The Artist Beating Heart

For me there are two sides to being an artist, the assumed and the actual. For the assumed, I’ve often felt like as an artist I am expected to create art from pain or to share my bare, beating heart to the world in order to be taken seriously. As for how I see myself, I see a messy, creative, neurodivergent woman with a passion for escapism through art and am a huge proponent of animation. I feel most seen when people take an interest in my worlds and characters rather than seeing my art as “kiddish” or unnecessary. As a person with ADHD and anxiety, feeling overlooked or misunderstood has made things difficult as an artist, especially when the art world feels so rigid and serious. This project gave me an outlet to address both of these sides in a meaningful and self-fulfilling way.