A Series: Emotional Art
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“Expressing myself” has, for many years, meant writing. Until recently, I’d put aside a true love of mine: drawing.
I always drew as a child. I let this hobby go as I grew older and felt I couldn’t produce a valuable, monetizable piece of work, so why even try?
In the interest of dissolving my perfectionism, I decided to start a little project. I would draw something every day. I would draw whatever wanted to be drawn, and let it be imperfect, messy, weird, ugly, or bad.
At this point, I’ve drawn more than a few pieces. Through this process, I’ve come to understand that creating simply to create is a beautiful, freeing act. It is a way of engaging with my inner child, who never cared for perfectionism, only her imagination.
It wasn’t my intention, but each time I sat down with a black pen and a blank lined page, what came through was not just art, but emotional catharsis—a visualization of all the emotions within me at that moment. So I decided to also write down all the emotions I felt while drawing or after completing the drawing.
The drawings are all just me—no preparing, erasing, fixing. Sometimes, I loved the result; sometimes, I didn’t, and that’s okay.
If you scroll down, you’ll find my drawings. I’m sharing them here because it’s a bit scary to open myself up to judgment from others, and also because I feel like posting them anyway. Maybe someone will connect to the drawings and the emotions I’ve identified with them, too.
Cheers, my dears.
Art by Meghan Ochs
Date: February 6, 2023
Title: “Untitled”
Emotional Descriptions: Haggard, Ugly, Unwanted, Deep Down
Date: February 11, 2023
Title: “Guilt”
Emotional Descriptions: I, am, ugly, confused, unsure, sullied, soft, soiled, sweet, saccharine, small, sad, sleepy
Date: February 11, 2023
Title: “Losing Control”
Emotional Descriptions: N/A
Date: February 12, 2023
Title: “Lonely”
Emotional Descriptions: Lonely
Date: February 13, 2023
Title: “Insecure”
Emotional Descriptions: Defeated, Dead, Sad, Morose, Longing
Date: February 14, 2023
Title: “Romantic”
Emotional Descriptions: Giddy, Crush, Satisfied, Full, Loved, Calm
Date: February 16, 2023
Title: “I am seeking a solution.”
Emotional Descriptions: Quiet, Death, Fog, Fade, Muffled, Scream, Danger, Police, Ouch
Date: February 16, 2023
Title: “Unworthy”
Emotional Descriptions: Time, Sands, Shifting, Ancient, Chest-Pain, Deep, Resounding, Breath-Ache, Lemon-Hearted, Heat
Date: February 19, 2023
Title: “Concentrating”
Emotional Descriptions: Gratitude, Confusion, Party, Energy, Stifled, Let Loose, ENJOY, Constrained, Wicked, Hopeful, Doubting, Anger
Date: February 21, 2023
Title: “Bliss”
Emotional Descriptions: Rested, Awake, Joy, Happy, Grateful, Content, Thrilled, Peace, Full, Sunny, Giddy, Exuberant
Date: February 22, 2023
Title: “Empty”
Emotional Descriptions: Warmonger, Thief, Hate, Sick, Lies, Lost, Hurt, Unforgiving, Lost, Hurting, Pounds, Weight, Feed
Date: March 1, 2023
Title: “Celebrate”
Emotional Descriptions: Joy, Timid, Calm, Peace, Spring, Bloom, Favor, Gift, Exist, Alive, Sweet, Free, Love, All
If you made it to the bottom, I appreciate you. <3