One Little Word: "Unlock"

I like to believe that "there are no coincidences," that everything happens for a reason.  Sometimes those reasons are BIG and other times they are so small they can be overlooked.  But, if you can stop for a quiet moment you may be able to pick up on a message in the seemingly serendipitous.

That said, I'm not sure what this chain of events really means, but I was touched, inspired, and am OPEN to the message.  Here's what went down:

I have recently discovered the beauty of podcasts as a way to stay in touch with my creative side while I am busy doing mundane tasks around the house.  So, you can imagine my joy when Julie Fei Fan Balzer announced that she and her mom would be broadcasting "Adventures in Arting" last month.

Julie's first guest was another inspiring artist I love, Ronda Palazzari, who I met through Cocoa Daisy.  Two faves in one place?  What fun!  I was able to listen to that first episode, "What is Failure?" on Ronda's blog before I was able to find it available on iTunes, and at the end of the post she had a poem which I'd never heard before.

"Come to the edge."

"We can't.  We're afraid."

"Come to the edge."

"We can't.  We will fall!"

"Come to the edge."

And they came.

And he pushed them.

And they flew.

-Guillaume Apollinaire*

I was stunned and overcome with emotion!  I felt my chest tighten with Their fear, and caught my breath when They were pushed.  And when They flew, I broke down in tears of relief!  Whoa!  What a ride!  What power in those few words!   And, to be honest, then I said to myself in a condescending manner, "What the Hell, Lisa??"

* There is some controversy that this poem is often misattributed to Guillaume Apollinaire because it was written on a poster advertising an exhibition of Apollinaire's art on the 50th anniversary of his death.  Logue had written it as a tribute at the request of the the show's curator, with the title "Apollinaire Said--", hence the confusion.    

As I regained composure I continued to browse through Ronda's blog, reading her previous posts, and came across the relaunch of One Little Word, "Celebrating the Power of Words" art challenge.  The inspiration word was "unlock" and I connected that something in that poem had unlocked something in me.  Yes, I needed to pour this emotion into a creative piece.  It took me a while, but yesterday it finally fell together.

"Unlock Your Fears"

The very first thing I did was to cut a stencil for the lock out of cardboard and built up modeling paste through it to get the shape.  I cut a keyhole shape, colored it black and pressed it into the wet goop.  I also spread modeling paste over two pieces of a Starbucks coffee cozy for the doors.  It all dried overnight, and then I finger painted both of the pieces.

"You can't shine if you don't step out into the sun."

I wanted to portray the butterflies as being plain as they came out from the doors, and then having gained more and more color and brilliance as they flew out into the light.

 I love that the Glimmer Glaze I used to paint the lacy ones created a thin, transparent film over the holes.  Cool! 

Lastly, I want to share a poem that my 15 year old, Jillian wrote, with her permission. It is one of the "coincidental" happenings I alluded to at the beginning of this post.  I finished this layout, was cleaning up the table, and picked up this random piece of paper.

The Self-Fulfilling Bubble

 From inside her bubble she looks out in fear,

"Are they all out there while I'm in here?"

They casually do such impossible deeds
She's comfortable here, but still she needs

To wander around if just on a quest

But when she breaks the bubble, she often regrets

For each time she wanders about she will find

That something she's done makes her think in her mind,

"I shouldn't have done that, oh golly, oh my,

Is anyone any more stupid than I?"
And back in her bubble she dwells on that thought

And the memory starts to decay and rot

And it causes the bubble to grow in its strength

'Cause the list of her fears has grown in its length

She says "Oh, I can't leave! It's impossible to do."

And because of that mindset the statement comes true.

She is brilliant, I tell you! She says that nothing in particular happened to spark this poem, she just at some point felt inspired.  Gosh, how I do love this girl!

The latest challenge is up at OLW, and the Word Up is "Celebrate."  What are you celebrating?  Wanna play along?

Thanks for visiting!