What Your Art Is Secretly Telling People (And How to Make Sure It's the Right Message)
Picture this: someone picks up your latest piece, turns it over in their hands, and suddenly gets goosebumps. They can't explain why, but something about it just speaks to them.
Artists often create from their gut (which is awesome!) but rarely stop to think about what their work is actually communicating to the world. We make what feels good, expresses our inner world, or follows a thread of our artistic curiosity. But are viewers seeing what you want them to see?
By understanding what you want your art to communicate, recognizing what it's already saying, and learning to bridge that gap, you can create work that finds its people. Your superfans are out there!
Plus, I'll share my simple 3-question exercise that'll help you decode your own artistic message.
Your art has an inner voice.
What is it saying?
What Do You Want Your Art to Say?
It’s time to focus on the Connection aspect of creative output. What do you want people to resonate with when they see your work? What will they respond to when they pick it up and hold it? What do you want them to see a glimpse of, what world?
Start with your "why" - that feeling or experience that drives you to make your art in the first place. Is it exploring a certain subject matter, like your own inner world and emotions, or a bigger social cause or philosophical question? Do you crave the feeling of making something that has never existed before?
Action tip: As you begin to really dive into these questions, I’ve found two strategies that help me get to what I really think, not just what I “should” be saying. First, going for long nature walks, and dictating my thoughts into the Notes app on my phone. If you can’t get outside, free-writing with loose sheets of pen and paper seems to have the same effect. At first it’ll be rocky but if you just keep letting it flow, don’t stop, and the truth will come out.
Think about the world you want to invite people into - let your imagination run with this one! Do you want to pull them into the magic of nature? Or a place where going through darkness is necessary to find light? And then ask yourself, why do you gravitate towards that world?
Invite the viewer into your world.
What do you want people to feel, to know?
This way of thinking about my artistic message resonates with me even more than the first question. My deepest wish is that people could feel the connections in everything - that sense of being truly alive and living on purpose as their unique selves. When we live authentically and share our gifts, the world becomes richer and more beautiful. Ultimately, I want people to feel more joy and peace in their lives, knowing that despite the darkness and messiness in the world, we are all part of the same beautiful and miraculous web of life. And we contribute to it whether we want to or not, so let’s think about what we are contributing.
Consider what you wished someone had said to you through art. When you visit museums, galleries, or retail art shops, what pulls you in, what messages reach you to the core, give you goosebumps, or cause you to linger, or go back to that piece over and over? You might not even know, but think and write about that a bit to see what’s under that subconscious communication with the art.
What Is Your Art Already Saying?
Now that you’re clearer on what you WANT your work to say, let’s step back and look at your art with fresh eyes. Let’s listen to what it’s already saying. Try gathering a collection of old and new work together and look objectively for patterns. What colors, marks, emotions, and subject matter comes up repeatedly? What have you already been putting out there?
Next, ask a few trusted friends what they see (not what they like, but what they see). What is this piece about, what does it bring up for you? I can always ask my mom, she’ll be honest. But she also knows me really well. So while her perspective is valuable, I also like to get the impressions of someone who doesn’t have that context. Be brave and ask a stranger! Or at least a more recent acquaintance.
Remember that your intention and your impact in the world don’t have to fully match. It can be interesting to see how your art and your message are received and changed by those engaging with your work.
Build Me Up
by Heidi Sensenig, 2024
For example, in the above piece, I wanted to convey what makes us who we are; all of the little bits and pieces, the comments from others, the experiences from childhood, the classes we took, the friends we hung out with, the inner critic in our heads, it all builds us as a person. This can feel disjointed and discouraging (note the look in the subject’s eyes), but if we zoom in and out, look at the whole picture, it’s messy yet beautiful, colorful, and when we accept it all, we see the real beauty of who we are. And the title is also meant to say - please help build me up - and we all need to build each other up for good. I have had some positive feedback about this piece - but I really don’t know how much of my intention comes across. What do you think?
Which brings up a good point - we all take in art differently, and we don’t want to hit someone over the head with the message, we WANT them to bring themselves to the “conversation.”So once we put it out there, it’s up to the viewer to engage.
Bridging the Gap
Now, what can we do to hone and clarify our message? First - go slowly. Small shifts that make big differences. Start with what is already in your art, and just take away the extraneous noise that doesn’t add to your message.
When making new pieces, hold your intentions, but you don’t need to use words or direct images to convey your message. Colors can move the viewer towards certain emotions. A minimal versus a maximal aesthetic can say something different as well. High contrast is more jarring monotones or low contrast and saturation of color, as in pastels, can be more calming and require someone to sit longer with the piece, engaging differently than if it was stark black and white or red.
Just remember that there are many little decisions you make throughout the creative process. Make them on purpose rather than by chance. And your message will become clearer and more YOU over time.
When I think of the message I would’ve liked to receive from the art I consumed at a younger age, I wish I would’ve heard, “YOU, HEIDI, can do this! We need YOUR art in the world!” And although I didn’t fully get that when I was younger, I do now and I want to spread that message. This blog is the part of my creative process where I get to use words to say what I mean, and I hope you find something useful to take away.
Call to Action:
Answer these 3 questions:
WHY do you make art? What is that feeling or experience that drives you to create?
WHAT world do you want to show people? Why do you gravitate towards that world?
HOW is your art already doing this? Are there subtle ways to shift your work in this direction?
Either take a long walk outside and dictate your answers, or find a quiet corner or coffee shop and free-write a few pages in response.
Do it this week– and if you’re like me and need accountability, DM or email me a few takeaways you had, or questions that came up.
Your art is already having conversations - the question is whether it's saying what you want it to say. You don't need to overhaul everything, just get intentional about the message.
With Enthusiasm for Art & Life,