Why are we afraid of sadness
We masquerade happiness because
Sadness isn’t pretty isn’t satisfying
We celebrate some kinds of suffering
In violent films, horror, doom scrolling
The chemicals in our brain that react
To fear and comedy are very similar
If I tell myself to be happy will I be
If I am happy what am I telling myself?
Good Morning everybody! I apologize for the late post. It took me some time to figure out what exactly I wanted to write about this week. It has been very difficult for me to start a new piece, and more difficult to allow myself to get back into my art again. I have a very bad habit of putting my entire life on hold when there is an academic goal that I am pursuing. As a pre-med student pursing a career in surgery, the passion for pushing myself and overachieving is intimately intertwined within my day-to-day. However, I have learned the hard way the importance of balance. I have been trying to extend myself compassion and love and allow myself to prioritize what brings me solace. My art has always been my cathartic release. It is the single most important thing for my mental health. Then why am I so good at foregoing it?
Junior year has been very trying on me academically, especially with the incoming panic and excitement of medical school applications. I stopped art for well over 7 months. The last piece that I completed, Payal, was in June 2022. In my mind, I had to put every ounce of energy, every waking minute, into my studies.
This. Completely. Backfired.
Not only did my performance and studies suffer, but I also completely lost touch with my friends, my life, and most importantly, myself. It was a really good wakeup call for me. Scientific research demonstrates the lasting and overwhelmingly positive impact that activities such as exercise, music, and art can have on all facets of life. Objectively I know this, but am very bad at putting it into practice.
So, after a 7-month hiatus, I have finally started a new piece. This is my to-date magnum opus, my biggest piece yet. I have some other ideas and next works percolating in the background, but for now I am devoting all creative energy to this work.
Excited to hear more about the piece? Tune in next week where I will give more history on the composition. Quick hint: It has to do with the Bhagvad Gita. As always, if any questions or thoughts arise, please comment or reach out to me!
Until next week,
Riya
Instagram: @riya_agg.art
Portfolio: https://theindianartist.weebly.com/
Sorry for the late post, this week I decided on boats as my main theme – I just like them 🙂
So there I was, playing mobile games like a loser at 1:59am that fated Daylight Savings evening. I was deluded enough to believe that I was gaining another hour, that time would move back for me – but I could not have been more mistaken. It was a moment of downright shame as I watched the clock jump from 2 to 3; I had been successfully navigating independent adulthood until that very moment. I let myself slip, I forgot. Of course, it’s not that serious, but to that tired version of myself, it felt like life or death. After sleeping off the silly mistake, I realized that I was not the only one who forgot or didn’t remember how the time change worked; maybe I am a proper adult after all, I thought. It’s fine that I forgot. I can just sleep early the next day. It’s funny how serious things can be taken sometimes. Have a great week everyone!
Although I didn’t finish this piece, and I’m not very satisfied with it, I still wanted to post it. It’s based off the lyrics of “Human Fly”, a song by The Cramps. At least in the way that I interpreted it, the song describes a man who sees himself as a human fly, a pest, with a “garbage brain”. I wanted to personify the song as a man, one dealing with a lack of motivation and inner turmoil. The shading/coloring is still quite unfinished, as I ended up just not knowing where to go from where I was at. This semester, my workload for my classes has been significantly more than it was last semester, and I’ve been struggling to try to create art consistently, especially as the things I want to create art around seem to shift faster than I can keep up with. Work, in my opinion, can be one of the most effective killers of creativity and passion, and I hope to find more time for art in the summer.
