Have you ever stopped to think about the way you feel while using your favourite art supplies? It could be assumed the joy that stems from using your favourite art supplies is because of their quality, but I believe there’s much more to the attachment artists have with their tools than mere tool ‘quality’.
It’s as though artists feel a sense of connection to certain art supplies and identify with them. This feeling fascinates me given that, although I very much realize how they are inanimate objects, art supplies give so much to the artist. It is through creating art they start to feel a special bond with certain tools they use, without even realizing how impactful that bond is.
Such a bond comes from how our inner personality is able to come to life thanks to the existence of art supplies. These tools enable us to present to the world new and unique thoughts, designs and realities that are not part of the outer world yet. It is by using our supplies, we are given a voice, which we can express our ideas. Without them, our inner personality would remain locked inside our heads. This gives the tools we use immense power and makes them ultimately essential in fostering humanity’s self expression. We could even date back to when prehistoric people used mediums such as ochre to convey depictions of their world. As art creators, we receive so much from each art supply’s unique characteristics and what each one allows us to do in our creations, it’s no wonder why we feel such a strong bond with them.
Having a favourite set of art supplies provides a sense of identity for artists, allowing them to express their likes and dislikes about certain tools, and reasoning behind such decisions. It’s no secret this preference is a very personal one, and so many choices reflect aspects of who a person is artistically. Such gravitation towards their specific set of tools reiterates to the artist who they are as well.
Art supplies are much more than tools or extensions of our hands. As artists of all levels, we create a special and unique bond with them. It goes to show there are many aspects of our personality, preferences, and unique characteristics that so towards building our identity. It need not be just our choice of music or food. The tools we use to create the art we love tells a lot about us as well.
By Alexandra Vergara