“Recently I had a horrible death occur in my life: someone threw away almost all my art” – a personal story by Lindsey Strehlow

Living as a creative is hard. And the non-creative world doesn’t get that.

They see creativity as a fun, exciting, childish thing. And don’t get me wrong, it totally can be. But it is also something that sets us apart from that world and makes us “different.”

Creativity is a feeling of something rushing through the body that puts me in almost an altered state of mind, making me hyperaware of the world, emotions, and situations. But at the same time I can look upon this feeling of hypersensitivity as an out-of-body experience, looking from a distance, able to discern truth and understanding. There are no words to accurately portray creativity; you merely have to experience it yourself. But often, I will “awake” from this state of creativity and see what I have created and am in shock that I have done whatever it is I made. After all, we should all blow our own minds once in a while.

As creatives, we see life in so many colors and experiences, intensely feeling every second of every day. As creatives, we cannot help but experience life at the maximum level of sensitivity. This quote by Pearl S. Buck describes it all:

“The truly creative mind in any field is no more than this: A human creature born abnormally, inhumanly sensitive. To him… a touch is a blow, a sound is a noise, a misfortune is a tragedy, a joy is an ecstasy, a friend is a lover, a lover is a god, and failure is death. Add to this cruelly delicate organism the overpowering necessity to create, create, create—so that without the creating of music or poetry or books or buildings or something of meaning, his very breath is cut off from him. He must create, must pour out creation. By some strange, unknown, inward urgency he is not really alive unless he is creating.”

In my own experience, I find this quote to be truly accurate.

Recently I had a horrible death occur in my life: someone threw away almost all my art, so many paintings and works.

Yes, true story.

I can always tell if someone is creatively minded when I tell this story because they say things like, “oh, that’s horrible; I’m so sorry.” But the people who understand and feel the death as I do are speechless; there is nothing they can say to fill the void. And it’s true; nothing can get those works of art back for me. Each work is unique and special and the importance cannot be described or replaced.

But I did decide to turn a horrible instance into a birth of beauty. I decided that my new portfolio would speak of amazing experiences that words simply do not accomplish telling; I want to portray to the viewers that we as creatives are not small, insignificant sections of society that can be pushed aside or done without. I want my art to be apart of bringing a community together, which is why my new blog now exists – to document this process and gather people together.

As artists and creatives, I think it is vitally important to support and care for one another, standing up for art, creation, and beauty. We understand that different does not mean bad or scary; that something new does not mean it’s dangerous. We see those things as opportunities to expand our minds and grow. Never let the weariness of life take that from you. As we continue to develop as artists, it is important to find people who understand us and who we also understand.

I have fought very hard in my life, as an artist, and through many struggles and two mental illnesses, to not lose myself.
I am me and that is a beautiful thing.

It has taken me a long time to learn to love myself, but it has been the help of people along the way, showing me that I could do it and trusting in me and my artistic ability to get me here. I’m far from perfect, but I am also a far cry from where I used to be.
So make sure that as you live your life, you have people around you who know you and you know them. They don’t even have to be creative just like you, but people who are willing to appreciate you for all your differences. That’s important. So let’s support one another and be there for each other as humans and as creatives.

That’s a world I would like to help create with art.

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About the Author

Lindsey Strehlow is an artist, child of the master of the universe, creative soul, and someone who is always learning. Living in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area, she traipses through life with her head in the clouds and her feet on the ground.

Although raised in Texas, she moved to Colorado for college and received her BFA in Studio Art with a concentration in sculpture. After Colorado State University, Strehlow moved to Stockholm, Sweden. Because why not? Unfortunately, living in a foreign country came with stresses that triggered some mental illness struggles and she made the necessary move back to Texas to be with her family.

Healing, time, and recovery processes have allowed for life to shift back to normal – whatever that is – and with that has come the creation of her new blog, Creative Souls, as well as new dreams on the horizon.

Connect with Lindsey:

Website: http://lindseystrehlow.com

Follow @lindseystrehlow