I would say I’ve always been an artistic person. I would doodle stick figure comics as a young child, and write passages about new adventures my favorite book or movie characters could go on. My mother took me to as many museums as I could handle, but it wasn’t until I had access to the internet that I really began to care about the meaning of art, beyond it being something to make when I was bored. Fandom spaces (online spaces for very dedicated fans of celebrities or pieces of media) allowed me to share my work and grow passionate about creating it, while also allowing me to branch out into general artist spaces and learn more than I was willing to from school or a plaque. Without this, I may have grown into the opinion that assigning too much meaning to art was “pretentious,” as most of my peers believe, and overlooked to sheer humanity in every statue, sketch, or painting.
Personally, I still consider myself an amateur even though I’ve been putting effort into improving since I was ten years old. I sketch without color, with simple pencils, and I write as much as I can bring myself to. Most of these works are for tv shows or video games that I’m interested in, so I occasionally share them online. I have tried my hand with clay sculpting a few times, as well; I recreated the baby from David Lynch’s Eraserhead, for example. I hope to publish a novel one day. Even if that never happens, though, ultimately I am glad for how art and caring for it has changed me.
