What Is Art?

I really admire kids.  I admire their carefree ways.  How they're able to create without thought or worry, but for the sure joy of the moment.  Colors splashed every which way.  Music notes on the piano clinked and clonked while belting a mismatched tune. 

That's one of the problems with growing up: The development of the inner voice.  The worry of imperfection.  The fear of making a mistake.  The joy of coloring gone.  Playing the piano must regurgitate the printed page.

Or maybe that's just me?  Too caught up in wanting to get things right, that the thrill of creation has been lost.  Too worried about pronunciation and grammar.  Too worried about not understanding drawing techniques or color theory to paint.  Too rusty on the piano that simply playing notes without looking at music is overwhelming.

We classify.  We analyze.  We overthink and control.  Add meaning where there may or may not be calculated thought.  We add confinements when there should be freedom.

But art is art.  Art is what we make it.  Art, whatever the form of genre, encourages creativity.  

We are beings born to create.

Color, Sing, Play, Dance, no matter who's watching, no matter what your inner critic is saying, no matter what.   Create.

"You can't use up creativity. The more you use the more you have." -- Maya Angelou

P.S. This post was published at 2 am, which is about when I try to schedule these ahead of time, and was written right after finishing an edit for a Creator's Playbook episode.  I've been thinking about this all morning.  Art is truly what you want to make it.  Art is what you value, in terms of the arts, regardless of the opinions of others.  Don't let anyone sway you.  For me, I want art that expresses joy, and I want to find joy in art.  I want to find joy in the creative process.