My Top 5 Steps on Art, Courage & coming out as an Artist

There’s a moment in all of our lives when we realize: No one else is going to choose this life for me.

We either wait quietly hoping someone will give us 'permission' to express our truth, or we step forward, trembling maybe, but with conviction. We say: This is wo I am. This is what I create. This is the life I choose.

This is the kind of creative courage Madonna embodied. And it’s the kind of creative courage I’ve been learning to live, step by step.

Here's my TOP FIVE coming out steps.

My Creative Coming Out

I’ve been a writer and storyteller for over a decade. My first book The Hidden Camino was bold, deep, and unafraid. I explored the forgotten stories of women in history, untangled the cultural narratives that shape us today, and dared to weave mystery and soul into nonfiction.

For the first ten years of my blogging life, I walked the line between cultural adventure and scholarly storytelling. And I loved it.

But something else was always quietly blooming in the background, something more visual, more feminine, more... me. It took time, courage, and a lot of unlearning to say it out loud, but here it is:

✨ I’m a vintage collage artist.

✨ I’m a shop owner.

✨ I’m a creative who chooses softness, strangeness, curiosity, and beauty as rebellion.

And you know what? That’s bold, too.

The Power of Quirky, Feminine, Dreamy Expression

My collage art is often described as whimsical, vintage inspired, quirky, feminine, sometimes even weird or provocative. It’s filled with animals and flowers, old postcards and forgotten faces, myth, romance, softness, and colour.

For some, this kind of art is uncomfortable. Too tender. Too feminine. Too “out there.” But I’ve come to realise—that’s the point!

There’s radical power in softness. There’s boldness in beauty. There’s rebellion in choosing to live and create from wonder instead of strategy.

australian kokkaburra bird collage art by louise sommer

australian kookaburra bird collage art by louise sommer

australian kokkaburra bird collage design by louise sommer

This is what I now understand as authentic creative living. Not just a lifestyle, but a lifeline. And it’s what Elizabeth Gilbert so beautifully named in her amazing book Big Magic:

"...the willingness to partner with inspiration, to say yes to the creative voice that lives inside you, and to trust it—even when it doesn’t make sense to anyone else."

Choosing the Life Inside You

Every day, we get to make a choice:

• To numb out or tune in.

• To hide or to share.

• To wait or to create.

• To live on the surface or dive into our own wild depths.

And it’s not always easy. Creativity asks a lot of us. It asks for presence. It asks for honesty. It asks us to feel thingsdeeply, to risk vulnerability, to look at the world around us and not just scroll through it, but to feel wonder again.

To live creatively is to listen with your whole body. To let life speak. To let beauty in. To make art, write stories, and express yourself. Not because it could be trendy or profitable, but because it’s the language your soul speaks.

“Do you have the courage to bring forth the treasures that are hidden within you?”— Elizabeth Gilbert, Big Magic

This is Your Permission Slip

If you’ve been sitting on a blog idea, a piece of art, a secret dream, or a wild vision that won’t leave you alone—consider this your gentle nudge:

It’s time. There will never be a perfect moment. There will never be a flawless version of you. But there will always be the chance to say yes to yourself, your creativity, and your one wild, beautiful life.

You don’t need to be understood by everyone. You just need to be you; boldly, softly, fiercely, playfully, exactly as you are.

Wonder Is a Creative Act

In a world that moves fast, choosing to live in wonder is revolutionary. Stop. Listen. Feel the air on your skin. Look up at the clouds. Hear the birds. Smell the seasons.

This presence, and this kind of openness, is where real creativity begins. The more you feel, the more alive your work becomes. And the more alive you become.

You don’t need to create what’s trendy. You need to create what’s true. Your truth. Your story. Your voice.

This is the Life I Choose

I choose the life inside me. The life that whispers in collage scraps and vintage dreams, in words that won’t leave me alone, in soulful travels and storytelling.

I choose creativity that’s alive. Not perfect, but present. Not always polished, but honest.

And if you’re reading this, maybe you’re ready to choose that life too.

Want to join me?

• Check out my new collage art shop

• Dive into one of my soulful creative workshops

• Or join the next Blogging Bootcamp Intensive to rediscover your creative voice

And remember:

You only have the time you have.

Don’t wait.

Create.

Choose the life inside you.

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Louise Sommer is a collage artist, bestselling author, and cultural storyteller with an MA in Educational Psychology. She specialises in creativity, communication, and the cultural narratives woven through history, myth, and memory. Her book The Hidden Camino takes readers on a soulful journey through forgotten histories and sacred places. Since the 1990s, Louise has travelled widely across Europe, exploring how stories shape identity, belonging, and creative expression. Through her writing, design, and workshops, she invites readers into a world of curiosity, beauty, and deep connection.

✨ Explore her art at Collage Art Studio by Louise Sommer

✨ Discover more at louisesommer.co

✨ Join her creative business workshops