We recently connected with April Love and have shared our conversation below.
April, first a big thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts and insights with us today. I’m sure many of our readers will benefit from your wisdom, and one of the areas where we think your insight might be most helpful is related to imposter syndrome. Imposter syndrome is holding so many people back from reaching their true and highest potential and so we’d love to hear about your journey and how you overcame imposter syndrome.
Is it possible to overcome imposter syndrome?! Creating art is one thing, it’s a much needed outlet. However, sharing your art is a completely different story. I don’t think people understand how vulnerable and raw you feel when sharing your art. Here you’ve taken a little piece of your soul and displayed it to the world – open for judgement and speculation. Even when the result is genuine compliments and positive feedback, it’s as if your mind convinces you that they’re just being nice. It sounds like a confidence issue, and I’m sure it is to a degree, but it goes so much deeper than that since art comes from a place so much deeper within ourselves.
I tend to zone out or pour all of my focus into whatever I’m working on. I’m not thinking about anything other than creating at this point. It’s such a good feeling to let yourself escape and create. It’s when I’m done with a piece that my internal monologue is worse than any bully I’ve ever encountered. That inner voice says things I would never say or think about another person. At some point you have to tell that inner voice to shut up, decide that you like the piece you made and that’s all that matters and if others enjoy it too then that’s just an added bonus. I remind myself that we are all our own worst critics in order to drown out the imposter syndrome as much as I can but personally I don’t know if it ever goes away.
Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
I’m all over the place, per usual. I feel like I’m in this transitional space where I just want to learn and then take what I’ve learned and find ways to incorporate it into art. Whether it’s learning new creative techniques or just learning in general.
As an artist, I think community is especially important. Surrounding yourself with open-minded, creative, and genuinely good people is key. Finding ways to show up and be supportive of others makes me happy. I want to see everyone succeed.
Creating community and supporting others is what led me to put together an art fair. It’s called The Unruly Art Market. It’s on May 31st at a place called Crow and Calico in Monee, IL. A dear friend of mine owns it and it’s just a really cool place that not enough people know about. It’s also the perfect place to host an outdoor art market. There’s somewhere around 40 incredible artists. It’s a free event so I’m really hoping for good weather and a great turn-out. I’m super excited about it. It’s open to the public, too!
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
Not losing wonder, curiosity, playfulness is a huge one. I feel that we’re expected to lose all of that as we mature but I refuse to. In fact, the rebellious side of me wants me to live in that state of mind forever.
Remain curious, being open to continuously learning, and challenging your ideas, beliefs, and perspectives are important.
Between life, family, work, and the state of the world, it can be hard to set aside time for art. Make time. We weren’t born to just work and pay bills. Please make time, even if it’s 10 minutes a day, where you sit down and scribble without any intention or pressure of creating a masterpiece. Just the daily practice of sketching, painting, or whatever, just to keep that part of yourself alive. Don’t let this world steal your sparkle!
What is the number one obstacle or challenge you are currently facing and what are you doing to try to resolve or overcome this challenge?
Ongoing chronic health issues can really suck the fun out of life at times. I don’t get to choose when or how my health issues impact my daily life but after many years I’ve come to the realization that fighting against it only makes it worse. I have to accept them and be willing to work around them as best as possible. It can be a very isolating feeling and to be honest it really amps up my depression and anxiety.
I treat them like bad guests. They’re begrudgingly here, they refuse to leave, and so I’m accepting that I have to learn to live with them without letting them consume me.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.aprillovephotography.com
- Instagram: Aprilloveadams
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/@aprillovephotos
- Other: You can find The Unruly Art Market on IG @unrulyartmarket
so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
