Why it’s Important to Create Bad Art (and to Share It)
A guest post from Lorena, author of The Stressless Pencil
Welcome. If you’re new here, I’m a writer, new mama, and grieving daughter, exploring what it means to fully embrace the creative messiness of life. I share whole-hearted, weekly reflections to help us remember our shared humanity. Thank you for being here. 💞
Hello.
I write to you from a coffee shop in Chattanooga, a place that doesn’t quite feel like home, yet. Last week, my husband had to unexpectedly return to Kansas City for work so I am holding down the fort with little one and our dog Maya 🐾 for the next month.
Despite the turn of events and missing my partner, my heart is full of gratitude- for our babysitter who comes three mornings a week, for my sister who is staying with us when she can, for grandparents close by to take us out to dinner.
And for you.
This community is a place where I feel safe taking a step back when needed, publishing a day late (or skipping a week or month altogether), and honoring where I am with full transparency. Thank you for that gift. I’ve been overwhelmed by the generosity of others reaching out to collaborate and authentically share their time, talent, and heart.
This week, I’m honored to share a special guest post from
of where she shares creative prompts for happiness, a weekly guide to using art and creativity to manage the stress and emotional ups and downs of life. A bit like yoga or meditation, but with crayons 🌈✏Lorena is a creative mind dedicated to helping individuals manage life's emotional challenges through creativity. Originally from Germany and now residing in the serene countryside near Gothenburg, Sweden, she has also lived in London, UK, and Lyon, France, gaining a decade of experience in the fast-paced realm of online marketing.
Her personal journey from anxiety and self-medication to self-discovery through the arts inspired her to create the
—a tool designed to unlock your creativity and assist you in navigating life's ups and downs.Whether you consider yourself an artist or not, Lorena believes in embracing imperfection and having fun through creative expression.
I invited Lorena to write about the importance of making (and sharing!) bad art. The wisdom she shared was the exact creative pep talk I needed. 💗
“Art has a way of touching our souls, of speaking to us on a level that words often cannot. It has the power to move us, inspire us, and connect us to our innermost thoughts and emotions. In today's age of social media, art has found a new platform to shine, but it has also faced its own set of challenges. Today, we dive into why it's essential to create "bad" art and, most importantly, why you should share it with the world.
The Social Media Dilemma
I'm not sure if social media is the best or worst thing that has happened to art. On one hand, it’s a fantastic place to share your creations with the world, and to discover and be inspired by other people’s art. On the other hand, social media is doing to art what the movie montages of the 90s did to my expectations about mastering martial arts. It makes it look quick and effortless. We see 15-second reels of people creating stunning paintings of nature, montages of a few brush strokes coming together into a magical abstract painting.
The Illusion of Perfection
We rarely get to see the thousands of hours of practice the artist has put into mastering their craft. The experiments, the failed attempts, the botched canvases. Social media has also taught us that we must share every bit of our lives, including the art we’re making. We should start building an audience for it, get those likes and followers.
Of course, this makes us feel inadequate. If we compare our art to those masterpieces on social media, of course we don’t want to share it. If people are not going to like it, why should we even create it in the first place? Maybe we’re just not good enough, right?
The Power of Imperfection
NO! No matter how good or bad you might think your art is, you need to make it! A lot of it! Art is not just about the result, but about what happens when you create. It allows us to connect to ourselves and our emotions. Through creating without fear, we can:
Express Things Beyond Words: Art is a language of its own. It provides a means to communicate feelings and ideas that might be too complex or abstract for words.
Reach Inside Ourselves: It's a way to dig deep within ourselves and lay it all out on our canvas or into our sketchbook. It's cathartic and therapeutic.
Experiment and Play: Art gives us the freedom to experiment, to try on different styles, to play with colors, patterns, and shapes. It's in these experiments that we often stumble upon our most unique and authentic voices.
Feel Good About Ourselves: We can create art that makes us feel good, even if (we think) it doesn’t look good. It's not about external validation; it's about the internal satisfaction of creating something that resonates with you.
Embrace the Journey, Not Just the Destination
There's so much pressure to make things look perfect and Instagram-worthy. But there’s enormous joy and freedom in just making art for art’s sake. Not for building an audience, or monetizing it, or, in fact, to even show it to anybody. Art is about more than just the result. It’s about connecting to what’s inside and finding ways to express this on paper or canvas. It’s about the process. The Flow.
If you only create what you know will “look good,” you’ll never experiment, never try new things, never find that exhilarating moment where you dared something new and it worked. Remember, every masterpiece was once a work in progress, every great artist started as an amateur.
Share Your Imperfect Creations
So, don't let the illusion of perfection on social media deter you from creating and sharing your art. Embrace the imperfection, the beauty in the process, and the growth that comes with it. Share your "bad" art with the world because you never know who might connect with it, who might find solace, inspiration, or a kindred spirit in your work. And most importantly, share it for yourself, for the sheer joy of creation, for the freedom it brings, and for the love of art. Create, share, and let your artistic journey be an authentic reflection of your inner self.”
Thank you so much to Lorena for sharing these encouraging words. 🙏Please check out her newsletter,
and leave a comment with your thoughts below.My intention is to hold compassionate space for us to gently excavate our inner artist, together.
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Such a beautiful reminder that creating is art in itself and valuable