A few years ago, one of my student’s parents was commenting about someone she knew. She said, “You know how artsy people are? Well, she’s an artsy type. No offense. “ I smiled and nodded, but inwardly- I was thinking- Huh? No offense? What did she mean by ‘no offense‘?
I’d been called many things in my life- but I’d never really felt embarrassed until then. Words like flakey, ditzy, scatterbrained, and phrases like ‘out to lunch’, ‘march to the beat of your own drum’, and ‘ADHD candidate with no filter’ are pretty much an every day occurrence in my life. I’m not trying to be any of those things. I’m just me.
Recently, (prior to quarantine 2020) I attended a local soiree, and I was reminded of this discussion. The tiny house was bursting with amazingly creative people from all walks of life. There were nose-pierced drummers and bra-less dancers, serious faced poets and airbrush artists, cosplay costumers and flamenco guitarists, tatoo’d singers and photographers, architects and builders, dreamers, movers, and shakers… my tribe. My giant, artsy, music makin’, wine drinkin’, animal rescue’n, LGBTBQ’n, and everything else’n under the sky tribe. I can’t remember when I’ve had more fun or felt more accepted- for being artsy.
It took me some time to redefine words like flakey and scatterbrained. They are so often associated with artistic/creative people in a negative way- we come to expect it and accept it. But I actually get hyper-focused at times. When it comes to playing/performing/practicing music- I lose track of time. Dancing is so incredibly fun for me, I can’t help but move when I hear a great beat. I get very excited about being in the present- so I sometimes forget what was discussed 10 minutes ago. I enjoy things that aren’t mundane because they aren’t mundane.
The next time someone uses ‘artsy’ and ‘no offense’ in the same sentence, I’ll have to thank them for their kind words. Being artsy is something to be proud of. I, for one, will drink to that. Cheers!
Harp, Wine, and K9's 