- Published on
"Emmett & Padma" - mixed media on reclaimed wood, 24 x 24. Ready to hang. Making its public debut at Ciel Gallery in June. Inquiries: imajenation@gmail.com.
Why is it we are challenged as humans to discuss the obvious? We dance around dysfunction with grace and agility, avoiding topics which are uncomfortable but clearly need addressing. Thus the old adage of "the elephant in the room." The elephant, it seems, makes us seek our comfort rituals and avoidance tactics with precision. Even writing these words feels uncomfortable - like I might be stirring up trouble by bringing up the topic even in the most generic of terms.
Truth matters to me. It is something I value highly - maybe too much so. There is nothing like a well-placed fib to preserve someone's dignity or to avoid unnecessary hurt feelings. Elephant dancing, it seems, is a high art form, requiring a delicate sense of timing and a light step. Because a wrongly-placed fib does more damage than a truth.
And then there the stories we tell ourselves. My inner monologue can be rather unkind, and is often untrue. If we dissect the things we tell ourselves about ourselves, we find most of it is just not the case at all. What's with that? And we believe our own bull hockey. We believe our own self-lies with the same tenacity we use to mis-trust what others tell us. Hmmmmm.
Sometimes it is helpful to bust through all the elephant dancing with an heroic sprint, like football players through a GO TEAM sign before a game (and that is likely the only sports metaphor you will ever read here! ha ha!) This afternoon, I hope to bust through my own inner misconceptions and layers of cow patties in an act so BOLD that I shudder at the thought! Have I got you wondering yet?
In the meantime, enjoy Padma, who has decided to climb aboard the elephant, a sweet boy named Emmett, and stare down anyone who dares deny his existence. She is my kind of girl. :)
Why is it we are challenged as humans to discuss the obvious? We dance around dysfunction with grace and agility, avoiding topics which are uncomfortable but clearly need addressing. Thus the old adage of "the elephant in the room." The elephant, it seems, makes us seek our comfort rituals and avoidance tactics with precision. Even writing these words feels uncomfortable - like I might be stirring up trouble by bringing up the topic even in the most generic of terms.
Truth matters to me. It is something I value highly - maybe too much so. There is nothing like a well-placed fib to preserve someone's dignity or to avoid unnecessary hurt feelings. Elephant dancing, it seems, is a high art form, requiring a delicate sense of timing and a light step. Because a wrongly-placed fib does more damage than a truth.
And then there the stories we tell ourselves. My inner monologue can be rather unkind, and is often untrue. If we dissect the things we tell ourselves about ourselves, we find most of it is just not the case at all. What's with that? And we believe our own bull hockey. We believe our own self-lies with the same tenacity we use to mis-trust what others tell us. Hmmmmm.
Sometimes it is helpful to bust through all the elephant dancing with an heroic sprint, like football players through a GO TEAM sign before a game (and that is likely the only sports metaphor you will ever read here! ha ha!) This afternoon, I hope to bust through my own inner misconceptions and layers of cow patties in an act so BOLD that I shudder at the thought! Have I got you wondering yet?
In the meantime, enjoy Padma, who has decided to climb aboard the elephant, a sweet boy named Emmett, and stare down anyone who dares deny his existence. She is my kind of girl. :)
12 Comments
Well, yes, you DO have me wondering. I have been enacting small truths and boldnesses myself. I applaud you in advance!
Dotty - I celebrate your badassyness! (my word of the day) Go boldly forth, dear creative!!!
haha I love it, badassyness, the emasculation of badass! Or so it seems to me.
Stan! I like to think of it as making being a badass accessible even to us girls. :)
One of those FB quizzes indicated that I was BADASSEY🤗🤗🤗‼️‼️‼️Accessibility to girls is a MUST🤗🤗🤗‼️‼️‼️The elephants in my rooms could form their own WALK at times😜😜😜‼️‼️‼️Clearly, we each live with our own size elephants. With age, they HOPEFULLY diminish👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👍👍👍‼️‼️‼️
You are SO Badassey, Pat! Sounds like you had a parade of elephants???? Wouldn't it be lovely to shrink them down to mouses?
I'm working on a MOUSE🐭🐭🐭🐭🐭 parade with an occasional elephant 🐘 cutting the line🤣🤣🤣👍👍👍‼️‼️‼️
I can't wait to SEE!!!
You certainly did BUST through your own misconceptions and wrote a new dialogue for yourself. I'm proud of you!
wooohooooo! YAY! Thank you SO MUCH, Melissa! You have an incredible gift!!!
My first encounter with this idiom. So true, we always seem to beat around the bush. But, everything is revealed in our work somehow. It always shows!
Carol, this idiom is tossed around so much here that I was really surprised by your comment! And you are SO right...it always shows in the work. Artists can't help but be honest in what they create, right?
