find the determination to keep moving forward.
There are times where I just don’t want to create or when I’m making a piece and I don’t like the direction it’s going, but when I choose to keep going and adding and changing, the piece becomes something I can be proud of. Even if it isn’t where I want it to be, I take pride in knowing I worked so hard to get to that point. I think that idea really parallels our walks in life. Sometimes we aren’t satisfied with where we are, but when we look back at the struggle and the pain and the hard work, we can be encouraged in knowing God has taken us that far.
“Yet God has made everything beautiful for its own time. He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God’s work from beginning to end.”
Ecclesiastes 3:11
I reeeeaaaally love this verse. It mentions that God has made everything beautiful for its own time and coming from someone who knows insecurity like the back of their hand, it’s a difficult concept to grasp. Why can’t it be beautiful now? You can’t rush art. It’s the cliche phrase in movies coming from the snarky and bold character, right? But really you can’t. Because art takes time. Learning takes time. Growing takes time.
Living in a world of instant gratification, we tend to lose patience for the simple beauty of life, but when you take a moment just to see how art is part of our world in the way that flowers grow and the way the sun sets over the trees after a long day, you begin to see the beauty of taking your time just as God took His time in creating you.
Sometimes though, even when that beauty comes into realization, we don’t understand it. The rest of this verse mentions that people can’t see the whole scope of God’s work and I think that’s such a powerful idea. As humans, we’re always going to have limitations on our perspective, but the fact that we can place our trust in God knowing that it will be beautiful and good despite the difficulties throughout is comforting.
God is the ultimate artist.
WE ARE CREATED TO CREATE
One thing art really did for me was Define the Relationship; the relationship I have with myself in particular.
I know, I know Deej, isn’t DTRing for romantic relationships? Well, you must view the relationship you have with yourself as one of romance. (You guys do know it’s totally okay to buy yourself flowers and take yourself on a dinner date, right?)
One of the first steps to truly developing a relationship with yourself is learning and choosing to love yourself (just as you learn and choose to love a significant other) and, more specifically, how God created you. So, what are you to yourself? An artist? A singer? A friend? A goofball? What has God placed in your heart? On top of that God-given identity is where the relationship with ourselves is built, the identity God placed in our hearts the moment He crafted us into being.
The beauty of creating also leads you to seeing the beauty placed within yourself. As you take inspiration from your daily life, you start to see the artistry of God’s creation. When I make art, not only am I pulling inspiration from God’s creations in nature, but the beautiful abilities God has placed in my own palms. Like I said, we are created to create. Just as God is described as an artist in the Bible, you are too. And even further than being an artist, you are God’s masterpiece.
“For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago..”
Ephesians 2:10
Once we begin to see how beautiful God created us to be, it becomes a lot easier to develop a relationship. Developing a relationship with someone is a lot easier when 1. You know who they are (identity), 2. They’re the kind of person you don’t mind spending time with (solitude), and 3. You see love in their personality (beauty). When we look at the world through artists’ eyes, we start seeing beauty in simplicity and this works when you look at yourself through artists’ eyes too.
SO HOW CAN I USE ART OUTSIDE OF THE RELATIONSHIP WITH MYSELF?
Some of you might still be hesitant to approach art, but let me remind you that art is not just painting or drawing or designing. Art defined by Oxford Languages is, “the expression or application of human creative skill and imagination...producing works to be appreciated primarily for their beauty or emotional power.” Art is more than just paintbrush and paper, but it is expression, it is application of creativity.
So maybe art doesn’t mean to you exactly what it means to me, but it’s still art and whatever art looks like to you, you have a creative power to impact the world.
Now more than ever, I believe it’s so important that as you develop your relationship with yourself, you share that knowledge and that love. This whole blog post talks about looking at yourself through the eyes of an artist, whether it’s in your own artwork or how you were created, we talked about how this can change the relationship you have with yourself.
But it doesn’t stop there.
What you create can bring to light issues and emotions not seen or addressed before. It has the power to spread love and light in a divided world. We see division of race so prevalent in our society, but I believe art has influence. So make art that challenges other people just as much as it challenged you creating it. Make art that calls out injustice. Make art that spreads love.
Make art and do it because you can.
Much love,
Deej
I pray that as you develop a stronger relationship with yourself, you don’t just keep it there! We are meant to be a light in the darkness and if art is an instance where you can express what God placed in you, then I urge you to spread that talent and the love you learn to cultivate in yourself.