I am an artist!

Last night, I saw graffiti artist Nik Soupe painting live at a bar. I went up to talk to him and he was super cool! He was very humble about his recent fame as best graffiti artist in San Antonio. When he asked if I was in artist, I hesitated and started to shake my head no. My friend said "Yes she is." And I realized how quick we can be to doubt ourselves and not speak simple truths because it seems like boasting.

My mom and sister are amazing, professional artists. I didn't try even attempting art until college because I compared myself too much to them and felt like I wasn't good. In college I discovered how much I love art! I love drawing with charcoal, and attacking canvases with reckless abandon. I generally end up with art that has random things glued and painted.

Last week, in working with the community center in Dallas, I was giving my 2 cents to the education director on how to empower and engage her middle-schoolers. One of the things I talked about was that kids have the misunderstanding that to be called an artist, they have to be perfect at it. They think they have to be Picasso to be called an artist, Einstein to be called a scientist, and so on. I told the director to start de-bunking that notion by calling the kids artists every time they do art, calling the kids scientists every time they do science. The simple language shift can help kids begin to own and honor in themselves these titles they wouldn't have given themselves. And as I spoke with Nik last night, I realized I didn't take my own advice!

In the face of a fantastic artist, I shied away from claiming the same title as him for fear of comparison. I talked to him about this and he said "That never goes away. No matter how many people buy my art, even when I got the award as best graffti artist, I am still unsure. I still worry with every art piece if its good enough. What will people think of it? But you just have to do it. Do the art that you love." I watched Nik finish his painting, and was amazed at what he could produce with spray paint. I shook his hand before I left, and he said, "I look forward to seeing your art one day." That was a first for me, and the artist inside my soul blushed with pride. My name is Courtney, and I'm an artist!