Shapes of Art by Colby Smith

This is Colby. He has been through ups and downs, betrayal and acceptance, loss and gain. Throughout all of this, the one thing that has remained constant is art.

As a child, Colby didn’t think he was interested in art. The things he was drawn to were dinosaurs and space. What he didn’t realize at the time was that those, too, were art. The concept of dinosaurs is taking the base design of skeletons and using art to create the rest of the imagery. Space itself is art in the sense that it holds beautiful structures and elements, all created by an unknown process. If you’re paying attention, you’ll notice a point of repetition forming here.

Many people think art is limited to certain things. It isn’t. Art can be anything that someone puts creativity into. It is a subjective experience, something each person decides for themselves. For Colby, it took time to understand all the different forms of art, but he came to see that art can be anything and everything, whether created by humans, by science, or by something unknown.

The main forms of art Colby connected with were visual, audio, and written. He used visual art as a way to convey emotions and to feel the emotions and stories of others in a form beyond words. Audio art, in the form of music, stories, and songs, became a way of coping and expressing himself when words failed him. Written art poetry and books was something he enjoyed for a time. As a child, creativity flowed through him: he dreamed of stories about faraway lands, obsessed over space, and imagined unknown journeys and adventures. It wasn’t just physical things he could touch, see, or smell it was something he felt emotionally and mentally.

Art helped Colby grow and change. It was the one place where he could be truly himself and take off the mask. He found acceptance in art not in a person, but in the experiences, expressions, and emotions that art conveys. It became a way to express what he was feeling and doing. Over time, this grew into an acceptance of others and a new perspective on the world.

When Colby felt as though his life had no meaning or purpose, he found belonging in art. It reminded him that he wasn’t alone, that his feelings weren’t uncommon, and that what mattered was what he chose to do with those feelings. Whether he changed a lot, a little, or not at all, it was the effort that counted. He realized that what he was feeling wasn’t something to just “suck up,” nor was it something that should be faced alone. Art became his healing, his therapy, and a form of love he had been missing.

At times, art was also his escape, a way to hide from the terrors of the world and his past. It gave him a place to disappear and avoid his issues until the moment came when he had no choice but to anchor himself and endure the suffering. Art helped him survive, escape, and express.

Art isn’t just a painting. It’s the true understanding, expression, and telling of one’s thoughts and feelings in any form. It can comfort, heal, and connect. It is in the big things and the small things, in the famous and the unknown. Love the things you love, and keep going.