Many artists struggle with a deep insecurity about their work and find it hard to see themselves as genuine creatives. They struggle with the “impostor syndrome” —the feeling that they are pretending to be artists and will soon be found out as the fakes they really are. Are they genuine artists or are they lying to themselves? My answer is to not bother with the question. It is a trap.
If you let it, the world will happily define an artist as someone who is gifted with an “extra-terrestrial” ability to produce art of the highest order at all times. The artist is a gifted individual that has a special calling to bless the world with his work. In this scenario, a few individuals are “called” and the rest of us are wannabes or weekend warriors. In other words, artists are special people and the rest of us are excluded from this prestigious club.
But what is the true evidence that you are a creative person? Some characteristics will tell the tale. For instance, for whatever reason, you have discovered a passion and inspiration for a kind of work and you can’t get enough of it. You just love it. The work brings you personal satisfaction and delight and to not do it leads to grumpiness and even illness. You have to do it, even if others don’t appreciate it and you don’t make any money!
Not to be too glib, but I believe that if you breathe oxygen you can call yourself a creative person and an artist. The notion that creatives are people that create specific things and only those things is insane. A quick look around us tells us that our planet is humming with activity at all times. Human beings do not, by and large, sit idle during the day. All of them are up to something. All of them appear to enjoy creating something. Whether it’s cooking a souffle, building a deck, tending a garden, making wine, knitting a scarf, etc. —all creative acts can be considered art.
Actually, you could even call evil and negative acts of creation a kind of art. Those who scheme and commit crimes, those who swindle on a spectacular scale, those attempting to stoke fires and start wars, etc. —they too are imagining and creating, albeit with horrible consequences. And since human beings are creating something most of the time, you have to conclude two things: a) that creating is as natural as breathing and b) that all human beings, therefore, can be called artists.
I find it freeing to see people in this light. The huge weight on the shoulders of the artist who believes herself to be unique and special gives way to the truth that we are indeed special…just like everyone else. Try it. See our planet as a buzzing, frenetic hive of creative activity. Everyone’s an artist, baby, and so are you!
P.S. I remember how my mother made bread, and how my father pruned an apple tree. Were they Michelangelos in their own field? Absolutely!