Art Fears

We know creating your first piece of artwork or committing to a new creative project can be daunting. But we're here to help! Here's five 'Art Fear' excuses we hear ALL the time:

1.  "I'm not an artist." 
Many of the thousands of people in our community don't consider themselves "artists." They're here to contribute to a global project, do something creative and stretch their imagination when it comes to what they thought they were capable of creating.  We've had first time 'artists,' self proclaimed amateurs, doctors, teachers, mailmen/mailwomen and so much more. Stop worrying about the label and just create. 

If you got yourself this far, you must have SOME interest in creating. JUST START NOW.

2. "My book would be full of stick figures."
We literally hear this about 10 times a day.
Answer one is: so what? If you want to fill your book up with stick figures, just do it.
Answer two is: why not fill it up with a million stick figures, why not have your stick figures surfing through a sea of other stick figures, why not have every friend you know draw you a stick figure and then write a small antidote about them?

I bet deep down inside, you know you could make the BEST STICK FIGURE BOOK EVER!

3. "I don't have enough time to fill the sketchbook." 
Really? REALLY? As of the date of this email you have you have 178 days to complete this book. That's a spread every 10 days. That means you can work on a spread each Sunday for the next 16 weeks, be done before the holidays and pat yourself on the back for a job well done while sipping egg nog under the holiday lights.

Stop wasting time and start creating!

4. "I don't know how to make meaningful art." 
Can you tell a meaningful story? Can you find meaningful images in an old vintage book that you cut out and glue into a book? Can you draw a meaningful stick figure (maybe)? Stop worrying and put pen to paper. One of our favorite 10 year olds once told us, 'If you make a mistake, don't fix it. Just make sure it was part of it."

Make a mistake! 
  
5. "No one wants to see my work."
Oh, come on. Thats a sad way to view the world. EVERYONE wants to see your book! Thats why our library has hundreds of thousands of checkouts a year. This project is ALL about being inclusive. We use a democratic systemthat is not about skill, it's about content and tag words, (with a bit of randomness mixed in).

No one creates art that EVERYONE will love. Even famous artists have many #haters. The Sketchbook Project is about connecting with a stranger and leaving a moment of inspiration in their hands. At the very least, we want to see it! :-)

READY FOR A CREATIVE CHALLENGE?

Have more art fears? Share them with us on social media with the #cureforartfears