Permission Granted

(For the one afraid to start)

By: Mack Fontano

You don’t need skill to start today
No perfect lines in place
You only need a will to try
To show up, mess, and chase

Your first attempts might twist or bend
The colors may not blend just right
But still, your trying has its worth
And every mark brings light

Go draw the dog with lopsided ears,
Go rhyme “banana” with “sky”
Make scribbles, doodles, tangled lines
You’ll never grow if you don’t try

The point is not to make it great
Or win a golden prize
The point is learning how to move
And trust what lives inside

Your art at first will be – I’ll just say it…
Pretty terrible
But in learning art you will become
Pretty improv…able

And that is what this life is made of
Moments helping us learn and improve
The worst mistake is standing still
When you were born to move

You’ll write a line that makes no sense
You’ll paint a tree too blue
But growth is born in brave mistakes
And beauty filters through

So here it is – your ticket to try
To learn, to stretch, to start
You have permission, dear friend of mine
To make terrible art

You’ve got the tools. You’ve got the soul
You’ve got the heart to try
Now draw. Now write. Now speak. Now sing
Your only job? Apply

So make the mess. Begin the line
There’s beauty in the start
The first step takes a bit of faith
Now go, and make your art