From the article: Creativity: Do You Feel Guilty for Being an Artist?
Have you ever been made to feel guilty for your creativity, for being an artist or painter and for enjoying what you do so much, rather than working in a 'normal' or 'sensible' job? Have you encountered people who're meanly jealous of your creativity? Share your experiences and thoughts here. Share Your Thoughts
OCD
- Yes, my 80-year-old Mum still makes me feel guilty about everything! She has always been an Obsessive Compulsive spotless housewife which none of her four daughters have ever been able to live up to, even now! We just don't GET each other. When she comes to stay I get so stressed that I can't paint for weeks before and after the visit! I have trouble starting to paint unless I have tidied up the house completely, which is a job without an end. I am heartened by reading the blocks of other artists. I feel I have shared my guilt with you so now it has halved. Thanks!
- —Guest Susan Joy
People get Insecure.
- Yes I have been made to feel guilty about being creative. I have Dyslexia and something called dysgraphia, (learning difference) and apparently have those disorders make me extra creative then the average person. From the age of four I have always had a high interest in art and designing things; instead of playing with toys, I was mostly sculpting things, drawing and painting etc. I'm in university now and still continue. And yes people have been horrid to me about being creative, etc. But at the end of the day it's usually just jealousy and I've noticed that people have always tried to find faults in my work and complain about them. And then try to attempt what I do, but fail miserably. We all think differently and there's no wrong or right answer to what is art. It's a matter of taste and what is it that interests them. I've always been good at designing other things, I like Graphic Design, interior, photography, print design, textile design, pattern design. I have difficulty planning and organising, so I always visualise instead.
- —Guest Sarah
Not At All
- No, I do not feel guilty for being an artist. I worked hard many years ago and earned my B.A. in Studio Art, after that I went to art school. After working at many jobs, raising kids, and having no time to paint, I am now finally retired and can paint, when I can, that is. I have earned it and I savor every minute of it.
- —Guest Anne
Yes, It's From Their Own Insecurities
- I, also, have been made to feel the "guilt" of having creative passions... because when I am creating, it is a time of withdrawal from the usual, normal, everyday environment. It is time spent with my inner creator. And that is a problem for my husband, because it is time away from him, who had no creative drives to speak of. So... I have to choose and work my creative times around him. He feels like I forget about him.... which is a little hard to do, as we've been married for 19 years! But it makes him feel lonely, I guess, unless he gets involved with the TV and his love affair with the remote control! That's when I can create without feeling guilty! Glad to know others have the same problem!
- —backtoeden
Frequently
- Frequently. Most of my life I have been made to feel out of step and self-indulgent for painting and drawing. Still do. For years I did little or nothing in art because of this. And to a greater extent I almost always refrain from talking about it, but it is hard. This is my passion and I must keep it hidden.
- —StarrpointHost01
Why Would They Do That?
- Jealousy may be the motive. But they would make me feel guilty for being creative, only if I let them. I feel blessed for being creative. I can see something of me in my creations and I can understand myself better. I can see beauty sometimes in my work. I can feel frustration, fear, disappointment, but also joy. I am a fuller person by being creative. I make happy my family and my friends. When I see jealousy, I can ignore it.
- —Tony.Konteos
