Artists tend to be solitary workers. We get lost in our creativity and can go days focused on one project. With so much effort being placed on our art, most wonder what the endgame for that piece will be.
When we're creating, the hope and expectation is to show people and share with them our vision of something. Why else make art?
What If No One Sees It--Is it Worth Making
I came across a YouTuber who mentioned casually once that they don't like creating things that are pretty if no one's going to see them. Their example was bullet journaling. They didn't bother making artistic spreads in their bullet journal because what would be the point since no one was going to see it.
This also brought me to the times I've done art doodling for therapeutic purposes. I create them with no intention of sharing them when I'm done. There have been countless pieces of art I've made that I've just kept for myself. I bullet journal and play with the artistic aspect of it but also tend to keep that to myself.
Is any of that worth making then?
What about writers? How many books have we written that may never see the light of day? Was all that effort spent drafting and outlining a waste of time?
Art Feeds the Soul
I'm of the opinion that all art is worth making, whether anyone ends up seeing it or not. Creating art of any kind can be self-care and a boost to our mental health. It feeds something within us that calls for beauty and creativity. Sometimes, one may find they're unable to express themselves verbally and need to find an outlet for release. Creating art can be writing, drawing, painting, digital, clay making, building, knitting, designing, etc; it's all art. There are countless forms of art. Whatever way you can create, you're making art for yourself and perhaps for the world as well.
But if art feeds something within humanity, why not share it all? What's the point of keeping it to oneself?
I believe art is important. It's important for our culture but individually, it's important for our mental wellbeing. Whether no one ever sees our art, we should still be making it--for ourselves.
As writers, we grow and become better writers by...writing. As storytellers, we improve as we explore different aspects of telling stories by...writing. We can't grow unless we create a mess of work that no one will ever see and it's not a waste of time. It teaches us and we improve with each story we tell.
For years, before I started writing novels, I wrote screenplays. For who? No one. Myself. At one point, my best friend insisted on reading them so we read them together out loud but the intention was never to share them. It was an escape for me. It just made me happy to write and make up stories. If it weren't for those years of storytelling, I may not have had the courage to try writing books.
"The first draft is just you telling yourself the story." -- Terry Pratchett
Think of the raw, first draft of your novel. Chances are, no one is going to read it. The second or third draft, maybe but that first draft is usually the mess of you figuring it all out before molding it into a better story. Because of what it'll become, it's definitely worth writing either way. You can't get to the final manuscript without that first draft.
It's the same with every piece of art we create that no one sees. Each time we create, we're building skills and knowledge. We're also releasing a balm for our soul. Sounds silly, perhaps but truly, when we're making art, we're tapping into something within that allows us to turn off the world for a time and just be.
Should we create art no one will see? Yes. All the time. First, for ourselves and then for our art--that we may improve and grow. Then, lastly, we share it and hand it over to the world. And if that final step never comes to pass, it was still worth the time and effort placed in making something for yourself to enjoy.
Happy creating.
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