On Passion, Pixels, and the Power of Building Something Just for You

A few months ago, I decided to take a break from the professional path I’d been following, a winding journey through law, international trade, and compliance, to take my art more seriously.

I didn’t do it because I had a 10-step plan. I did it because I couldn’t keep ignoring the voice that had been whispering for years.

In that time, I built a website (a labour of love, Google searches, and occasional crying), I redefined my voice as an artist, I worked on commissions, I let myself explore, learn, slow down.

Does this mean I’ve gone full-time as an artist? Who knows! But here’s what I do know: we are more whole, more peaceful, and dare I say, better humans when we have something of our own to build.

Whether that’s a garden, a business, a poem, a passion project; anything that brings you back to yourself.

Passion is underrated in the professional world. We admire people who are “driven,” but not enough people ask what they’re being driven by. Passion doesn’t have to mean chasing your dream job. It can be passion for your garden, your coffee ritual, your bookshelf, your weekend pasta sauce.

I’ve come to believe this deeply:

Passion is what keeps you steady when the algorithm (or the market, or your metrics) wobbles.

We’re all editing ourselves for others constantly, especially online. We post photos and announcements and stories with the hope that they’re received the right way. But as I saw on Pinterest once:

“You are not responsible for the version of you that exists in other people’s minds.”

That hit me hard. Because let’s be honest: it’s exhausting trying to tailor your personality and passions to fit every lens. We curate ourselves for LinkedIn, for Instagram, for friends, for colleagues.

Where did the spontaneity go?

These questions might be too big for my corner of the internet. But they’re the ones I think about constantly, especially as someone trying to create from the heart, while also navigating the performance of posting.

Trying to fight off creative block and the Instagram algorithm before my first cup of coffee? I’m basically invincible at this point.

This is all to say: we do enough for growth, for likes, for promotions. What are you doing just for yourself?

I believe everyone should have one thing that’s theirs. Something to build slowly. Something that no one can take from you, even if the audience disappears.

For me, it’s art. A culmination of everything I love: history, books, cities, cooking, stillness, story, memory. It all finds its way onto the page eventually.

If you’re looking for a sign to return to that thing you keep saying “you’ll do one day,” this is it.

And if you want a tangible reminder that passion matters (maybe in the form of an artwork from a special memory, a favourite street corner, or that blurry photo you took after one too many glasses of wine in Paris) I’d be honoured to make something just for you.

Here’s to finding what brings you joy, even if it’s just a doodle, a journal, or a silly little side hustle.

Mine’s here, by the way → https://www.ateliermarieart.com/