Present your work to the world.
We are emotional beings capable of understanding or, more often than not, misunderstanding them. Do you also struggle with things that cause anxiety and low self-esteem, making you doubt your abilities? Do you also find it challenging to describe your feelings and emotions and tend to misunderstand them in others?
Let me tell you how I let the world into my “living room” by showing my work.
Turn your personality traits into inspiration.
I’m nowhere near a guy who parades around on a stage or randomly dances on a table. If that wasn’t enough, my self-righteous personality destroyed my confidence. So it seemed better to shut out the outside world. I got some sketchbooks and started experimenting with painting, but I only showed these works to certain people. In the post-socialist Eastern European country where I grew up, a well-paid job was more important than our skills. This mentality led to a new but unfulfilled career; however, I did some paintings in my spare time. But as I moved up the corporate ladder, my time devoted to art wholly eroded.
Leading a team of 45 employees of different cultures and with high fluctuation, I worked with hundreds of people. I learned a lot about human behaviour and motives.
I was a perfectionist, so of course I pushed hard to be successful—a huge imbalance that was slowly but surely eating away at my soul and leading to burnout that I ignored. Since I could do nothing, I could barely exist. I felt utterly empty.
For the first time, I asked for professional help and set out to rediscover myself by defining my new values.
My first painting after my burnout, "The Route" 2021, acrylic on canvas 60 x120 cm
Get back to your roots.
One day when I was talking with a friend, I heard a story about his uncle who unfortunately committed suicide. He also had no chance to embrace his skills and interest in the arts. He did gruelling work just for money before he ended his life.
As an empathic person, this story really hit me. I decided there and forever that my path in this life would not be the same. I don’t want to end up saying, “I didn’t live life the way I wanted to by embracing my abilities.”
That’s when I dusted off my old sketchbook and started to add new ideas to it. Some pages contained only a few words describing my idea. On other pages, I managed to write entire stories with detailed sketches. Topics in psychology that explore the depths of the human mind and the complexity of human experience became my main subject.
And, what a coincidence, I lost my job for the better.
Sketching my ideas, this one will be called "Devil or Angel" to be painted
Find your medium.
Canvases started popping up everywhere in my home, slowly occupying the available space. I began to enjoy every step as acrylic paint began to show my subconscious hidden world. A world where the possibilities of human imagination are unlimited. I designed these surreal creatures by connecting nature with our technological world. And I started to discover those hidden meanings and connections of psychological themes.
Time was about to come to unlock that door and let my work and message be sent out.
Value your experiences even if they feel wrong.
I learned that perfectionism as a weakness led me to burnout. But in a controlled way, it is a strength that can help me to turn my ideas into paintings. This is the controlled perfectionism that moves my hand on the canvases with the brush strokes. And the hard lessons learned inspire me to continue my journey and let these ideas take shape.
Your problems are not unique to you.
Were my problems unique to me? Unfortunately, the answer is NO… During my recovery, I realised that many more people struggle in silence. In the age of communication, when only the most important words are not spoken. That is why, using the power of art, I strive to draw attention to issues affecting our mental health and well-being and encourage our awareness, empathy and understanding of others. My goal is to create a space for self-reflection and self-discovery where you can connect with your emotions. Where you can understand others to develop a sense of connection and contribute to a world where mental health is valued.
Give what you have. To someone, it may be better than you dare to think.
Enjoy the journey to the subconscious world.
And here we go; you read this blog post, so that door has been opened. What about yours?
