I finger painted again today. I had a plan, but as plans often do, this one went in its own direction. The bands of blue started growing roots, the whole page was too big to fit on a journal page, so I started cutting and pasting. I came up with The Forest.
This forest has a clearing. It seems to sync nicely with the Creative Every Day theme of intuition. When we listen to our intuition, we are in the clear. When we don’t, or try to talk ourselves out of what we intuit to be true, we end up in the woods. When we let what we want to do override what we know we ought to do, we stray deeper into the woods.
I think of Into the Woods, the incredible Stephen Sondheim musical. It’s a story that involved many characters from familiar fairy tales – Red Riding Hood, Rapunzel, Cinderella, etc. They fall prey to greed, lust, and other human foibles, knowing that what they are doing is wrong, and they get pulled deeper into the woods.
The trouble is, if you don’t listen to your intuition, which in a way is telling you right or wrong, you get pulled so deeply into the woods that you can’t get out. Some of the characters in the musical didn’t make it out. Some made it out deeply scarred.
There have been times I’ve overridden my intuition, trying to talk myself out of it, and I’ve always been wrong. I should have listened. After several false moves, I have learned this lesson. I wish we all could learn it without straying first too far into the woods.
I have more art journal pages on my web site susanreep.com and in the journal folder on Flickr.
Tags: art journal, Creative Every Day, fingerpainting, forest, into the woods, intuition
Dear Susan,
What a very meaningful post, in connection with your finger painting. Tis true, intuition is to be followed for it is our true calling. I appreciate the way you see when you don’t follow your intuition and end up deeper into the woods, that feeling of being lost and steered away from the light, even after you know in which direction you ought to have gone in.
Intuition is sure powerful, and it is important to acknowledge it when need be, for our growth and to guide us into where we would like to be.
Beautiful indeed.
Have a very happy creative every day month.
I played Jack’s Mom in “Into the Woods” – my first big musical. I loved it.
Your journal page is gorgeous. I would like to rest under one of the trees right now.
Love your journal page. The trees are powerful and quiet all at once. Your intuition served you well, as it often does to us all when we listen. Very nice post.