An open letter: Have faith in your art

Dear You,

I don’t know where in the world you are right now, where your head is at or where your heart is, for that matter. I do know this, you have a gift that you may sometimes wish you didn’t have. Something deep inside of your heart soars when you take what is storming around inside your head and turn it into something tangible. Something that those around you can see, hear, feel – something they can experience too.

I am like you. I have been blessed with the burden to create and capture life’s moments. Sometimes I lay in bed at night listening to the voices that tell me I am deluding myself. “Your art doesn’t mean anything! You’re not good enough for people to care about.” The darkness is filled with menacing laughter. It reminds me that I am just some nobody from Australia whose art won’t make the world better. As the sun makes its pilgrimage back to my side of the world there is no one there to reassure me that those voices aren’t speaking the truth and so the loneliness fills my soul.

Wherever you are in the world you may be hearing that same laughter. If it wasn’t so debilitating, their perseverance would be something to admire. I’m here to tell you that they aren’t speaking the truth to you. Your art does matter. Your life experiences are worth translating into tangibility. There is someone out there who needs to know that it’s going to be okay.

Somewhere out there in that big, scary world is someone who sees your tangibility and thinks to themselves, “Maybe I’m not alone.” As artists that is our job. I need to remind myself of this every time I pick up a pen or paintbrush, every time I peer through the viewfinder looking for the perfect settings.

I may be some nobody from Australia whose art isn’t going to affect millions of people but I do know this: my art is going to give one person the faith they need to make the first stroke with their pen or paintbrush or take off the lens cap. Because I will keep fighting that darkness and they can too. They aren’t alone because we’ve been there and we are here for them.

Have faith in your art!

Artwork by Felicity Squire

Felicity Squire quit her job twelve months ago to pursue a dream in writing. She lives in a rural town in Australia that provides solitude and peace to write. Almost every Christmas or birthday gift she has received some kind of empty notebook.