I Believe that Everyone is an Artist

I believe that everyone is an artist.

 

Art has so many different forms. Art ranges from phenomenal paintings and sculptures that are preserved in museums, to the local paintings you see at farmers' markets. You do not have to paint or sculpt to be an artist. You can be a musician of any kind. Someone famous that goes on world tours, a street performer, and even someone that drums on their desk or sings in the shower is an artist in their own way. There is no level or grading for art. Art is there to make you think and express yourself. There is an art in the way that the leaves change colors in the fall and the rhythm of the waves on the beach.

 

If you were to look at me, you would not see an artist. You would see a girl with muscular legs and arms from all her time training for track and pole vault. People are often surprised when I tell them that I play the saxophone. I have been playing this wonderful instrument since sixth grade. I have become quite good. I have won competitions back home, played Christmas music downtown, and played in our school coffee houses. I was also a band kid, not the most popular thing for a high schooler to say, but I owned it. During my breaks at school, I would play duets with my band director in the lunchroom and I loved starting my days with the band as my first class.

 

I also play guitar. As my love for music expanded beyond playing the saxophone, I decided to pick up another instrument. I would not consider myself great at the guitar like I am with the saxophone. I play guitar for myself. I will sit in my cool basement and play to help me clear my head and relax. 

 

I believe that art is everywhere.

 

Not everyone is part of a band or art program, and some may say that they have no artistic ability. Even if this is deemed true, appreciating art is still part of the art. When walking around the great city of Boston I stop and marvel at the different types of architecture. There are old historic buildings where you can see the actual sites of history and the revolutionary war. You can also appreciate the modern skyscrapers with their physics-defying designs. You can hear jazz music coming from the local instrument store where the employees are enjoying a jam session. The graffiti on the sides of the building and the sculptures local artists have put up in parks are also quite impressive even to those who claim they do not like art. 

 

There are streets devoted to the arts. You have all the theaters and symphony halls along with studios and museums. Even universities understand the importance of their students having the opportunity to experience the arts. There are discounted tickets available for students to go enjoy plays, performances, and museums.

 

And while we appreciate and admire people that are “good at art”, that is not the main purpose. Art is supposed to make the creator feel something not just the approval of others. There are so many paintings, poems, and songs that people have created with no intention of others to view, read, or hear.

 

I believe that art is intended to make you feel. Whether you are the creator of the enjoyer. There is no science or exact format for art. You can feel or think without judgment. Just enjoy and look around at the art that surrounds you.