The Art of Self-Expression

While studying creative writing at Columbus State University, I took a class in my senior year that led me to realize art is as repetitive as the history it is defined by.  

The course was an intensive review of two influential Roman poets from the Augustan era, Virgil and Ovid.  

I initially had little interest in rehashing age-old mythologies and stories of the Trojan War. My preconceived notions told me I had little to relate to in tales written by men 2,000 years ago. And yet, I was surprised to find a creative connection to Ovid’s works, despite time and contention. 

In Ovid, I found a rebellious and passionate storyteller intent on expressing his mind regardless of consequence—exile included. In Metamorphoses, Ovid’s epic poem cataloging stories of transformation from Greco-Roman mythology, I found a 2,000-year-old example of history repeated in art. I found an author inspired by stories passed on from others. I found originality in referential poetry.  

The style of epic writing received a makeover by Ovid in an example of his unique takes and rebellious nature. Metamorphoses meets epic requirements in meter and form but evades the single storyline and heroic protagonist known to epics like Virgil’s Aeneid. Instead, Ovid strung together a series of independent mythologies, uniting them through his theme of transformation.  

For the class’s final project, I took a note from Ovid’s book and wrote a retelling of one of the stories from Metamorphoses, the story of Io. My version gave insight into Io’s experience, retelling the story from her perspective. My story was wholly derivative and simultaneously nothing like Ovid’s.  

In creating and recreating, I found inspiration from Ovid. I found that you can take what resonates and leave the rest. There are no rules in art. You can create something new from something old. You can find new ways to say old things. You can find new things to replace old ways.   

Self-expression is such an essential aspect of the human experience. It is what makes us both so instinctively individual and inherently referential. It is what allows us to create art in all its forms.  

While not everyone identifies as an artist or a creative, I’ve found that, to everyone, the arts and creativity remain essential to self-expression, regardless of skill.  

I return to my Ovid-influenced realization often and carry it with me in my writing and other artforms. I carry it with me in my baking as I take long-revered recipes from the experts and make them my own. I carry it with me during craft nights when I allow my desire to create overcome my mediocre painting skills as I scour the internet for inspiration. I carry it with me as I contemplate projects for my 1960s beach cottage that always seems to need an upgrade. 

Creativity is the best way we know to express ourselves—from our choice in clothing and decor to our interest in specific music and literary genres. Creating will mean different things for different people. 

All that matters is that we maintain our self-expression in all art forms.  

Keep creating,