#5 Escaping the Frame: How Art Found Me

 Welcome back to The Incidental Artist! This blog is a chronicle of my art journey: the missteps, the breakthroughs, the moments that made me feel alive. If you’ve ever felt like you didn’t belong in the world you were handed, you’re in good company.

Grab a cuppa, scroll slowly, and stay awhile.

I didn’t choose art, art chose me.

Growing up, the education system felt less like opportunity, more like imprisonment. I endured science-heavy schooling that couldn’t have felt further from my passions. Art was barely tolerated, let alone nurtured. One high school graduate,  who dared pursue art, was met with murmurs of, “What a waste!” Their courage echoed in me; so did the ridicule of choosing a creative life. I succumbed to what the system demanded of me - science.

I was terrible at the sciences, but I pushed through because it seemed like the path I was “supposed to follow.” My school years were like a prison sentence, counting down days, not living them.

Then came rupture. During year 11, my mother was diagnosed with terminal cancer. We moved to regional Victoria to be near my sister. I won't untangle every thread of those family dynamics here, but that shift eventually led me to seek refuge and a sense of self at university.

I chased what my past insisted I should, twice attempting an Applied Science Degree, later working in chemical and pathology labs. But something vital was missing, and it took several years to identify it. Then I found it, in Melbourne at the Northern Metropolitan College of TAFE. My world opened like a door I never knew existed.

Do you feel that art chooses us, or do we choose art? What’s your experience? Please share in the comments below.

Here are some images of work during my first year of TAFE. I had the opportunity to experiment with charcoal, colour pastels, ink and lino cuts.