Leah asks:
Are there any animals showing up in your life or artwork right now? Do they have meaning for you? If you asked them what they're here to teach you, what would they answer?
It is so funny that I should read this today of all days.
Last night I decided that today would be the day I investigate elephants.
If you remember my May dream board, I said the elephants in the pictures demanded to be there.
Elephants have been wanting to creep in and manifest and help things manifest for awhile now.
It's time I gave them some genuine attention here.
Ganesh is one of my patron saints, if you will. I am a writer-and now officially an artist as well--yes, I have decided to accept this label/title and to feel good about doing so.
Which brings up....
I have also been paying closer attention to my own Deities lately.
Interesting things are turning up there as well.
First, Ganesh is a god who loves writers, artists, dancers...so it is said. Somewhere along the line I was told He is the God of literature and therefore writers...
I am forever known for my dual nature--a Gemini-ascendent Pisces--it's not a hard leap there....my Deities reflect this about me.....
Ganesh--He places the obstacles in your way--and He removes them--as He sees fit.
Ma Kali--the Destroyer--and the Great Mother Creator....She burns you clean with Her Touch...or She does me....
I have a version of Kuan Yin here--the Benevolent Mother--as an avenging Force on par with Ma Kali.
Oshun--Goddess of Love, prosperity--with an outrageous temper, giving Her vent to become the Creatrix of Storms.
My darling Loki--Trickster God....
There are many more I could pull up and pull out ... but I won't.
It's like having two kids...you leave them happily playing and giggling together to run to the bathroom before anyone notices and wants to come in with you (yes, my kids are 5 and 8 --that does NOT stop them! although the dog is even worse...)--and all of a sudden both are screaming and crying after the split-second fisty-cuffs is over. And you're caught with your pants down around your ankles trying to figure out who's dying fastest and what happened....
Back to the elephants.
I have wandered my mental landscape all day, off and on, throughout all my other wanderings today, trying to find the elephant in my childhood and beyond. I am not surprised at all to find them hiding there.
Here's something I wrote this morning...from a piece I am not going to continue, since I have already started a different aspect in another piece...so here's what I am salvagaing--and posting here...
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Long ago, before I moved from my mother’s house to my father’s for all but that final time, when I was maybe eight years old, maybe nine, my mother bought me a beautifully decorated purple elephant as a birthday present, with jeweled blanket across its back, the deluxe version, in what I thought of as royal garb, or party dress. This is something I had wanted for awhile, something that appealed to some dimly remembered place in my heart. She had managed to sneak in buying it and getting it past me into the house. But, I had a birthday party to go to, for one of my best friends. Her birthday was a week or so before mine. We lived on a pretty tight budget, to say the very very least. My mother brought me into her room, which I never entered without permission, even if she were not home, and showed me this beautiful thing. It was not a toy. It was a collector’s item. A show piece. Oh, how I had wanted one, for so long. My mother told me she had gotten it for me, for my birthday. She said I could have this to give to my friend…or I could keep it as my own. She also made it clear there was no money for any other present. I had to choose one or the other. It hurt me to say it, but I didn’t hesitate when I said I would be pleased to give it to my friend. I would rather she be happy and I get to go to her party to see her enjoy it. This is what I did.
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A deep royal purple. WIth an ornamental head dress and saddle/blanket and ankle bracelets--alot of embroidery--alot of jewels. Very pretty. I have never regretted giving that to my friend.
There's one. The bog one that bellows from the depths of my brain in triumph.
The ex always had a thing for elephants. He never could tell me why. I just liked elephants, period. I never really gave it all that much thought.
Elephants to me are part of the primordial beginnings of the Universe. I do not know where this thought came from--or why it is a part of my hierarchy. But--there it is. That is the way it has always been, so far as I can tell.
When I think of elephants I think of wisdom, compassion, patience....I think of Matriarchs and Mothers in charge of things. Women running things in a cool calm and sedate manner....until danger appears and then there is serious business to be attended to, where the Mothers unite to destroy all threat before returning to their peaceful existence. Elephants have no real natural enemies--other than Man, of course.
Today I learned that elephants represent many things to many people.
Things like:
well-being
prosperity
movers of good things/events
abundance
richness
fertility
boldness
strength
wisdom
royalty
clouds
gracefulness
earth and its tremors
messenger of the gods
The White Elephant holds similar connotations to me as does the White Buffalo.
Elephants are one of the Seven Jewels of Royal Power, so it is said.
The elephant represents the boundless powers of a Buddha; miraculous aspiration, analysis, intention and effort...
Elephants also represent the muladhara chakra--the foundation chakra--the one I work on most of the time in myself--grounding and finding a balance to support myself with/upon. Elephants are the strong firmament upon which one builds the foundations for the largest, tallest, most immense buildings.....
The big question is what are they here to teach me....
I am still pondering this one.....
I will let you know what I find out.
I did draw a couple very nice pictures today...there is one of an elephant that I think is particularly good. I am waiting til my dickblick order arrives before I colour it in....I placed the order last night....
I did work on my drawing lesson today...made it mostly through lesson one. It is a self-paced course, so I am not worrying there.
I drew some really horrendous stuff that turned out amazingly like the practice examples. It did not really make me happy. Although it did emphasize the whole you should have an affinity for the subject you are drawing aspect for me.....
That was said at the beginning of the lesson...one of the artist's tips...then they proceeded to have me draw things I have no real affinity for and which I felt were not at all very decent. I do like how a couple of the tropical birds turned out, but generally felt they too fell short. I'm ok with falling short-personally I expect to at this point.
They had an example of an elephant, so I copied that sketch. It was cute, but not what I had in mind. I set aside my book and my markers, pulled up a picture from morguefile.com and drew a very remarkable elephant picture on my own that I am very proud of.
And I will say it again...I do not like to draw with markers. I like to do my work in pencil. I like to be able to erase and redraw. I have a much better time using pencils to draw. I have also developed an issue of late where my hand trembles alot for some reason and the marker lines are all squiggly. In some cases I have used this quirk to my advantage--but when I am adding colour to mandalas the quirk is a jerk and does not help at all. With a pencil, there are no such issues.
I know I have 'official' drawing pencils...somewhere....I just don't know where...probably in hiding with my ice pick. :-) And now my stapler...although in defense of the stapler, I have to hide it from the girl because I know not what she does to it that makes me have to buy a new one after she's touched the old one.....she messes them up that much....yes....
It is too late at night now for me to finish my story....which is good because I am not sure where it is going...the white elephant story of mine that I began before my children nagged me off the computer so they could play online earlier today....
but there is always tomorrow.
Sleep tight. :-)
