As an artist, people are always telling me how much they wish they could be more artsy. My standard response? You can!

What’s more, you don’t have to be born with amazing artistic abilities in order to enjoy art and creativity. For Millennials who are serious about wanting to bring out their inner artist and make creativity a part of their life, here are some tips to get started.

Process Over Product

If you’re not trying to make a living off of your art, then it’s more about the experience of creating than what you create.  If playing the guitar or drawing makes you happy, do it…no matter how “bad” you are at it.  And by the way, when it comes to art goodness or badness is all subjective anyway.

You don’t have to have an audience or let anyone see your sketches, so there’s no reason to worry about the outcome.  And do you know how you’ll know that you were successful? You feel good, that’s it.  If you enjoyed yourself, you should consider yourself a wild success!

Quiet the Critic

When we were kids it was easy to jump into a new hobby or interest because we knew that no one expected us to be any good at it right away.  But as we get older, it becomes harder and harder to take up something new; not only are we busier, but we’re more self-conscious and concerned with mastering new skills instead of just practicing or enjoying them.

The best thing you can do for yourself in your creative endeavors is to tell your inner critic to shut up.  You know who’s judging you most at that intro to pottery class?  You.  You’ll never enjoy being artistic or improve at it if you’re constantly criticizing yourself.  Let it be okay that you’re a beginner, who might make mistakes and keeps at it anyway.

Surround Yourself with Inspiration

Think of the artist’s studio – it’s a place of inspiration.  A painter might have a collage of pieces by famous artists and a spread of beautiful paints in their favorite colors.  It doesn’t matter what’s there, as long as it inspires them in their creative process.  Millennials would all do well to follow this practice and treat all of our spaces as inspirational studios.

You’ll feel inspired and creative if you’re constantly surrounded by things that you find beautiful, whether that be physical art works, songs, décor, flowers, or just colors.  Even history’s greatest artists sought inspiration from other artists and their surroundings, so you’ll be taking part in a long-standing tradition in the creative world.

 Anything Can Be Art

When we think of “art,” we usually think of paintings, music, sculptures, and things like that.  But really art can be anything in which you see beauty and take care to create.  While you might be hopeless with a paintbrush, you’re a dynamo in the kitchen, so make your dinner your art.  Put on music that makes you feel good, block everything else out and enjoy the way the ingredients look and smell as you cook.  Then take care in the way you put the food on a plate before you enjoy eating it.

Cooking or arranging the furniture or tending a garden all have the fundamentals of the artistic process.  It’s all about the way you experience these activities that make them serve the same function as doing a traditional art would.  If you love it and it requires your creativity, it is art and you are an artist.

It’s my firm belief that everyone in the world needs art – to appreciate it and to create it.  The problem is that many Millennials tell themselves that they simply aren’t artistic and so that world is closed to them.

When you stop believing that you can’t and just jump in with an attitude of art for art’s sake, you’ll be surprised at how quickly you can make art and creativity a part of your daily life.