I Am An Artist

I remember the people who told me..”Anne..you’re an artist..”
From artist friends to a woman on a street in Santa Monica I was walking past who suddenly pointed at me and said “YOU are an artist!” And my young daughter, Dakota..whispering to me as we kept walking “Mama…how did she know!?!”
I remember each one because for some reason that I’m beginning to understand now..I had a lot of trouble defining who l was. How is that possible to not know who you are?? Well that’s a story for another day. It has too many layers to explain in a post. But now I have people..students..experiencing the same kind of things I did with questioning if what they are doing is art and not understanding the struggle they feel and it is my honor..my duty even..to let them hear someone say to them..you ARE an artist and this is why this particular thing you are struggling with is being felt so hard. You are an artist doing normal artist things and this is why you care so much about what you are creating. It matters to you. It really REALLY matters to you.
You ARE an artist.
Pay it forward every opportunity you get. Reach back..help people discover who they are because for some reason we fight this idea of who we are even while everyone around us can see clearly who we are. The hardest thing I ever did as an artist was to believe I was one. Believe I did have something unique to say through my work. Believe in myself and my abilities to problem solve and speak my truth. It took time. It takes time but I remember the moment when I did finally accept this part of me and it wasn’t just a dream anymore or something off in the distance. It was me. It was right here. It was always me. And I was the last person to acknowledge it and believe it.

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