Just an Artist

It’s ok, you can be just an artist.

No one ever said to me, “You can just be an artist.”

Growing up, adults always ask, “What do you want to be when you grow up?”

I would answer gleefully, “An artist!”

But then they would always respond, “Well, how are you going to support yourself?”

I don’t think adults know how harmful this questioning is for children. It steals a child’s innate sense of wonderment. Most children don’t understand money and how it operates, and trying to make them understand the workings of adulthood too soon can kill that creative innocence.

Philosophically speaking, I believe we are all artists. Every single person breathes in oxygen and creates carbon dioxide; this is creation. The root of the word create means to beget, to bring about. This, I believe, is what an artist does. We create. It doesn’t matter what you make, but the act of creation is an act of artistry.

If this is true, our life is our art. Every day, we are living our lives and simultaneously creating them. Our thoughts, our actions, and the decisions we make all constitute our lives.

When I first began writing an artist statement, it was challenging to separate how I make my art and what I’m trying to say with my art from the day-to-day rituals and practices I have. For me, meditation, preparing my tea, and practicing yoga are all a part of my art-making process. The books I read and what I study all feed into my art.

I know so many artists who don’t think they are, but I know if they were able to break open the rules of what an artist is, they would be free to create what is in their hearts.

It took me a long time to identify as an artist, even though I’ve made art for as long as I can remember. Somewhere, there is a picture of me in a onesie, standing on my knees at the dining room table, coloring with a highlighter; I was probably two.

I found it!

In 2013, I had just left an abusive relationship and started working at the Red Door as a makeup artist. It was there I met the late artist John Casey. We became friends, sitting in the breakroom watching Courage the Cowardly Dog on his iPad and joking about all kinds of things. John had gotten his master’s in art, and I still remember someone carrying one of his paintings out of the salon.

Up until that point, I had never known a successful professional artist. John gave me the permission I needed to pursue my art. I would send him pictures of works in progress, and he would tell me to “keep going” or “that’s a brave composition.”

John and I began Julia Cameron’s “The Artist’s Way” together. He never made it through the book, but I kept going. In that book, I got permission to call myself an artist and a writer.

An artist makes art. A writer writes.

It is as simple as that. It’s about intention.

In August 2017, I left my job with the intention of returning after ten weeks, but in my heart, I knew I couldn’t go back. I went to La Muse, an artist retreat in the South of France, about twenty minutes north of Carcassonne. I had no plan, no income; I just knew I needed to do this. It was the first time I dedicated myself solely to my art and writing.

I was utterly terrified; I had never not had a job since my first job at 17. Before that, I watched my brother on weekends when my Stepfather was at work.

For the first time in my life, I didn’t have a “job.” It put a lot of pressure on my creativity. I wrote a lot, at least 2000 words, every day. I finished two paintings in my ten-week stay, which is a lot, considering most of my paintings take months to complete. But I was terrified; I had no idea what I would do to make money. I knew how to write but not how to be a writer (i.e., how to make a living as a writer). I knew how to paint but didn’t know how to make a living as an artist.

It’s been five years, and I’m still figuring out how to make a living as a writer and an artist. But that doesn’t take away the fact that I am a writerand I am an artist. I am because every single day, I take a small step in developing my craft. I write every single day. I may not make art every single day, but I think about the art I make every single day.

I wake up and view the world as an artist. I look for beauty in nature, in people who may not be able to see beauty in themselves, in the mundane.

If you desire to be an artist and take steps toward that aim, then you are an artist. It is that simple.

I’m in the process of developing an offering using the Gene Keys to unlock the genius that is within each and every one of us. If you’re interested, subscribe here to follow along. You can also find me on Instagram @alchemy_creativestudio.

I wish you well in all of your creative pursuits.

With love,

Margaret

Edited and updated, originally posted to Substack on 9/23/2022.