Why adults feel intimidated by making art, and how redefining beauty can change everything
Updated: Apr 1
Many adults shy away from making art because they feel intimidated by beauty — or rather, by their idea of it.
We tend to think of beauty as something external: evaluated against a checklist of form, harmony, and technical skill. A standard to meet. And that turns the creative process into a test — one most people feel they'll fail before they've even begun.
Beauty is not a standard — it’s a sensation
These inherited standards create a quiet but persistent pressure — a sense that making art means risking exposure, judgment, and the verdict that you simply aren't good enough.
But this is not what aesthetic experience actually is. Aesthetic experience has nothing to do with external “beauty standards.” It is sensory, immediate, and deeply bodily.
Think about the language we naturally reach for when describing moments of beauty:
“It moves me.”
"It strikes me."
“It touches me.”
“It gives me chills.”
These are not intellectual judgments. They are sensations. The body responds before the mind has a chance to evaluate.
As Paolo Knill (2000) writes:
“Beauty is what pleases us aesthetically. It is what touches us through the senses and takes our breath away. The beautiful may not be harmonious and perfect in its form, as traditional aesthetics would have it. Rather beauty … is seen to emerge from the awe with which we regard the world and the beings within it.”
This distinction is important. Beauty, in this sense, is not about standards. It is about honest sensation — what you feel in a given moment.
Children know this naturally. They draw freely, move without hesitation, and create without worrying if it’s right. Intimidation comes later, layered on through comparison, criticism, and learned ideas of what is “good.” Which means it can also be unlearned.
What changes when you let go of “good art”
When you begin to feel beauty this way, your relationship with art-making can shift completely.
The inner critic, that "know-it-all" voice with its checklist of rules, starts to lose its grip. Not because it gets silenced by force, but because its rules no longer define your experience.
Instead of trying to create something impressive, you begin to:
listen to your senses
follow impulses as they arise
trust what wants to emerge
Art becomes less about producing the right form and more about being honest to your experience.
And something surprising follows: when you connect to direct experience, your expression often becomes naturally alive, coherent, and even compositionally strong — without forcing it.
This kind of art is powerful not only to create but also to witness. You can feel its authenticity. That quality of presence is what actually moves us.
What is Expressive Arts, and how does it work?
During Expressive Arts sessions, both individual and group, the focus is not on skill. Instead, you learn to:
tune into your sensations
follow what draws your attention
give form to your experience — through gesture, image, writing, sound, or any combination of modes.
This is a non-linear process. There is no right or wrong result — and sometimes no clear "result" at all.
But something deeper unfolds through it all: you begin to discover yourself through experience.
As Paolo Knill (2000) reminds us:
"It is through the arts that we also remember we are capable of beauty and love."
That remembering is available to everyone. You don't need a background in art. You don't need confidence. You only need curiosity and the willingness to begin.
Here is a fun activity for you
Tear a piece of paper into small pieces and spend 5 min. arranging them. Experiment with folding, standing, grouping, stacking, and interacting with the pieces in various ways. The only rule for this exploration is to do what you feel drawn to and have fun. When you're finished, give the emerged piece a title, and write down its message to you. Enjoy!
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Thanks for reading. Thinking about trying Expressive Arts?
Reach out to me for individual Expressive Arts sessions in Berlin and online, Community Arts & Workshops in Berlin and online and Creative Team Building Workshops in Berlin and online.
