When I was in Grade One, I told everyone I knew that "I wanted to be an artist when I grow up". This was in 2008, 12 years ago now.
I started my art account on Instagram in late January, 2020, back when Australia, my home, was on fire and the threat of World War III was looming. Oh, how simple the world was back then.
The rise of the global pandemic has allowed me the time to work on my goals and passions set all the way back at the beginning of January, my new year's resolutions if you will. Here is the list I wrote paradoxically not so long ago, but what feels like forever ago at the same time.
2020 Goals
Generally,
Read more books
Make art that I’m proud of
Make clothes from scratch
Write more often
Perform at a high level in uni
Save up an emergency fund (lol if only)
Etc etc etc
The list went on for another 6 more goals, and then the specificities for each one, answering questions of why, how and when. I never thought I would be sitting here 7 months later with some of them untouched, but one really expanded out greater than ever expected.
The reason I wanted to “Make art that I’m proud of”, at the beginning of the year was ‘to expand my portfolio and develop my creativity’. I started by creating the tangible goal of creating two pieces of art that I was happy with for both January and February. And so that's what I did, and haven’t even considered stopping since. With the acceptance into Monash University in Melbourne to study Architecture, I had to buy the Adobe Suite for my classes, and that’s what got the ball rolling in terms of making art.
When I made this goal, I had anticipated creating physical pieces that I could hang in my room with paints, pencils and found objects. I never thought it would be through my computer screen, but that’s what ended up happening! From the first time I opened illustrator on my laptop, just to play around and see what I could make, to now having 10K+ followers on Instagram who love and support me in my digital art endeavors every day, my mind is truly blown. I have discovered that you cannot plan for what happens in your life, even when you set specific goals not too long before.
The world has changed so much in the past few months, with a worldwide lock-down, the anti-racism and black lives matter protests/movement, and so much more. Many of us feel hopeless and lacking control in this current climate, so we need to hold onto the things that the world cannot take away.
For me, this was creating art. It is relaxing, fun and rewarding; the perfect mix for a hobby. Find your version of this and run with it. What is that thing that you have been thinking about doing but you don’t seem to have the time, or just never get around to? Make time every day, or every week to put in the effort to do this activity, and watch your life change, grow and evolve as you learn to experience so much more. Hobbies are the key to a rich and fulfilling life, a life you wish you were living.
We don’t get anywhere if we don’t just start. I have been thinking about where I would be if I started this artistic journey a few months, a year or even 3 years earlier, how much I could have learned by now and how much further I could take this with that extra experience. I encourage you to get started doing whatever it is you wish to do, today! What do you have to lose? If anything, at least just work on yourself and your hobbies and see where it takes you, I’m sure you will surprise yourself.
Make your Grade One self proud and give in to the life you wished to live as a child, back when you were free do dream and create whatever you wanted. 12 years from now you will thank yourself for starting way back when the world was so simple!
~ Liz
*Go check out Liz's amazing graphic design work at @lizard.creations on Instagram! Her work is stunning!
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