Expression of Innocence

 

 

“The notion of innocence refers to children's simplicity, their lack of knowledge, and their purity not yet spoiled by mundane affairs. Such innocence is taken as the promise of a renewal of the world by the children.” – Childhood Studies, Oxford

Once we were purity, open, innocent.   Once, our world was nothing either frustration at NOT being able to express ourselves or pure joy at being able to express ourselves our own way.  Creativity allows us to enter that joy with alternate ways of expression.  How beautiful is that?

Childhood is knowing a world without having to know the ugliness of the world, of people, and of things.  It is that innocence that flutters within us, now and again, when we are able to chuff off what the world is like when we experience the outside world…outside of early childhood.  It is that place where we do not know disappointment.  It is that space where we are allowed to believe in fairies and Santa and easter bunnies and tooth fairies…  before we know we had been lied too.  It is that place we long for again.  It is that space we can go to when we escape into the meditation/prayer/creativity of expressing things our way.

Sometimes, we just need to sit down at a piece of substrate and start making marks, start gluing and painting and playing until an image appears.  It is squelching the critical voice within (Evil Inner Witch/Critical Mother-teacher-Accusatory Voice within our heads that is our nasty Ego at work).  Escaping that sense of ‘I am not enough’, that has been our experiences in growing up in this world, is paramount for simple relief.  Expressing ourselves through art is reclaiming that childhood belief that all things were made to care for us, to nourish us, to inspire us… that we would always be safe.  I am sure we all remember the day we knew that childhood joy and nurturing was temporary.  

Creative expression is a way to gain back some of that sense, in a very deep soul-quenching way.

And so I begin by using my favorite turquoise acrylic to slather on a background.  Then I drew the shape of a head, then put down my pencil and my paints and grabbed some glue and started collaging paper ephemera for hair.  Did some collaging for her top, then went back to her hair and added a bow.