Do You Make Art As An Adult?

Sometimes I feel surreptitiously motivated to produce art.

I often class art as one of my SI's, but I mostly only appreciate art.
Historically, I've felt demotivated about making things in general likely because I feel like there being a social reward to doing so is in some way required in order for me to be productive in this way.
I frequently fantasize about having had a clos-knit art friends while growing up so we would show each other our OC's, collaborate on some sort of shared world, talk about narratives, etc.
Lurking on DeviantArt, YT, Twitter, etc. helps me vicariously live that fantasy by assuming the artists posting stuff there have lives of that kind.

Aside from the lack of a social component to the creative process, the idea of being a unemployed, not college-educated, friendless, likely futureless adult causes me to feel like I'm wasting my time whenever I try creating art.
Do you feel somehow like that too, or can relate to anything in my exposition?

Parents
  • I don’t make what some people might call art, as in nice paintings, misshapen sculptures intended to provoke or a beautiful wood carving. Anything I attempt to draw or paint looks like it has come from a P.2 Primary School class. However, I have enjoyed doing the odd painting when I used to have more time. There was something very pleasing and relaxing about watching the colours and shapes appear on a blank sheet, but I wouldn’t have shown it to anybody.

    I take photographs and occasionally I will be pleased with the odd one, although most of them are simply useful as a nice memory of a place, person, my dog or nature.

    As  has asked, what is art? Is art an accurate representation of something, is it beauty, or something meaningful? Does art have to convey a message, can it be appreciated as an original contribution by a human? Does the creation process bring meaning to the creator?

    the idea of being a unemployed, not college-educated, friendless, likely futureless adult causes me to feel like I'm wasting my time whenever I try creating art.

    I don’t think you are wasting your time as the art creation process has value in making meaning in your life. If, on the other hand, you want to do something else and art is getting in the way of that, you could make set times for your art and have time to pursue other things.

    I have felt a need to be productive in society for most of my life, as in contributing financially through earning money, paying taxes, and volunteering. I haven’t been successful all my life in doing this, and I have had periods of inactivity due to mental health issues and physical illness, but it was easier when my circumstances were different and I was younger. 

  • I'd love to be able to afford to do art, I'd love to get into textile art, I'm not very good at it though, my only real artistic expression was through hairdressring, I could make a really good sculture from the use of colour and cutting, using the persons head shape, hair growth patterns, thickness and type to fit in with what they wanted. Now my fingers have gone wobbly I can't do this anymore.

    I saw a piece on telly the other day about the Royal Academy summer exhibition and how they're including 2 or 3 unknown artists, I thought great, what could I do? Then remembered I can barely draw a bath and had a light bulb moment. Maybe I could do an installation, a bath tub with a pencil coming out of the tap, titles 'Can't draw a bath'

  • If you were a hairdresser, you are artistic, even if your fingers don’t work properly now. 

    Your idea of submitting an installation to the Royal Academy sounds great! Imagine, we could be conversing with TheCatWoman RA here! I’m half joking, but as you are artistic, you could well be talented in the art installation sphere so I shall be looking out.

Reply
  • If you were a hairdresser, you are artistic, even if your fingers don’t work properly now. 

    Your idea of submitting an installation to the Royal Academy sounds great! Imagine, we could be conversing with TheCatWoman RA here! I’m half joking, but as you are artistic, you could well be talented in the art installation sphere so I shall be looking out.

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