There's an artist in everyone...

I'm a terrible musician. I can't carry a tune to save my life. I'm totally tone deaf and as a result I'm the one person at Karaoke guaranteed to make everyone feel better about their own singing.

This wasn't always the case. As a kid I was part of the school choir and I had private singing lessons that helped me improve. I took band as an option for one year in Junior High, learning the basics of playing a clarinet. And if you give me a guitar and about 20 minutes I'll remember how to play 'House of the Rising Sun'.

It's not that music completely eludes me. I know, if I was passionate enough about it, I could probably be a really talented musician. But I'm not passionate about it and a lack of 'natural' musical talent doesn't bother me.

A self portrait
I didn't wear my glasses so I had to practice
going by shape alone

Now, I have met a few people who are naturally very talented at playing instruments or writing lyrics, but most of the musicians I know have had to work really hard at it. Music is hard work! All creative pursuits are.

Yet there's this strange belief that I encounter again and again that, despite having any proof to back it up, persists in the minds of those who hold it. It's this belief that people are born artists. That an artistic person has some inherent ability to draw or sculpt or paint or sing or write lyrics etc. That creative talent is something you're born with and if you weren't well, sucks to be you, there's simply no hope.

This sort of belief baffles me because saying, "I can't draw so I'll never learn" is like saying, "I can't speak second language so I shouldn't bother learning one." 

Artistic talent is not a personality trait.

It's a skill.

No one is a born architect or surgeon just as no one is a born dancer or portrait painter. There are exceptions - there always will be simply because there are so many people on the planet - but the nature of an exception is the rarity of it. Even those with a supposed 'natural' talent will struggle in some aspect. We all have room to learn. But it's less that we have room to learn and more that we have the capacity for it. Learning is a never ending process and something we all have a talent for if we put our mind to it.

All you will gain

This week marks several new and exciting developments.

1. I've handed in my notice and as of the end of February will officially be available as a full-time Freelance Graphic Designer.

2. I'm now currently studying psychology part-time through the Open University.

There's a comfort in having a routine, even if it's one which leaves you dissatisfied or unfulfilled. 'Better the Devil you know...' and that sort of thing. Hugh MacLeod over at GapingVoid published a great cartoon about this. I'll wait while you go have a look-see...

Back? Brilliant.

So, it's all very well and good doing the same things over and over because:
1. That's the way the world works
2. We all have to take responsibility and work isn't/shouldn't be/can't be fun
3. If you're good at something you should persist, even if you don't enjoy it
4. We all have to make do
...and so on.

I think it's all a bit pants.

2013 marks my tenth year since graduating high school. In those ten years I've worked in the not-for-profit and charity sector almost exclusively, with a few tangents into retail, restaurants and, gloriously, being an animator.

I assessed the many roles I've had and my favourite bits of any of the jobs I've done. I've got a strong work ethic, excellent organisational skills and an abundance of enthusiasm - all skills that have helped me immensely in any job I've done.

It's my love of the undiscovered that has always produced my best work. I love figuring something out, finding solutions and creating something that works. For this reason I set up a not-for-profit organisation to support gay, lesbian, bisexual and trans youth find sustainable safe spaces. Once it was established and it reached the point of general operation, I was ready to move on.

So it was with my work at Pancreatic Cancer UK, a two and a half week temp job that turned into a two and a half year permanent position involving project management, staff training, system development, marketing and design. There was so much to do to make it work and I was able to tackle multiple problems and develop successful, long lasting solutions. Once that was done though it became day-to-day maintenance and I was, once again, looking for my next opportunity.

I don't think it's ever too late to retrain, although I don't actually feel like that's what I'm doing. I feel more like I'm shifting my focus from one skill to another. I'm taking all my passion, enthusiasm and imagination that has helped me successfully develop websites, write policies and procedures, or set up data entry systems, and looking at it from the perspective of Designer, instead of Administrator.

The brilliant thing about graphic design is that every project is a new problem that has to be solved. How to brand a company that works with inner city youth? How to brand a product that is being marketed to 30-somethings? How to make a logo that clearly conveys a professional but fun organisation?

I love it, entirely, because every day is different and every day my skills are becoming more and more refined. I am not stagnating and I'm not bored - two states I simply cannot tolerate. Instead I'm switching tracks, changing directions, and starting to build momentum. I've no idea where it might take me but I can and do think of all the possibilities and that is what makes it worth it.