Drawing For The Artistically Impaired

I love art. I've always loved drawing, painting, sculpting and crafting. As a writer, the idea of creating something from your own imagination is something that transcends medium, the process of making something powerful out of simple supplies is one that has always thrilled me. Over the years, I've done many sketches, made various things with clay, I was even the Vice President of my high school's Art Club and participated in many events.

Yes, I love art with a capital "L." The irony? I am not an artist. I have been given many gifts, but the ability to proportionately draw a face is not one of them.

This used to make me so upset. Many of my friends are such talented artists and they constantly leave me in awe of just how talented they are. Some people can sit down and draw anything with the same comfort and skill I can write a poem or short story, and it both impresses and infuriates me.

I enjoyed art, sure, but why pursue something I clearly can't do very well? My lack of skill, at one point, held me back. But then, I decided . . .

I'm not going to make a career of sculpting, I'll never be an animator at Disney, I probably couldn't even hold my own in a simple class down at the Hobby Lobby. However, drawing was always relaxing to me. It was something that was fun. Isn't that a hobby by definition? Something fun and relaxing? With no pressure to perform well so long as it makes you happy?

For many of us venturing into adulthood, a lot of the hobbies we had as children are now becoming careers for us. The kids who took creative writing are now aspiring novelists, the girls who dug in the dirt for worms are now studying environmental science, even the boys who used to play 3 vs. 3 on the playground are working towards careers as professional athletes. In the process of finding a career, the line between what we do for work and pleasure becomes muddled. After all, we are all adults, and our proficiency in a field comes down to whether or not we have the skills to succeed. And since a lot of our careers were once hobbies, we've come to the conclusion that if we don't have the skills, we don't have time for it at all.

There is no law stating that you have to be talented to enjoy doing something. This world is full of people who make careers out of things they aren't very good at, and we have a generation of people brought up to believe that you shouldn't do something if it's not your forte.

Well, forget that. The world we live in is sad and hard, if something makes you happy, you ought to go for it, no matter what anyone has to say.

So what if you're tone deaf? Sing anyways. Two left feet? Do the wobble anyways. Write those bad stories, play that sport, even if you never score a goal or, if you're like me, can't draw a stick figure - don't put down the pencil. Let yourself enjoy the things you like; you might even hit on something decent.