Origins

What inspired you to become an artist? What keeps you going?

Honestly, I don’t remember the exact moment I “became” an artist — I think I just was. My dad likes to tell this story about how, at age three, I’d sit for hours happily drawing fish — just simple little shapes with a dot for an eye, over and over. It wasn’t about getting it perfect, it was just...joy. That kind of joy doesn’t leave you.

But being born with that spark doesn’t mean the journey’s been smooth. I’ve had my share of doubts, creative blocks, and those haunting “am I good enough?” days. Still, art has always been the one constant in my life. Even when I drift away, it patiently waits. Somehow, we always find each other again.

What keeps me going? The world, really. Right now, as I type this, I’m surrounded by objects that started as someone else’s creative spark — my books, my paints, the laptop I’m tapping away on, even this funky keyboard with the satisfying click-clack. Every corner of my little space is a quiet reminder of someone else’s imagination made real.

And that’s what I want too. I want to take all the thoughts, colors, and stories swirling inside me and offer them up — to connect, to contribute, to be a part of something bigger than just myself. I create because it’s how I understand and share who I am. I create because it’s how I love.