An Introduction to Artistic Skills

 Hi everyone! This is a post which I actually practice in every day life and that I never shut up about in real life. I won't give away what it's about yet beyond the title, but here's a little introduction.

If you are like me, you have a burning passion inside your heart. One that practically calls you towards the arts. If you ignore it, you feel sad and irritated. Now, I know most of you here are asking: but what exactly constitutes as an art? How do I know whether I have the skill? And surely the most dreaded, I'm not artistic in any way.

First of all, there are multiple categories of art. These are:

• Visual Arts. When stating the word ART, this is what normally comes to mind. Such examples include painting, drawing, ceramics, photography and sculpture. 
• Literary Arts. This is the idea of printed storytelling, of which there are three types: prose (the story), poetry and drama (a play). This is the manipulation of words to create a new world.
• Performing Arts. These are the main three arts which one thinks of when discussing art (after the visual arts, of course): dance, theatre and music. There are various types of each, however there are too many to include in this list.
• Culinary Arts. Such examples include chocolate making, and cake decorating. These include manipulation of food items in order to make something both edible and artistically pleasing.
• Applied Arts. These include needlework such as embroidery, crochet and knitting to name a few, paper art such as origami, card making and parchment craft, soap making, and wood carving. These normally include the manipulation of certain materials to create something that is made to be looked at rather than used.
• Fashion and Textiles. This category does not fit into any of the above but is still considered an art, as it involves creation of various garments, the manipulation of materials to create something to wear.

As you can see, I did not mention ALL the examples of various arts. However, you can look up the category in italics and see whether your hobby or talent is there on the list. 

In my case, I am such an advocate for the arts that my schedule is full of the arts: applied when I do needlepoint, performing when I play the oboe, culinary when I cook, and of course, literary when I write on this blog, when I write short stories, when I try to plan out a novel etc etc. However, normally there is just one which reigns supreme in one's heart, although we may not exactly find the time for it. In my case, literature wins, especially prose. 

Now, what nobody tells you about the arts is this:

It's not all fun and games.

In fact, when you sign up for an artistic skill, there are certain minuses one must put up with. Once the initial honeymoon phase wears off, you are faced with some problems, even though you still love it. For instance, in my case, there are many moments in which I have writer's block. Or, in the past, I had to look up words from the dictionary. I had to read (which was fun for me but anyway). I have to plan before I actually write something. I've had to throw paper away (in the recycle bin of course) and start over. 

What I'm trying to say is that there will be moments when the art becomes too overwhelming for you and all you want is to smash whatever you use to express yourself against the wall and forget it ever existed in your life. I say this from experience. Many times I've given up on writing either because I did not have the time, a particular story wasn't working out etc etc.

The plus side? It's all worth it. 

The feeling you get when your work gets noticed and seen, even by a few people, is one like no other. Even just the fact that some people are at least seeing this blog gives me great satisfaction. So what I'm telling you is (as much as it is cliche), keep on trying. Even if you haven't found your artistic talent yet, keep on experimenting with art forms. Grab a ball of yarn, take a pottery class, look up valid online tutorials.

And if you have found it and are on the brink of giving up, do not just yet. Experiment with exercises if inspiration isn't hitting you yet. Take a break from what isn't working at that specific moment and unwind. Relearn how to have fun with it.

Thanks once again for reading my posts, and be happy creating!