Hey there, I’m Nancy! I’m an artist; or at least I love to call myself one. While I was in my high school, I’ve been involved in computers, programming and building out applications, yes, all the “tech” stuff I had loved. What I’ve ignored all this while was my interest in art and crafts. And because where I’d been majorly involved, I ended up as a Business Analyst with one of the IT firms out there in the world.
IT jobs are amazing high paying jobs, gives you a freedom to explore the world, different cultures, people, relationships, you actually feel like having wings, and trust me, some days are just like hell even after having your pockets full. To work in such a high-low-high schedule has accounted for almost 7 years of my life now. My lows were getting more entangled and my highs were getting short termed. And as you must have seen in Bollywood movies, you tend to remember your old love in such hard times only. Something similar happened in my life too!
Out of nowhere, I grabbed the courage to purse my little interest for art and crafts. I wasn’t that enlightened to weigh my interest well as to whether it was little or more. Upon getting some motivation from one of my office friend, who is by the way now my husband, I’ll be referring to him as “P” going forward, please don’t get confused 😉 I joined a nearby art school for weekend lessons. I wouldn’t say that it was a waste effort, I was indeed getting to learn and experience a lot, but soon it started becoming more of a headache as I wasn’t that capable back then to manage my office, school, assignments, home and personal life all in one shot. And eventually, I left the school and decided to continue the practice myself.
With the passing time, ART became a crucial part of my life; it actually became my identity. On P’s suggestion, I started carrying a small notebook and a black pen to my office and would doodle all day long on desk while sitting idle or after finishing off my assigned tasks. Soon, my colleagues started calling me an artist and when everyone appreciated my work, my confidence did shoot up like a rocket. Although, I’m an introvert but have managed to have a couple of good friends who would motivate my everyday to leave job and become a full time artist. With every passing day, this thought of becoming a full time artist started getting high on me. Eventually office to art ratio started overlapping and I started feeling more inclined towards art. Now art is a very slow paying job vs an IT job, considering my financial background and dependencies, I decided not to quit my job, rather learn some tips on time management and work life balance.
To me, personally speaking, other than P, ART is my rescue tool, my stress buster, my personal therapist and my psychologist. A rescue tool, when I don’t feel like working, take a break and just paint or do some crafts. When I feel stressed, due to ANY possible reason, I go through my paintings, my craft work, try to incline my thoughts on gathering new art ideas. When I feel annoyed and feel like there’s no one to talk to, I switch back to my colors. When feel stuck in life, painting florals helps me absorb everything that’s going on around. ART has become an integral part of my life. Not sure, where I’m heading to with all my art and stuff, but I believe I’m heading towards good.
Over last one-two years, I have grown a lot, both personally and professionally, and a large credit goes to all the art that I have practiced and to Mr. P. He has always supported me, guided me, criticized me to create better and better. During this whole journey, I’ve reached new heights, gained new experiences, met some lovely artists and yes, Instagram has been an amazing platform throughout.
I’m not a good writer, you must have known this by now 😀 This blog post is my first art blog on this newly launched website that I have created for my small business named “ArtworkByNancy“. And since, you’ve made it till here, I urge you to please a comment for me sharing “what ART means to you?“. I would love to hear to your stories as well!
Signing Off!!
Nancy Arora