• the217
• Blogs
• All The Pretty Things
• Let go and just do the damn thang.

• RSS

Let go and just do the damn thang.

posted by Jean Kim at 10:25 pm.

• Bookmark & Share
• Comments (2)

I never truly thought of myself as a creative being until this past semester. I was always envious of friends who had tremendous talent in drawing, photography, poetry even – I dreamed of locking myself up inside a room and spending days splattering paint on canvases, whisking charcoal across paper and ending up with breathtaking, realistic snapshots of life. Having taken a handful of art history classes in my lifetime, I always sidelined myself and my juvenile artistic talents because I never thought I could create anything that was “right” or “brilliant.”

But I realized I had sidelined myself only because I never actually tried to create anything myself. I wasn’t brave enough to see what I had inside of me.

Upon receiving a set of acrylics, some brushes, and a pad of paper for acrylics from my best friend for my 20th birthday, I sought to release the moments of inspiration I’d accrued throughout my life. Things that people have said and have stuck with me throughout the years, the simple still life qualities of groceries in my bicycle basket, the way the lighting in my bedroom evolves throughout the day – even the way I do my makeup, whether naturally for day or dramatically for night…all of it is art to me, and I was finally ready to express myself.

The first question my Art History 115 (Art in a Global Context) professor ever posed was, “What is art?” I suppose that’s pretty much the standard guiding question for most introductory art history courses. And it’s that very question that I’ve come to ponder everyday. Art, to me, is not something that should be locked up in an ivory tower. Art should be for the people, and more importantly, from the people.

Thinking that my art had to be evaluated by “gallerinas” (yeah, I totally borrowed that word from Sex and the City’s Charlotte York) and deemed “worthy” is just what made me hesitate to make my own art.

I encourage everyone to pick up a pen and doodle on that receipt from Walgreens, or venture to Art Coop on Green Street and pick up a few supplies to get started.

The art I make isn’t necessarily for public viewing. In fact, the piece I started with my new acrylics is really personal. When I first started working on it, I was amazed at how freely my emotions and thoughts released themselves through the brush in my hand, to the paper. Even the colors I chose seemed to just flow from my deepest thoughts. I daresay painting is as therapeutic as yoga or meditative breathing.

Perhaps I’ll be brave enough to show the finished product on this blog sometime.

Jean Kim: Getting to know myself through the kitchen.