The Art of Following Your Nose with Madeline Owen
How did I get here?
I just kept going. Without a true plan in mind I continued to fall into my interests. Wherever I felt strongest, that’s where I went. Falling down a winding path seems to be the best way to stumble upon new things. Allowing one path to lead me down another, I continue to keep my options open.
I would argue, even with that said there can still seem to be a missing thread. Maybe we as humans yearn for an overarching narrative. I know I do. I think many creatives find themselves continuously wondering if they should even attempt this lifestyle. We ask ourselves questions like, “Does my work need to hold more meaning? Is what I’m currently doing right for me or right for others? Can this way of life truly fulfill my purpose?” Yes, it’s hard to have faith you’re on the right path.
When I find myself drowning in questions, I like to take a step back and attempt to view my life as an adventure film. In adventures all the main characters find themselves wandering. Maybe they lose their way, run into the unexpected, only to find themselves right where they were meant to be in the end. Though watching films like these can be absolutely exhilarating looking from the outside in, when we go through adventurous highs and lows of our own, we don’t tend to look at it in the same light. Well, I implore you to. Follow your gut, stumble upon a winding path, lose sight of the light at the end of the tunnel, and then realize the light was within you the whole time.
Watching films like these and reminding myself to view my life as an adventure gives me faith. It reminds me that the path was never meant to be straight. I’m grateful to not already know everything that’s supposed to happen, and it’s okay. Just like when I watch these adventures and have faith that these main characters are going to make it because, “Hey, they’re the main character and there’s no way they’re going to kill them off!” I think to myself, “Hey, I can make it, there’s no way I’m not going to end up right where I’m supposed to be!”
“When in doubt, always follow your nose.” - Gandalf
The core of this thought process of mine is continuously born out of doubt. I’ve followed my nose and things haven’t always turned out as planned.
In 2018 I began 10 large paintings and found myself giving up on each one. I stored them all away. When I had moved on from a school environment with constant validation from peers, I realized I had more to figure out than I thought. What was my brand? What was my art about? It was only through persistantly working on my craft and letting go of having a definite answer to these quetions that the answers slowly revealed themselves on their own.
My creations became my portal to discovering myself. More than anything, expressing myself through my art has become synonymous with chipping away at something much larger than myself.
When talking with Aria (CRÉATEUR Editor-In-Chief) she said, “Whenever I ask a successful creative how they got to where they are, pleading for a direct road map, the answer is always some form of the same…they say, ‘well…it just kind of happened.’”
I think there is something to be said for this ‘falling down the path’ bit. Who you are is right there in every moment. You must see it. Accept that it is in you right now as you read this. It is not something that you have to find. No more questioning, self-doubting, or attempting to construct a direct road map for yourself. Just trust that inner light and follow the path, wherever it may lead.
