I’m not an Artist. (I am)
I was chatting today with someone who was telling me all about the fused glass class she had taken the night before. I know nothing about glass making so she provided a detailed explanation of how she worked and the design she’d created. She told me that this class had less structure than she was used to in her other glass class, so she came up with her project design that night on her own. It all sounded wonderful.
Then she told me that she wasn’t very creative and wasn’t an artist and that she was sure I could have done something much better. She couldn’t draw and seemed stuck on the idea that if you can’t draw, you aren’t an artist.
I can’t draw. Does that mean I’m not a real artist? I also never went to art school. Does that mean I’m not a real artist?
Two years ago I decided to move my creative endeavors from my personal, and private, Instagram page to a new public page. I was sitting at my kitchen counter, trying to figure out how to do this, and discovering that there was an option for a professional account where I had to select a profile to label what type of professional I was. I choose artist, even though I didn’t feel like one and it was kind of embarrassing to see that word on my new profile. I couldn’t draw, didn’t go to art school, and had no art experience yet here I was calling myself an artist.
I’m a little more comfortable with that term now, but it’s still so weird when asked what I do, to say I’m an artist.
The end of that conversation today had me saying that I thought what she was doing was artistic and creative. I hope that made her think and maybe claim some artistic talent. But I get it, saying that you’re an artist isn’t easy.