“Every child is an artist. The problem is to remain an artist once they grow up.”

— Pablo Picasso

When I was a kid and before I started taking art “seriously,” I would write and illustrate my own books on looseleaf and printer paper which I stapled together. Each of these I would add to my “library” which was a drawstring bag. I’d make library cards and give them to my family members for them to use to check out a book and read it.

Notebooks were also great for writing in. They felt more like “real” books rather than those I stapled together. One of the last hand written stories I wrote was on looseleaf which I put into a binder. My writing was becoming more “serious” when I employed my mom as my editor. There are bits and pieces of my writing that include her edit marks, haha. I never typed them on the computer because I would often write them in my free time at school. Plus, though not as neat, it was easier to write directly onto the paper than to print out the text. I still use notebooks or sketchbooks nowadays for “no pressure” free writing. In my Creative Writing classes we were encouraged to do ten minute free writing in response to a prompt. Similarly to a one minute gesture drawing of a subject, free writing helps to loosen up and just get those ideas out onto the page without them needing to be eloquently written, or as with drawing, without needing the lines to be perfect.

There’s something about being young and having no limits — like me just taking off and writing my own stories. I was so curious, creative and daring as kids usually are. I just love the free spirits of children. I’m reminded of the common question of “what do you want to be when you grow up?” The great thing about being a kid is that you can be any of those things right now in the imagination. As adults I think we can be afraid to imagine our true potential because of so called limits. Somehow, we feel more limited as adults because, for example, creating your own story is more complicated than simply stapling it together, if you want to publish it. There are certain standards that may appear as limits because they aren’t as easy, though not impossible.

If you are inspired to create or do something, just go for it. Skill will come with time. If you worry too much about it being “good enough” or appealing to standards right now, you’ll be hesitant to start. Pablo Picasso says, “Every child is an artist. The problem is to remain an artist once they grow up.” This has taken me a good few years to learn since I am a perfectionist with both technical skill and ideas. From experience, I’ve learned that I could spend two hours meticulously carving out a story scene only to later realize that that scene didn’t work with the plot. I’ve always found it hard to write what is truly a “rough” draft of a story, because I didn’t want to look like a terrible writer amongst my classmates who would read it. This is the same when sketching out compositions and character designs. It is still a work in progress for me to create fearlessly as a child. Though I am striving to let loose and just sketch and sketch and create what feels right. The beauty of art is that it is the expression of an individual. Through art I can imagine and be and do anything.

Enjoy a rare look into some of my first written and illustrated stories: “Frisby” and “Blizzard.”