I always hear myself saying, ‘I’m at the start of my art practice’. I think I say that so there seems like there is less pressure. Then when something wonderful is created I can feel like I have exceeded more than expected.
However this ‘endless beginning’, somehow stops me from recognising all that I have learnt and confidently sharing what I have developed already. The fact is, I have had many years working as a creative, and more specifically I decided to dedicate myself to an art practice in 2021.
These thoughts are from the ‘monkey of the mind’, and they’re not entirely without purpose, they take us places we would not go if we stuck to ‘the known plan’ or ‘the fastest way to get there’.
For me these meanderings and side-tracks give me other experiences or possibilities to consider. I may go around and around for quite a while, until suddenly I arrive at a place inside my mind where an idea will appear, I can see it clearly (perception), there is a path (action), and it feels different!
Only then can I take this idea, and start moving in an outward direction knowing that I have well and truly ruminated through enough areas of my inner self to now, ‘take the banana and run!’
That process is how the name arrived for this blog.
Spontaneous fruit
Where I live in Santa Teresa, it’s part of the Atlantic forest and capuchin monkeys (macaco-prego) are everywhere. It’s also home to many giant tree species which grow over 25 metres tall.
That’s where the name of this blog fell from – high up on one of those beautiful trees – such as a jequitiba or a sumauma, some of the biggest in Brasil. But I make it sound so easy, like great ideas and clear directions come from the forest of my mind all the time…
Since last June I have not been so focussed on my art practice because life was taking me elsewhere. However in the forest of my mind I was still allowing the roots to grow in the soil. Then recently I got a clear internal message to do an artist blog as it would give me a place to express myself during the art process, help me to research further and let me see what wisdom I already carry.
Then my first thought was – what will I call the blog?
Thoughts about thoughts
I thought about a word connected to visual art, or a more abstract philosophical term, I thought about using my name, or perhaps a reference to the fact I am an Australian artist living in Brazil. I thought about alot of thoughts and none seemed to ‘fit’ who or where I am now. I then had pressure building up on the inside of me as I intuitively felt that I didn’t want to delay the launch of the blog too long.
So I took the focus off the name search and began researching and chatting to expert friends about some of the technical aspects of the blog site but before I could even start with building the template – I needed a name!
Then I remembered about a book I’ve been reading; Sand Talk by Tyson Yunkaporta, he talks about metaphors being the language of connecting the abstract realm of ideas to the physical world.
‘That’s what I need, a metaphor’
So with my head buzzing, I went to bed hoping to get some relief through sleeping. The next morning I woke up once again thinking about the name, and then suddenly – BOOM – the words dropped out of nowhere… into the forefront of my mind… immediately I got a butterfly type feeling in my gut and I thought this could be a good name… I’m a monkey (Chinese astrology) and I live in the forest, PLUS it’s a metaphor for the workings of the mind. It was so spontaneous and I could see the words like an image in my head, then after a few minutes I knew with absolute certainty I had it – THE NAME.
My wish is that this blog will be a way to articulate my endless jumping through the creative forest, and that some of these articles may be helpful to others who are also searching for that ‘banana’ to bring something to life.
So please enjoy my blog, ‘a monkey in the forest’.
What is the blog about?
• art practice and processes – what’s working and what’s not.
• transcendental thoughts
• guidance and reflections from the forest
• creative practices to help us all keep evolving
This blog is about art and creativity, and how they can free our spirit and keep us feeling joyful.
