A Case for Being Curious
Ep.58 guest Tait Preis, wasn’t someone who knew what she wanted to do. In her professional life she was a teacher and then a nurse. Right before Covid hit, she and her husband decided that it would be a good time to leave work and spend some time figuring out what she wanted to do.
During Covid, a large amount of her time was spent managing the home front (including remote education for her kids) but she also gave herself permission to NOT know where she wanted to go.
She gave herself permission to be curious. If she was interested in something, she followed it. End of story.
Put it to Practice
You don’t have to come up with a three page list of reasons why something is WORTH pursuing. You just have to start doing it.
For Preis, that led her to some Creativebug classes including with Erika Lee Sears and Lisa Congdon and she found the idea of daily painting.
As adults, it can be hard to give ourselves permission to truly explore. If we’re not careful, we kill ideas before they’ve even been able to fully form in our minds.
“That’s not real art.” “No one would buy that.” “I could never do that.” “People would think that’s stupid.”
Learning to trust yourself and giving yourself permission to pursue sparks is a huge part of learning to paint.
So the next time you hear yourself shutting down an idea around your art, try an experiment. This time, try it instead.
You might be surprised where it leads you and what you learn in the process.
Take a listen to Ep.58 The Art Habit with Tait Preis.