Life Inspires Art

Not the other way around. 

Art itself can be inspiring, but it can’t drive your life. 

Your art can’t inspire your life. Sorry. 

This is something I used to swear by. I used to say that my life revolved around art and that I was so happy it did. I had tricked myself into that because it was all I had ever known. 

But, like anything, as time went on, it got old. The well of inspiration I was pulling from was running dry. And I was in a rut. 

I can’t tell you exactly when it happened because it has occurred 100 times in my life. 

One of the first times I was aware of it was when I was a sophomore in college (I’m 24 and out of college now). I had just gotten into the Interior Design program and it was filling every ounce of my time. I was literally in love with it. I would wake up every morning SO excited to live my day. It was beautiful until I started seeing everyone around me having so much fun outside of their schoolwork, but I was finding it in my work. And I promise you I was empty; even if I thought at the time I was living my best life, I wasn’t living at all. I remember going to the studio on a Friday night to work on my studio project and I was so upset because what life was I living? I wasn’t! 

So, I made a change and began saying “yes” to social things and setting better work-life boundaries. My life, projects, and memories all greatly improved, and I stand by that being the best semester of college ever. 

But then COVID hit, and it kind of ruined the vibe, to say the least, and I forgot what I had learned. After a few months, I moved back to my college town, and I met a friend who challenged me to live my life and create art. She was carefree, fun, and a beautiful spirit I owe much of my creativity to. We had the best summer of our lives. 

Then school started, she moved, and I tried to implement what she had taught me into my other friendships, but it was very challenging with COVID. I fell into the workaholic mindset again. 

Then again, the next semester, I got a job at an art studio. I was leading the set design team and taking a bunch of fine arts classes because I began to change my mind about interior design. I was having so much fun again working, but looking back, what I remember most are the nights with my roommates and the social things we did together. I have fond memories of both working and social outings that semester, but when the year ended, I was, again, empty because I had poured my life into school and work, and those things came to an end. 

I think you’re probably starting to see a pattern. I could keep going of all the times I had to relearn that living life inspired my art, but I think you get the point. 

Right now, I am in a unique situation where I live in my childhood home with my mom, in a town that I really dislike, where I don’t know a soul anymore. I am constantly working my small business, trying to grow it, but once a week, I burn out and feel like quitting. The issue is, I know exactly why: I’m not living my life, I’m not socializing, because I simply don’t know anyone here anymore. I call my friends who live in other towns, and I try to make strides to move out, but it’s just that quarter-life crisis most people unfortunately live through.  I am living proof, and I will shout it from the rooftops - YOU NEED TO HAVE PEOPLE AROUND, YOU NEED TO TAKE BREAKS AND DO THINGS OUTSIDE OF YOUR ART, AND YOU NEED TO LIVE YOUR LIFE. 

YOU HAVE TO LIVE YOUR LIFE IN ORDER TO INSPIRE AND DRIVE YOUR PASSION. 

I actually can’t stress it enough. I think there is so much beauty and so many amazing fruits that grow from doing art; do not get me wrong there. Without art, my life would be so different. But I’m also not going to sit here and say, “Without art, I don’t know who I would be.” because that is false. I don’t let art drive my life anymore. 

Maybe you are finding yourself in a situation like mine, and you don’t have a great in-person circle around. Here’s what I have been doing to help live my life: even though I am alone, I call my friends a lot, I try to stay up to date on current events and pop culture, I go to the movies on discount days and get myself a nice large popcorn (who am I kidding, I’m broke, I get a small but still), I try not to work the entire day, I go for walks, I journal every day, I envision the life I want so I know what I am working towards, I get out of the house when I can. But, most importantly, even though it is really difficult right now, I try and stay positive and remind myself art isn’t going to inspire my life. Only I can inspire my life with what I consume and who I am around.