This has been a series idea for literal months, that i’ve played around making in diff mediums, but a public blog entry feels right in this moment 🙂

Disclaimer: This is a series specifically created for other folks living at the intersections of being racialized, working class, LGBTQIA+, neurodivergent, which are my own experiences. If you are not part of these groups but find something that resonates for you, that’s great! just keep in mind your meaning is not all the meaning there is/ is intended. I work to be informed by disability justice, abolition, decolonization, socialism/communism – and i still have a lot to learn from/about them

These are reminders for those of us who have loved art and artistic expression for as long as we can remember, but as kids/youth rarely if ever received encouraging messages from our caretakers at best, and were actively discouraged from seriously pursuing art and creativity in our lives at worst.

• Not being supported at such a tender and vulnerable age has the potential to impact you negatively through your later years, and the way that shows up is legit! Support this early in your journey is integral to your growth, like small seeds that need extra care to root.
• When there are no messages from caretakers you look up to telling you your art is worth while, worth putting effort into, and at worst actively saying it’s not worthwhile, it can set you up to internalize it and takes lots of work to unlearn
• It can be difficult to know how to show up for your own art if you haven’t directly addressed this hurt / adverse experience within and that’s okay. You were not provided with the tools to know how to. In a society where public schools are often under-resourced, and the arts are not prioritized, there are often no other spaces to learn this either
• Sometimes, our parents didn’t show up that way for us because they didn’t know how, because no one showed up that way for them. Working class people, especially black indigenous people and people of color, often have little option beyond prioritizing survival first, and our actualization second, third.
  • Acknowledging this might help a little, and it’s okay to feel the effect of your caretakers not showing up for you in a way that was important for you, whether that be through anger, resentment, sadness. Feeling your feelings and putting effort towards addressing the effects of this can be really helpful to your healing, and your inner child healing.

It’s ok to still wish you had gotten that support, if your inner child still craves that validation. And you totally can do the thing to heal all this by doing what might feel so hard to do – show up for your art, as often as you can. I have some guiding thoughts here that i hope are helpful for you too:

• Don’t beat up yourself about having a hard time showing up for your work, if you cant do it every day, or every other day, you can always try again the next day
• Make space to sit with what would have made you feel supported when you were young, what support feels like to you in the present, what has made you feel supported in the past, to name a few
  • How can you show yourself the support now that you needed back then? Some ways can be making sure to have extra $ to buy art supplies, picking a time of the day to (try your best to) consistently show up for your art. To ignore the little voice that tells you you’re wasting your time and “waste” your time having fun :), make “ugly” art anyways, resist the pressure to monetize your creative expression (though I acknowledge this is not always an option)
• This support goes beyond you too – think about what would make you feel supported by your peers, your friends, your loved ones?
  • Some things could be: being asked what you’re working on consistently, someone noticing your growth and what you’re interested in, and/or asking you questions that show you they’re genuinely curious; someone gifting you art supplies relevant to your work, or offering to take on a chore so you have more time for art making

If you figured this out already, on your own and/or from someone else, and have managed to continue feeling supported and held, give yourself and your support team a pat on the back cause damn! You are kicking ass by subverting all the bs

Find and keep showing up for yourself and the connections that make you feel held, seen, and connected in your creative work. Because your art and your love for art is worth it, because you’re worth it <3