Added Sep 20, 2015
The Inner Child
'Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up.' - Pablo Picasso
I have always found this quote intriguing. If Picasso was right, what did I manage to retain from my childhood that kept me from growing out of being an artist? Not an easy question to answer. Is it the inquisitive mind of a child? is it that feeling of awe, where everything is new? or is it that sense of adventure where even if closed within the constraints of 4 walls you still feel you are discovering the world? But let's face it, there are many other professions that you need to retain these attributes to be able to succeed. Take being a scientist for example; you definitely need an inquisitive mind, a sense of adventure while sitting in your lab and the enthusiasm of a child. And yet there is so much you need to learn that growing up is crucial. I think it’s the same with the arts.
I thought about this for quite a while and suspect that Picasso might not be completely right. Maybe every child has the potential to become an artist but is not yet one. In my case, I relate more to a different period in my life than my childhood. That period when you are no longer a child yet not an adult. Do you remember it? Do you remember that craving for growing up yet wanting to be able to play? I remember it clearly. A period when I was mentally and physically no longer a child, yet miles away from being an adult. I would look at my toys, which I was able to play with just a few months before, hold them in my hands and realise I had forgotten how to. Yet I tried and tried again which would lead to a sense of uneasiness that I repeatedly ignored. I remember clearly the need to recreate a world I no longer fit into; yet never give up in trying.
And that’s what being an artist means, at least to me, today.