✨ An Artist After All

Hello beautiful people,

I’ve been in India for just shy of a month now, and I can hardly believe how much has shifted in such a short time. When I first applied for this artist residency back in May, I was sitting in a little café in Pokhara, Nepal, fresh off the Sagarmatha Base Camp trek, with a clear knowing that my life needed to be full of creativity. 

I wasn’t yet ready to call myself an artist, though. I talked myself out of applying several times. The application asked about my art style, my mediums, and what projects I needed mentorship on. These questions made me nervous. Stepping into being an artist is one thing, taking ownership of and pride in your work is another.

This month has been about letting go of perfectionism and all the ways I’ve kept myself small. It hasn’t been easy, and I’ve been hitting a lot of resistance around my own ability to be seen and take constructive criticism where needed. My host’s daughter told me me to book a stall at a local market, and when she suggested it, my brain instantly screamed, Nope. Not ready. Too soon. What would I even sell?

I meditated on it and eventually told her I would do it. She smiled and said, “Good, because I already booked you the stall.” She had cut up some small pieces for me to make bookmarks and smaller sketches, and I laughed at her audacity, but I realized that I need people in my life to push me sometimes. I know it may seem like I’m always on an adventure, fearlessly getting out of my comfort zone, but it’s still a practice I’m working on daily. 

The creativity started flowing into everything. My painting, my writing (I even submitted some poems to a journal!). It was like a dam broke, and I’ve been getting around to finally editing some more YouTube videos from my travels that have been sitting on my hard drive for months.

Here is my latest one from camping in Slovenia if you missed it earlier this month!

I came here to nurture my inner artist and I am so glad I did. My host family has been incredibly welcoming, adopting me immediately. This week is a festival to celebrate the Hindu goddess Durga and they have shown me so many of their rituals and customs. I feel grateful to be able to be a part of it all. 

So here’s to showing up before we feel ready. To taking the leap even when the inner critic won’t shut up. To creating for the pure sake of creation, because our souls need it.

I hope you can make someone smile today (that includes yourself),

Holly x