I Believe, Therefore I AM
Maya R. Perez
I grew up admiring classical artists like DaVinci, Van Gogh, and Monet. I also thought Picasso was brilliant. Deep down, I believed they were artists and I wasn’t. Being an artist was like winning a contest or earning a title. It wasn’t finding random discarded items I wanted to rescue or repurpose with paint and markers. I didn’t view what I was doing as creating art, I was just playing around and experimenting. Everyone in my family could draw but none of them considered themselves as artists either. Most were government employees with benefits and families. Even my college counselor urged me to consider one of the major subjects to increase my chance of employment. So I decided to become a teacher and teach English to speakers of other languages. Although I do love it, I didn’t always.
I didn’t start believing I was an artist until I began my self-love journey. There was a book titled, The Artist’s Way that pointed me in the right direction. Through lots of journaling, positive affirmations, and yoga, I discovered how to redirect the limiting beliefs that were holding me back. It was like an onion, layer by layer, the truth slowly revealed itself. Then one fine day, I woke up as an artist. I was finally able to see the process of creating art just as beautiful as the final piece. That’s the biggest epiphany for me thus far. In calling myself an artist, I also enjoyed the duality of creating intuitive artwork and having a separate job and/or career. It was time and effort all the way.
'Winter Glam' 11"x14," Mixed Media on Canvas, 2020.
CONTROLLING MY OWN NARRATIVE
My biggest epiphany thus far is realizing that in order to embrace my journey, I must liberate and allow myself to do so. Creating is relaxing for me. Art is a part of who I am and I will not walk away from it because I teach English or create in a different manner. I find balance when I no longer put pressure on myself to fit a particular mold of what being an artist means or should look like.
Art is a part of who I am and I will not walk away from it because I teach or create differently. I am an artist because I said and dared to call myself one. I affirm myself everyday and am committed to my artist journey.
“My mantra came from a book called, The Artist’s Way, which was an excellent book that helped me through my self-love journey. The first time I said the mantra, I felt a sting—I didn’t believe it. That’s how I knew I had a lot of work to do and how I truly became committed to the journey. Believing in myself and my talent is essential.” – Maya Perez
About The Artist
Maya R. Perez is an Oklahoma based mixed media artist and cosplayer. Her love for art began as soon as she was able to hold a crayon and offered a whole new world of direction and purpose in her adult life.
Much of Maya’s artwork focuses on female empowerment, nature, or abstract. Her process is explorative and intuitive, as she paints without a sketch or outline in most cases. Maya aims to make her audience pause for a moment of reflection to offset the sometimes hectic routine of life.