Sofia Sciortino

A coffee a day keeps the sleep away, or so they say. This piece is meant to highlight the life of an artist and their struggle to maintain a healthy lifestyle while working towards their goals. From personal experience, it is difficult to maintain self-care while pursuing your goals. The room is covered in clutter, predominantly empty coffee cups and tea. Caffeine is a dangerous motivator which sometimes fails, and eventually, exhaustion overtakes you and prevails.

The Lives of the Modern Artists tells our stories. In the 16th century, Giorgio Vasari wrote a series of biographies on artists in his lifetime known simply as ‘The Lives’ (Italian: Le Vite). When reading this text, I came to the realization that these artists were no different than us. Now, in the modern age, it is our turn to tell our stories; the good and the bad.

Art has so many components. Line, shape, colour, texture, form, and value. Often, an artist will sit at their drawing desk and revise an idea over and over. Then, at the end of it all, you are left with nothing but a blank page. My goal was to portray a sense of defeat as the character works through an artistic problem. The overwhelming pile of crumpled papers towering over her is an exaggeration of the domination our failures have over ourselves. Even if the ideas do not fall short, we are our own biggest critics, and it is important to persevere over our anxieties and make art for the love and passion we share.

As long as I can remember, I was an artist. In childhood, art comes so easily. There are no limits to their creativity. I recall days of spending time at my grandmother’s home where I would do nothing but draw, flying through stacks of printer paper and waxy crayon scribbles. I would make stories and illustrations to accompany them. It was so easy to look at a blank page and see the magic hiding within it. As I’ve grown older and become devoted to my career as a professional artist, so much more thought goes into art. Blank pages are intimidating. While still full of potential, it takes a certain amount of bravery to unlock.

When you look up in a sky full of stars, you find your eyes drawn to the brightest of them all. But when you look at a sea of people, which ones shine the brightest? It is so easy to fall into imposter syndrome. The feeling of never living up to your own expectations. It is such an immense fear that consumes the best of us. This piece reflects on the feeling of perceiving oneself. Your goals, passions, and accomplishments, starring them in the face and confronting them. While one may be spilling over with passion, there will always be a looming feeling of inadequacy.

The starving artist is a common trope conveyed in narratives around an artist’s life. Most times starting out in the art industry is difficult. Art begs to be perceived. Trying to ‘make it’ is like going unnoticed in a room full of passing-by strangers. But in the end, it comes from one’s heart. Art will never go away because passion will never go away, even when it goes unnoticed.

The joy of yellow mixes with the most ferocious red. While a love for creation brings great happiness, it can also bring great anger. An artist works so tirelessly perfecting their craft that sometimes rage blooms in the trials. Yellow joyous creation and ferocious red tribulations create orange reflection, defeat, and frustration.

Passion is a warm flame within us all. Like a candle we are lit, eating through the wax as the wick grows shorter. An artist is a candle burning down through the wax of tasks, work, and creativity. But a candle can not stay lit forever. An artist’s work takes creative energy that when overworked can result in burn out. When pushed to the limit, one can only burn so long before the flame dims and disappears into hot melted wax. That is, until the spark returns and burns just as bright as before.

The looming fear of artificial intelligence keeps us all up at night. In recent years, this work has begun to assimilate into our everyday lives. It begs the question: why do we need artists when a computer can work faster, cheaper, and with ease? These stolen artworks are moulded together to create the picture-perfect scene while missing the love, care, and attention of the artistic mind.

Working through this project, I did a lot of self-reflection. I paid close attention to my own feelings as well as my peers and their thoughts, fears, and ideas. But as I reflected, I realized that creating is my calling and my role in this life. The simple act of picking up a pen and fabricating a whole world is my purpose. While the work we do is not easy, it is an unconditional love that feels indescribable. While I have found myself grasping at the stars that seem unreachable, this limitless passion is something I could never trade for the world and will never let go of.