“Sometimes, you need to lose your way to find the path you were always meant to take.” – A guide for returning artists and designers

“Sometimes, you need to lose your way to find the path you were always meant to take.” 

~ArtSHINE

Have you ever felt like your life has been one long detour?

You started with dreams of creating—maybe painting in a light-filled studio, designing beautiful surfaces for textiles, or capturing emotion through a camera lens. But somewhere along the way, life intervened. Bills needed paying. Careers were built. Expectations were met. And slowly, without fully realising it, your creative passions were put away like art supplies in storage: safe, untouched, and out of sight.

If this sounds familiar, know this: you’re not alone. And you’re not too late.

The Beauty of Getting Lost
In a world obsessed with clarity and direction, getting lost often feels like failure. But for artists and creatives at heart, getting lost might be the most important part of the journey.

Losing your way—whether by necessity, responsibility, or simply by drifting—can actually bring you closer to who you are meant to be. Because in that space of confusion and questioning, something powerful happens: you start listening again. You remember what made you come alive before titles, promotions, and job descriptions took center stage.

And here’s the truth: no creative path is ever truly erased. It may be hidden. Forgotten. Paused. But it is always there, quietly waiting for your return.

For the Artist Who Became an Executive
To the corporate professional or business owner reading this—yes, you. You may have mastered boardrooms, built companies, or led teams. But deep inside, there’s still a part of you that sketches in the margins of meeting notes or dreams of weekends filled with creative work.

You didn’t abandon your creativity. You simply diverted your energy elsewhere. And that’s OK. What matters now is recognising the pull to return.

The art world isn’t just for full-time artists. It’s for anyone ready to reconnect with their creative voice—whether that’s through part-time photography, painting after hours, or designing surface patterns in between business strategy meetings.

You don’t have to quit your job to come back to your art. You just have to start.

For the Creative Who Put Things on Hold
Maybe you studied art or design once. Maybe you even exhibited work or took commissions. But then life got busy. Family, finances, self-doubt, or even burnout took over.

If this is you, then now is the perfect time to give yourself permission to revisit your creative identity—not for a career shift (unless you want that), but for the healing and wholeness it brings.

Creativity is not about being productive. It’s about being present. It’s not about perfection—it’s about expression. Your art doesn’t need to be commercially viable to be deeply valuable. It just needs to exist.

And here’s the beautiful twist: when you honour your creative path again, even tentatively, the rest of your life begins to feel more aligned too.

The Path Was Never Lost—It Was Waiting
At ArtSHINE, we’ve coached hundreds of creatives, surface designers, photographers, and former professionals ready to explore a new chapter. And what we’ve learned is this:

The path you thought you left behind is still yours.

It’s not about going back. It’s about going inward—and allowing that inner artist to surface again, wiser, stronger, and more inspired than ever before.

That path may look different now. It might be a side project instead of a career, a weekend workshop instead of full-time study, or a small portfolio instead of a business (for now). But it’s still your path.

It’s never too late to pick up the brush, the lens, or the stylus again.

Your Creativity Is a Compass
So what if you got lost?

Getting lost helped you survive. It helped you grow, build resilience, learn about discipline, navigate complexity, and connect with others. All of those experiences now become the fuel for your new creative work.

You don’t start from scratch—you start from experience. And that is a powerful place to begin.

At ArtSHINE, we call this the “Pivot to Passion.” It’s the moment you stop asking, “What if I had followed my art?” and start asking, “What can I create now, with everything I’ve lived?”

Because the artist inside you didn’t disappear. They simply adapted. And now, they’re ready.

An Invitation: Come Back to Your Art
Whether you’re returning to your creative roots after decades, or you’ve only just realised that your job no longer reflects who you truly are, this is your sign:

Get curious again.

Take a class. Start a small sketchbook. Capture images on your morning walk. Revisit old ideas. Let your art whisper its way back into your life.

You don’t need permission. You don’t need a grand plan. You just need a beginning.

And if you’re looking for support—from community, coaching, or just a nudge in the right direction—we’re here for that too. The Pivot to Passion series was made for you.

You don’t need to know where the road ends. You just need to take the next step.

Final Thoughts
So if you’re feeling lost, let yourself explore.

If you’ve drifted from your art, come back gently.

And if you’re standing at the edge of something new, know this:

You’re exactly where you need to be.

Because sometimes, you need to lose your way to find the path you were always meant to take.

And now that you’ve found it, imagine what’s waiting just ahead.