Goldilocks & Art
I’ve had a surprising visitor in my head this week. I have no idea how she gained entry, but I have a hunch that she had something to tell me, so I thought I’d invite her into this blog to see what might emerge.
Goldilocks was definitely my favourite early years storybook character. The girl with no name (just described as blondie), was a courageous rule breaker and the little miss Bear Grylls of her time.
She slipped out through the garden gate of acceptable safety and headed into the unknown, in search of adventure - the dark woods where the wild and unpredictable lived. And, as we all know, she discovers a cute cottage belonging to a family of well behaved bears, who just happened to be out having their morning constitutional.
Goldilock’s curiosity got the better of her and before she could help herself, she was inside and standing on the kitchen tiles.
Then begins the bit that every child loves. Goldilocks starts making a series of decisions, as she discovers three different delights that grab her interest. We eaves drop on this little girl as she chats to herself, deciding which bowl of porridge feels right, which chair fits who she is and which bed gives her the comfort she longs for. She constantly checks in with her senses and her inner voice of well-being, then comes to a decisions and takes an action.
So, it left me wondering what could this tickle of a thought, floating in my subconscious grey matter, possibly have to do with art and creativity? I searched for a bridge, or even a fallen log, to take me over from Goldilocks to what may be useful for my art or yours.
The first thing I realised was that, like Goldilocks, all of my creativity and artistic adventures have started by me getting intentional - a desire to leave ‘home’ and venture out. Without intention or a tangible idea, I would never leave the comfort of my bean-bag. Being clear about intention is vital, to keep me on the path, especially when the woods surrounding me ooze gloom. Recently I’ve been giving myself space, with my journal, to ask the question, “Where do I want to go with my art - what is the next adventure - can I see it clearly?” Little Miss G had an intention for a bigger life. She’d waited long enough. Now was the time.
I realised that there will always be reasons for me to turn back, or linger in old places, when in fact I need to be moving on. We stay where we are, because we can’t face the closed door, which we imagine will be locked, or impossible to open and we are intimidated by an imaginary hand, barring our way. But, experience is showing me that if I turn the doorknob and forget my fears for a nano-second, it might just be enough to propel me into the first step of a new adventure. My recent art course into exploring abstract art, has done that for me. I imagined it would be impossible, until I tried and now I know I’m not in Kansas any more.
We amusingly chant Goldilock’s famous lines…”And this one was juuuust right”, because she found the right porridge, the right sized chair and the right bed for her. The others were either, too cold, too hot, too hard or too big. Yet this was a girl who knew what felt right for her. Her internal SATnav was guiding her to what suited her best. She knew what she was looking for instinctually. If I trust my intuition more and keep asking myself good questions (maybe even aloud) and make time to literally check in with ME every day and then wait for honest answers, I’m finding that this is creating a habit of kind dialoging, which is leading me to better self care and a better space for my art to germinate.
“Your best art will come from finding your own way” - Nicholas Wilton
