Recently I read a tweet reshared by someone that went something like this: Your art doesn’t have to have a deeper meaning or tell a story to be valid.

Hmmm…my eyebrows lifted a bit. Do I agree?

Well, yes, I agree that your art is valid.

I get that the tweet/statement is meant to help free someone from the fear or hesitation that prevents them from creating art. I get it. Sometimes we need to give ourselves permission because we don’t feel worthy, or we don’t like to feel vulnerable. Creating art, whatever your medium may be, can be very personal. I believe it is important to give yourself permission to create and to accept that not everything you create is a ‘masterpiece’ nor does it need to be.

Your art is valid because you are valid. Period.

What’s the first thing we do when we meet/spend time with someone new?

We trade stories.

It’s how we communicate and connect.

The story and meaning behind your art have nothing to do with it being valid.

Art will always hold meaning and tell a story. As sure as your hand is placing pencil, ink, or paint to the page(or iPad), the story has begun to write itself. We are human, we are storytellers, and the art we create tells its own story.

The art we share may resonate with an audience and then, in that way, it becomes part of another broader story. There’s no beginning, middle, end… there are threads, woven into an unending tapestry of stories within stories.

So just know that your art is valid, no matter what. Don’t worry about the storytelling and remember the story art tells is as long and varied as the world itself because that’s its beautiful purpose.