Yesterday, I had an oil change appointment for our car and brought along a new book I just received in the mail to read. The book is titled Paint Mojo: A Mixed Media Workshop and written by Tracy Verdugo with contributing artists, which give it rich insight into using art as a form of creative expression. I only made it part way through the first chapter when I found that it was not a book to read quickly. Each page holds a wealth of things to consider and think about.
“Finding Symbols and Making Meaning” is actually a paragraph title in the book. The next page is titled “Personal Iconography.” That is as far as I got. It basically challenges you to consider your own work and what shapes and even creatures seem to frequently emerge.
The idea of a “spirit animal” is something I have heard others adopting. Some say it is a Native American practice. Some also seem to know exactly what their animal would be if asked as they have always had a favorite animal. For me, that is not the case, so when Tracy brought up elephants being symbolic for her, I decided there might be “an elephant in the room” for me too. In other words, maybe t was just too obvious.
First to shapes. A shape I use many, many times in my art is the leaf shape. It seems to just flow out from my hand to me pen or brush. I am not really sure if that shape has a specific name, and calling it a “leaf shape” could make one think of other leaf shapes that are not the kind I am thinking of.
I have pondered how the shape can also be a flame shape, leading to the symbolism of the Gifts of the Holy Spirit that are often associated with flames. The shape could also be considered a fish shape. It could certainly be considered the shape of an eye. A feather could be another representation of the shape.
Within those thoughts, the shape of a rabbits ear came out. The most common symbolism for a rabbit that I know is fertility. That is not really something that resonated with me right now. But I looked at the symbolism of a rabbit a bit deeper. Words like creativity, spontaneity, comfort, vulnerability, and freeze came up. That word “freeze” stopped me. When a rabbit senses fear, they often freeze and perk up their ears. I can relate to that! It is not necessarily a positive reaction, but I can picture myself reaching out to that little rabbit and finding kinship.
I decided I might not write off that symbolism so fast. One word I added to my art journal page today after I had taken the photo is “listen”. How could I forget that word?
The verse I used to start my journal page on today comes from a piece of artwork that I originally found while we were in Kinsale, Ireland. I fell in love with it right away but knew it would not make it back to the US safely in my stuffed suitcase. Long story short, I do have a copy of the print now. It hangs as you walk into the kitchen as a reminder for me every day. (Granted, there are days I seem to miss the message!)
Part of me did not want to write this post because I did not have my thoughts all nice and tidily arranged with a summary and completion, but I decided that is really not how life is most of the time. so, I will post this here as just a part of the journey. Where it goes, I really do not know.
Love and light to you on your own journey,
Christine
