Hi guys, I’m Maya and I blog over at Artsy Teen. I’m thrilled to be finally collaborating with the amazing Elm, we’ve been planning this for quite awhile!

When Elm suggested to write a post about what art means to each of us, my first thought was, “Wow, that’s such a great idea”. My second thought, which swiftly followed after I’d agreed to write the post, was “What the hell am I going to talk about?”.

You’re probably wondering why someone who claims they’re ‘artsy’ and blogs about different artwork all the time is struggling to write a small post about my opinion of art. Trust me, I’m wondering the same thing and I’ve come to the conclusion that I’ve never really asked myself the question. What does art mean to me?

Really, Art is such a broad concept. Over the summer I went traveling around Europe and I went to a ton of different art museums and exhibitions. Some of the artwork I really liked, some of it I really didn’t. All the while I was trying to figure out a way to define art. Is it something that’s visually pleasing? Is it something that requires a lot of skill to create? Is it something that’s created to get across a specific meaning?

After much debate, the best definition of art that I can come up with is this: art is how you define something. Have I confused you yet?

OK, let’s take an emotion like happiness, for example. How do you define happiness? Is it something you feel when you see a bar of chocolate? Is it your favorite song? Is it just a word? And how would you express this definition? With a painting, a book, a funny joke? Everyone’s opinions will be different, but personally, I think the uniqueness in each person’s definition is their own version of art.

Elm wrote a beautiful post on my blog talking about the different things that she defined as ‘art’. For me, art is the ability to create something from nothing, to take a vision from your mind and bring it to life. See, there’s nothing I love more than having to come up with ideas and then make those a reality. It’s all about crossing the line between your imagination and real life. Problem-solving, designing, inventing, figuring out how to depict what I’m thinking… that’s the art that I love. The freedom, excitement and uncertainty of creating something, and the satisfaction that comes when you’ve completed it.

Of course, you guys might love completely different aspects of art. You mightn’t agree with my definition at all. You might even dislike art, but I think anyone who feels that way is just following the wrong definition.

How would you define art?

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Well that’s all I’ve got for you guys. Before I finish up, I would just like to say a huge thank you to Elm for being a part of my first ever blog collab. She is such an inspiring and talented person to work with! I hope you guys found my rambling attempts at defining art  somewhat interesting, or at any rate, I hope they made you think about your own definition of art.

xox Maya