Pet Story.
When I was little, I found a black-and-yellow striped caterpillar in my yard and immediately fell in love. I decided it would live with me in my room, so I gave it my giant Barbie bus as a home. I put some lettuce in there and pretty much thought we’d be friends forever.
Well, that didn’t work out.
Illustration: Fred Crump, Jr., *Book: Smith, G., & Smith, V. (1961). Creepy Caterpillar. Steck-Vaughn Company.
Creepy Caterpillar.
I remember being fascinated as a kid by the fairy tale The Ugly Duckling (Hans Christian Andersen, 1843). Remember how the little duckling is rejected for being different? But then eventually grows into a beautiful swan - and shows them all!
It always made me feel hopeful about things working themselves out in the end.
And many years later, I was delighted when I came across a book called Creepy Caterpillar*. It was the same ugly duckling story, but from the viewpoint of a cute little caterpillar. Poor little guy just wanted someone to play with, but nobody had the time.
Illustration: Fred Crump, Jr., *Book: Smith, G., & Smith, V. (1961). Creepy Caterpillar. Steck-Vaughn Company.
Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood.
And I fondly remember being little and watching Mr. Rogers on TV. I loved how he talked to people and puppets in exactly the same way. He made everyone feel important. Everyone deserved his attention. And he’d always say, You are enough, exactly as you are.
I think it’s fair to say Mr. Rogers gave voice to the good stuff, the wisdom, of our fairy tales growing up, like The Ugly Duckling. He wanted kids to love themselves as they are. And he believed everyone deserves kindness and understanding.
©2018 Alex Mitchell, SPILLING OPEN 5, Pedestal Sculpture: Acrylic on paper over wire frame, mixed media, 10x10x9 cm / 4x4x3.5 in.
Creative Fingerprint.
My latest obsession is about investigating my creative fingerprint. I’ve been excavating memories and photos, and digging through my artwork archives. It’s astonishing to me how my childhood loves show up over and over and over again in my creations. My whole body of work is clearly sparked by my childhood.
Ya see, there’s a spark that drives your creative expression throughout your life. And all the different things you create are simply all the different ways of saying the same thing in response to this spark inside you.
This spark lives inside of you as a question - your fingerprint question.
My fingerprint question = What do I do with this deep yearning to belong?
And today. I’m sharing artwork that’s been sparked by The Ugly Duckling and Mr. Rogers.
It’s not hard to see how my art has always evoked a yearning to belong. But for the longest time, I thought it was all about me making art that helped me relive my childhood.
But ever since I started down the rabbit hole of my fingerprint question, I can see there’s more going on beneath the surface.
Within each of us, there are light and dark qualities. Belonging to the world means belonging to yourself first.
And belonging to all of yourself is about being fully alive.
“Today you are You, that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is Youer than You.”
- Dr. Seuss
©2018 Alex Mitchell, SPILLING OPEN 1 (DETAIL), Pedestal Sculpture: Acrylic on paper over wire frame, mixed media, 10x10x9 cm / 4x4x3.5 in.
Spilling Open.
Here’s a sweet series of small sculptures I created called: Spilling Open (2018). I was exploring the theme of longing and belonging.
What does it mean to belong to life?
What does it mean to belong to yourself?
Feel free to think of these little sculptures as self-portraits. Because when I made these, I was thinking about being both the caterpillar and also the tiny worm breaking out of the shell.
And maybe I should add that I think life is circular. Our greatest gift - being born, being here - is also our greatest loss because we are separated from Source. Here’s a poem I wrote about this:
isn’t the moment of our birth
our greatest loss
and living our lives
our greatest gift
how strange this deep longing
to go home
to wherever it is we came from
how desperate this desire
to stay here
to grow roots and belong to this
isn’t it always both
longing and belonging
loving life
spilling open
©2015 Alex Mitchell, ARE YOU READY illustration, A Poem Picture Book
Are You Ready Little Caterpillar.
These two images (above and below) are from a picture book I wrote and illustrated called: Are You Ready Little Caterpillar (2015).
I have to say, my little caterpillar is just the cutest! Throughout the book, he’s striving to improve, struggling to feel worthy, and putting his little life on hold, all in an effort to be something other than his true self.
©2015 Alex Mitchell, ARE YOU READY illustration, A Poem Picture Book
You wondrous, magnificent creature, you, with all the incredible things you can do. And still you do not, know the beautiful sound, of your own beating heart. Boom-boom, boom-boom, boom-boom.
At the end of the book, I included this text:
Dear little caterpillar,
I see you struggling to improve, making plans, working hard at getting better. And I see that you are putting your life on hold. You foolishly think you have all the time in the world to get better so that when you feel you are finally good enough, you will have the life you deserve. But if you can’t believe you are good enough now, then there will never be enough time.
Little caterpillar, you do not and cannot know what your future holds. You are unaware of nature’s marvelous plan for you, of the incredible personal transformation that awaits you. No matter how broken or incomplete your life may feel at times, you are still growing. Your destiny is to grow into something beautiful, and you have been ready for this since the day you were born. You don’t know how or why this will happen, but you have to believe it will. It is your destiny. Believe in yourself. You are good enough right now as you are. You are who you were born to be. Live your life.
Come Play: Clothespin Butterflies + Caterpillars
In honor of my pet caterpillar and love of butterflies, I’ve created a fun play break for you! Smile.
Well, that’s all for today’s post. I hope you’ve enjoyed this little detour down creative-fingerprint-memory lane. There’s more to come!
p.s. If you're curious about your own fingerprint question, I give you the steps to a little exercise here: https://twinkiwinki.com/pages/following-joy