Hatching the Super Nubbly Knobbly Criscact

Who has time for frivolity and silliness? Not me. So much serious stuff to catch up on, so many 'chores' to focus on, so much STUFF going on in the world, so much to worry and fret about. Sighhhh. Add to all that: yesterday I woke up to 3 inches of snow (after weeks of mildish temps and rain), a midday temperature of minus 2 and, first thing, even before I'd ventured into the kitchen, my tooth broke. SIGHHHH. But I had rearranged a video call with Bethe in Texas so I could attend a live/ zoom watercolour painting session with Rachel Kentish of Rae Creates (check out her Etsy shop) so I made sure I attended. I knew that Rae was focusing on creating fantastical creatures but I told myself I could always work on something serious, something that really mattered, maybe my ATCs from January, on the sly.

Last time (also the first time) I attended a live session with Rae and her lovely 'followers', I painted a simple madala that ended up having so much meaning for me that I placed it on my spring altar. Besides, Rae has such a gentle peacefulness about her and her voice reminds me of Sheila's, a beloved childhood friend. A little sprinkle of peace and reminiscing is never a bad thing.

Wouldn't you know it, Rae flipped through enclyopedias and showed us how the pictures of wildlife inspired her crazy creatures and, well, it just looked like so much fun to create a mythical beast, I couldn't resist.  Of course, the idea and hope is that we practice and hone our watercolour skills.  Maybe I did that too. But I know for sure that I hatched the Super Nubbly Knobbly Criscact with her favourite flower. And I had SO much fun! (even naming her, can you tell? Lol!)

Each day better/ with a dollop of silly/ and jolts of joy/ Day 80 of #100daysofsybhaiku & day 110 of #365daysofsybwriting on instagram

I based her on yesterday's haiku picture of my Christmas cactus. Lol. But you will certainly be forgiven for not seeing the likeness!

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All this delightful silliness reminded me of one of my creative 'heroes' Shel Silverstein. If ever I doubt what I'm sharing with the world creatively, especially something bizarre and light hearted, I remember his wisdom and all he gave this world and how much better we are for it. Long before I even knew of him, his poems and songs touched me as a child (to this day I can't listen to 'The Unicorn' by the Irish Rovers which he wrote without tears in my eyes). Later, I fell in love with Dr Hook and many of their quirky ballads and moving songs ('I Got Stoned And I Missed It',  'Cover of The Rolling Stone', 'Sylvia's Mother', 'More Like The Movies'  and 'A Couple More Years' to name only several) and was astounded to learn that they had been written by the same person, this Shel Silverstein character. In university, we studied his children's books. Such talent--he drew the pictures, he wrote the words. I found out years later that he also wrote the infamous Johnny Cash song, 'A Boy Called Sue' which I had loved even as a child as it had my name (or what I wanted as my name) in it and it was funny.

But when I doubt my creativity, especially the more frivolous creations, I turn to one of his short poems, 'Put Something In'.  I used to have this poem printed out and in full view of my computer. Maybe it's time to put it back up. I hope the link below works and you can listen to 30 seconds of the poem being read aloud. Spoiler alert: it ends with 'Put something silly in the world/ that ain't been there before.'  Yesterday, thanks to Rae, I did just that. And it felt wonderful.

What silliness can you add to the world today?

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