Walking on the Moon
how we mark time and personal creative path.
I’m a bit distracted today as it marks my day of birth and this leads to remembering a night on July 20th 1969 when I just turned 13. A teenager, finally. My father set up our small black and white tv on the back porch with an extra long cord and we scrinched our eyes to look at the moon above wondering how those men in spacesuits felt on it’s foreign barren surface so unimaginably far away! We secretly hoped we could catch a glimpse of them in reality.. little astronaut specs on the moon.
It all felt so surreal
Earlier as a child I was obsessed with this book and would revisit the illustrations over and over -imagining the thrill of travelling into the universe on such a complex and mystifying spacecraft!
Some our earliest ambitions and passions start this way ! The drawings were highly detailed and I adored the possibilities..Also that a child could potentially be included in a space mission! (Wow!)
This birthday date marks 54 years since I watched that blurry event on our little B&W on the porch - and like most of us we mark time and connect to meaningful events from that moment in time. When we recall who we were we can often see a glimpse of that person we have become over the years.
How will you connect the dots from childhood to youth to young adulthood to now ?
Who were your mentors? Who believed in your creative side and helped foster your growth ?
Although our early influences may have started to shape our interests (I enjoyed science but especially when I could draw illustrations with my assignments )
I am not a scientist..or a biologist even though my joy gained from nature and living creatures has been lifelong
We tend to hold on the bits that most excited us..and sometimes most surprisingly they surface again later in life!
I believe my art practise and business started to flourish and grow when I was ready to dedicate time to it. Devoting time and effort to research and art making ..I already knew inside this was my true career path. I remembered how great it felt to put pencil to paper and brush to paint. I had to get back to it. To make space (Little as I had at the time as mother and full time worker) however tiny for art in my life . To make physical space in my home for my messy self to create and secure a spot that was mine.
So here I am now at 67 and it is no longer exciting or novel to walk on the moon . (Who would ever believe that we could ever talk and take videos/photos on our phones that fit in our pockets? That we could communicate with the world and make Jetson -like video calls to one and other?)
I love to reminisce a bit however and revisit that time when I was not yet fully formed but still open to possibility and awe.
If art is important to you ,and you have any small pocket of time please don’t delay.
Rediscover a bit of your childhood self .
Recall what you loved to do.
It’s not too late .
The sky is the limit!
Make SPACE for you and your art
Cheers ,Heather
Thank you Janice ..I think like most famous events of note in history it depended where you were and what life stage you were at .. we thought my dad was a bit kooky for making such a fuss at the time yet it was all a bit mysterious and incredible. In recalling President Kennedy’s untimely death I recall being able to buy a “Sword in the Stone” comic book and how the news broke from the shop owner to my mom .. the adults seemed more shocked than we were.
I remember that as well! I also remember that it was rainy for those days and I thought it was because they were on the moon.☺️ I think momentous events such as these change us in ways that we don’t realize until we’re older or more knowledgeable about ourselves and how we connect to the world. Self-Discovery is much like a walk on the moon. Wishing you the best on another rotation around this world...Happy Birthday!🎉🎂🎉