In the past few years living (from) my art, I understood that everything related to me, was actually connected, and built one thing only. Life and work. There is no true separation. Neither do friends and family. Art is just a consequence of an expression of my intimacy and as a systemic point of view of my context, that deconstructs itself in so many possibilities. Yes, sometimes I can be a little repetitive when it comes to that subject. Art and systemic views I mean. But believe me, it's important. I don't see art as just a product. As something I create and sell. Or the material manifestation of what I express. Art is in the lens I wear, in the movement I choose to make. In living. That's why I created a slogan that has (brackets). And here I am today, to dig a bit deeper into it. What does it really mean to "live (well from) my art"?

The possibility of living from my art - but also just living my art.

Let’s give one step back:

When I decided to live from my art, I realised that everything I created had the power to become something commercial. Products or services for the world. Physical creations. Touchable and so subjective at the same time. I started seeing myself as a filter, a conductor of a perspective. I observe and absorb. It all comes together within me, through my own experiences, memories and learnings. Connections are made, and then expressed. A process that resembles a therapy to me, and to you, a translated composition. I have a latent need to express things. To create. To translate. To show. I believe in the power of transformation of people and spaces. That's why I say I live from my art. After years of understanding, building, falling and getting up (and all of that over and over again), I have built a business through my expression, which allows me to live with a daily smile on my face. To live well. From my passion. My ART - as a product.

So why the (brackets)? Because in addition to living from my art, I also seek, daily, to live my art. Yes, my art of living. I know it may seem a little cliché (and believe me, I’m not a fan of clichés). But then, while writing this post, I asked myself, and even looked around in the train I was sitting in: “who is really living life to it’s fullest?” I have no idea about these people sitting around me, and from my connections, I must say I know very few. And I myself am always looking for my own permission to do it - because I do so often sabotage my own potentials through limiting beliefs, blockages and fears. There are so many imaginary factors that we create in a parallel, and internal world. We tell ourselves stories that we are not good enough. That we don't deserve it. That we have to follow certain patterns or concepts. Things that are just not real. Believe me.

After all, what is real? What are our limits? What can we really do - or not? If we want to do something, why do we often stop doing it? Or are so afraid of even starting. What is really standing on our way?  Why can't we just be who we want to be? Dive into the experiences that we are curious to dive into. To invent. Reinvent. Life is exactly in the here and now - in this moment - which I’m sorry to say, is gone in a glimpse.

I've always wondered how other people see the world. Is the shade of blue I see in the sky the same as what you see? If I ask you to imagine a pink elephant: what is the first thing that pops into your mind? And on mine? I have always wondered so much about this. I am sure our images are totally different. I have always been fascinated by this world of possibilities. I believe we all have something unique. A unique vision of life. We all have a unique way of connecting - and offering something to the world. An exchange of glances. A smile. A hug. A totally different leap into the void. A spontaneous dance in the middle of a crowd. We have the daily power to make our moves. To make choices. To create an impact. Who are we? What do we want? How do we move within our environments? The way we choose to live our lives. Big and small moves. OUR (very individual) ART of living. And that's why I decided to jump into my own ocean of possibilities. Not only my identity as an artist, but also to understand - and translate - how I see the world. When I enter an environment, how do I observe it? What details catch my eye? What does my pink elephant look like? And for this reason, I have been sharing, more and more, my point of view of life - through all my points of contact.

My translation is not only in lines, walls, patterns, papers or prints. Over time I understood that my art goes far beyond that. It's a lens. My lens. Of everything I see and observe. Who I am. Experiences have a point of view. A perspective. Angles, forms, compositions. Alignments and misalignments.  How I observe everything I experience. I try to breathe it in first, and then register. Through images, videos and words. For a long time - as I did with my drawings - these expressions were kept in deep drawers. I was afraid. Ashamed. I told myself this was not art. I wasn’t good enough. Why would anyone be interested in that. But then I started to wonder "what if"? Because I'm so interested in other people's perspectives. The whys that move other humans. Their influences. Inspirations. So maybe - just maybe - some people might be interested in mine. So, with time I've been building up the confidence to understand - and express - my own art of living. I have been acknowledging that there is no right or wrong. That even if I make mistakes in expressing words - or don't succeed doing something I envisioned to - by the end of the day, what I'm looking for - is a bigger perspective. I realised that my limiting beliefs were blocking me like the search for a false perfection. I realised I'm not interested in perfection - it does not exist really - but rather the constant evolution. The search for the excellence. And to get there, I have to keep putting myself out there. To work on them. To fail. But then to get up again and try something else. The value of living my art is not in what is good or bad. In what is commercial or not. In what I can or cannot do. It's about expressing. In whatever way I feel like doing so. Just the latent need of expressing, not to go crazy with everything that is bubbling inside of me. To experiment. To allow myself to be intense. To live. Fully.

I am in the process of accepting that my senses are the filters of my context.

That my hands become translation tools.

That a text can become an art piece.

That my lines can become poetry.

That creation is a meditation.

And that everything has the power to become a composition.

That life is a work of art in motion.

And that we humans, urgently need to slow down to perceive, and then allow ourselves to live - every f#*&$ moment - in the best way we possibly can.

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And this is what my slogan means. A pure and summarised version of who I am.

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What would be your slogan right now?

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Leia o texto em português, aqui :)

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