Why Creating Art Matters
In a world that is moving ever faster and feeding us information through individualized algorithms, creating art allows me to understand myself and my community more deeply. It is not something I do on the side, but it's how I process being alive. My work gives shape to experiences that would otherwise remain tangled, unnamed, or overwhelming. When I am drawing or painting, I’m attempting to meet reality more honestly and combat the current of distraction being pushed throughout society.
Much of what we experience as humans does not arrive in clean language. It’s a mess of sensory input, emotions, intuitions, fears, tensions, and so on. Art allows me to work with those things without forcing them into premature conclusions. My studio becomes a place where I can slow down and listen, where complexity is not something to fix, but something to work through. My practice shapes how I move through every other aspect of my life and continues to teach me patience, humility, and attention in ways nothing else has.
In a culture that constantly fragments attention and pulls us outward, my creative process helps me stay looking inward, working to integrate the different parts of myself. It requires presence, repetition, and care. Time passes differently, and I am no longer reacting to the onslaught of sensory stimuli but responding more thoughtfully to what is in front of me. This state of focus feels restorative and empowering because it allows me to engage with difficulty without being consumed by it. And at the end of the session, I feel a sense of accomplishment that is priceless, which also fosters excitement and curiosity for the next session.
There’s also something important about the physical act of creating. Mixing paint, drawing lines, adjusting a form again and again… and again, it brings me back into my body. I’m also not staring at a screen, and that physical presence feels grounding. I mean, it’s not the same as running a marathon, physically, but it definitely has a way of developing a healthy perspective on aspects of the material world.
Creating art requires honesty and helps keep me connected to authenticity. I've learned (and continue to learn) that true art does not respond well to shortcuts, posturing, or performance. Viewers can feel when a piece is genuine, even if they can’t articulate why. If I’m disconnected from the work and trying to fit someone else's mold, it shows. And over the years, I’ve come to understand that sort of accountability has helped me develop a stronger internal compass that drives all aspects of my life.
Ultimately, my creative practice matters because it allows me to take an active role in creating meaning, rather than just consuming others' definition of meaning. It gives me a solid focal point to return to every day that cuts through the sea of distraction and ever-changing social landscapes, allowing me to mark those changes without losing myself inside of them. It also affirms that careful observation and sincere engagement matter. It’s how I remain human inside the complexity of our modern world.