By Aliza Flug, Layout Editor and Social Media Manager
Many people assume that people who are art majors have magical artistic abilities or talent. When people think about art, they often equate it with drawing or painting, neglecting non-traditional art forms and not giving them any consideration. For most of my life, I thought the same way.
Growing up, my hobbies would come and go in phases, but they were consistently art-centered. At the time, however, I hadn’t viewed most of them as art at all, and because of that, I never considered myself as someone who was good at art. Looking back, I realize that art started creeping into my life through these hobbies, and they are likely the reason I fell in love with it.
One of my longest-running passions was baking and cake decorating. I began to bake at age 11, and I continued to bake throughout most of middle and high school. For me, baking was more than a means of producing desserts. What I enjoyed more than anything was getting to decorate desserts and create art out of edible materials. I would spend hours on end in the kitchen, mixing a plethora of icing colors, sculpting flowers out of fondant and dunking things in chocolate.
Over time, baking became more than a hobby; it was my pride and joy. It was how I expressed myself. It was a coping mechanism. Baking was my everything. When I was stressed, I would bake to take my mind off of the stress. When I was excited about something, I would bake for the occasion. When I just needed to relax and unwind, I would run to the kitchen.
But that does not mean that baking was always easy for me; it became time consuming and taxing, and eventually, I lost my passion for it. There was something in me that still wanted to create art, but the thought of sifting sugar and scooping cookie dough didn’t excite me anymore.
Then, I started gravitating towards other forms of art and found different modes of creative expression. I learned to sew, then to crochet. I practiced painting with watercolor and taught myself to play the ukulele. I attended a few ballet classes, and learned to make cold process soap and candles. I can’t say I mastered any of these things, and for some of them, I would probably be exaggerating to even call myself a beginner. But the goal was never to master these skills. I simply needed a creative outlet, and in them that is what I found.
Creating artwork, in whatever form, allowed me to express myself in a way that words never could. I have always had a hard time communicating ideas and feelings verbally, but through my artwork, I can speak my mind and release my feelings onto a canvas, paper or cookie. For so much of my life, art was more than a coping mechanism; it was a survival instinct. Creativity is how I keep myself going. Even now, though I rarely bake, the times that I do remind me why I fell in love with it.
Not everyone feels the same about art and creativity as I do, but for me, creating artwork is so much more than a hobby. It is an essential part of human living. If I spend too many days without creating any artwork or expressing my creativity in some form, I start to feel a void in my life. There have been so many times where I wished I could have been crocheting or drawing instead of sitting with my thoughts.
Coming to YU, I had no idea that I wanted to study art. I never thought it would be possible for me to make a career out of something artistic. Once I took my first art class at Stern, I met people with the same interests who showed me that I am capable of making art that I am proud of.
Through my art classes, I learned skills and techniques that allowed me to improve my artwork. But more importantly, I learned to accept my artwork despite its imperfections and be proud of the effort I put into it. When I create art without the pressure of the end result, I am present in the moment and enjoy the process of creation more.
It was not long after I took my first art class that I realized that this is what I wanted to be doing for the rest of my life. Art may not always come easy to me, but I have come to realize that it is more than simply a hobby. Although I wasn’t born a natural artist, the things that are meaningful in our lives often require hard work.
I may not know what the future holds, but I do know that despite the challenges, there is nothing else I would rather pursue.