Art is for Everyone 🎨
When we are kids, the parents tend to enroll us in all the extracurricular activities lol. Maybe so we can dispose that little hyper energy of ours. Art class was one of them and my brother and I loved them. Art is like a form of creative expression that gives joy when we do it. It so much fun to do and there are so many different techniques and forms to learn.
We moved countries like thrice, but art always followed us. In NJ, we learned basics of drawing and in India we learned to master the fluidity of water to produce water paintings! My brother even moved back to the US to get a degree in fine arts, and we followed him back to the US. (Not to the same state but at least we are in the same country. 😉)
I thought I’d given up on art—because something that once brought me peace and joy had started to leave me frustrated instead. My fine motor skills are deteriorating to the point I don’t enjoy things like I used to. Every time I pick up a paint brush, I get frustrated with my uncoordinated and weak hands. I didn’t find art enjoying anymore, until I met Nidi - The Neighborhood Artist.
We started our first project with an abstract painting. Nidhi has totally changed my perspective on art. She made me do different art techniques, told me to “trust the process and to not fix on the result.” I held the brush in different directions. My hands danced while painting and she reminded me that “art doesn’t demand perfection.” I definitely made a mess while doing this and she’d say, “It’s okay because mistakes add texture!” Who knew making mistakes would feel so fun. I felt so free painting after a long time. Nidi said art is for everyone and if we let go of our past ideas, then we can move more freely and with ease!
I usually don’t like abstract art. In museums, it always looked messy and not proper, like there was some hidden meaning I couldn’t see. But the more I thought about it, the more I realized that we humans are kind of like abstract paintings too. That helped me fall back in love with art — with a little less judgment toward myself, toward others, and toward the paintings.
There are so many activities that I used to enjoy before but just left them out of frustration. Hopefully, I’ll find a way back to them someday, like this one ❤️