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Do You Make Art As An Adult?

purelambdaphi

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?

  • Does writing count in this context? I find writing stories to be very therapeutic, and even when I'm not writing, I'm thinking about elements for stories. I used to write a lot of fan fiction, but after having too many horrible experiences trying to hold down a traditional job, I decided to try and make it as an author. And, well ... I've just become a self-published author. Whether I'm successful or not, however, remains to be seen.

    The OP's idea of getting together with like-minded friends to create stuff reminds me of William Morris and the Arts and Crafts movement--which is a historical topic I find fascinating.

  • 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?

    purelambdaphi said:
    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'm an unemployed adult. I left school at 16 so don't have qualifications beyond GCSEs and I don’t have many friends so I spend most days at home alone. I struggle to imagine a future in the conventional sense. But honestly that’s why creating art is SO important to me. It’s my way of showing up in the world and saying 'hey look what I made, maybe I'm not as useless as I thought I was' (even if I'm just saying it to myself).

    I know I shouldn’t have to prove myself to anyone but sometimes it just feels good to know I’ve done something productive. It also helps when I am meeting people and they ask the dreaded "what do you do?". I feel a little less embarrassed saying I’m unemployed when I can say that I create art. I really don't believe anyone should need a job or a skill to justify their existence but making art does help my self esteem in that way.

    I really get what you said about the social side of creativity. I’d love to have a group of friends to share ideas with and just be creative together. I made an Instagram for my art at one point which I don't use anymore but when I did it gave me a sense of connection and validation.

    Beyond purpose or meaning though I do think that just the act of creating is very therapeutic. That alone makes it worthwhile even if no one ever sees it. Humans have been making art since the beginning of time so it's an intrinsic trait. To me creative expression in any form can never be a waste of time.

  • An interesting post.

    What is art?  I'm a photographer and I sometimes wonder whether any of my work could be called 'art'.

    What is the purpose of art?  You say that you could be wasting your time, but then does there have to be a destination, or can it just be the 'journey'.

    I suspect that for most of us the creative process is therapeutic in itself even if your work isn't purchased, seen or appreciated by others (but that makes it more worthwhile).

    There are lots of creative people on this forum (artists?) and here is the second thread I created for them.

    The original had tons of posts but was sadly deleted:

     RE: The new Forum Creative Space 

    purelambdaphi said:
    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

    Van Gogh?