​By the time we become adults, it can feel strange to publicly self-identify as an “artist” when so much of our time can be spent doing non-artsy things – working at your day job, for example, where you may draw on completely different skillsets that don’t seem related to your creative side. The way you fill your days today may look nothing like what you imagined as a child. Here are some suggestions for honoring younger you through your art and expanding your own identity as an artist:

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• Spend a day embodying your artistic side. Choose an outfit you could wear to an exhibition, a reading, or a performance, and go out on the town. How does an artist order coffee? How does an artist browse the library? How does an artist exercise, clean the house, or complete a boring errand? How would you, as an artist, spend a day not necessarily creating – but just living?

• Educate yourself about a movement, style, or philosophy that you enjoy. When you go out of your way to keep learning, you open up more possibilities for inspiration and to strengthen your intellectual foundation.

• Think back to the person you were at five years old. What were your favorite animals, colors, activities, places to visit? How does your inner child have a voice in the art you create today or the work you do to sustain yourself?

• Try a new medium. There are YouTube videos, tutorial articles, intro classes, and workshops for every kind of art under the sun! Whatever you do, give yourself permission to play, make mistakes, and have fun.​​