For this very first Secret Garden gathering I’ve decided to celebrate its’ namesake and show you some inspirations behind the artwork from the original Secret Garden Peekaboo! (if you’ve not seen this, go take a look, you’re in for a real treat-art, audio storytelling, critical thinking) and the beautiful labyrinth watercolor painting I recently completed for the upcoming “Getting Lost” collection.
Diving into the rich work of others is tremendously helpful when I’m trying to create a world for my painting to live in. It allows me to imagine how it would look like and feel. To see this specific thing I’m trying to create through their eyes. So many different experiences can play a part in creating a bubble of enchantment around an idea and I’d like to share a few here with you that you can start exploring immediately with your own magic-making.
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♠The Labyrinth and The Taschen Book of Symbols
This is my favorite book on mythic symbols and archetypes. It’s big, beautiful and succinct, a must have for the study of symbology.
The labyrinth is a meaningful and important symbol of the Travelogue Project and my “Inside the Labyrinth” journal of enchantment. There are a few reasons why. The form, experience and symbolic nature of the journey closely parallels my mission of exploring and sharing enchantment. Here’s an excerpt from the book above:
” The labyrinth is an ancient symbol whose convoluted form, found naturally in seashells, animals’ intestines, spider webs, the meandering body of the serpent, the eddying of water, the internal structure of underground caves and the whirling galaxies of space, has always been highly suggestive to the imagination. These labyrinthine spirals indicate the symbolic passageway from the visible realm of the human into the invisible dimension of the divine.”
♠Beautiful websites on labyrinths
Did you know that labyrinths are unicursal (one way in and out) unlike it’s cousin the maze? It’s often employed symbolically in spiritual scenarios while the maze is used scientifically. More interesting facts from these sites:
http://www.labyrinthbuilders.co.uk/ (beautiful garden labyrinths in the UK)
http://labyrinthsociety.org/labyrinth-types (learn about all types of circuits and labyrinths)
♠The Sketchbook for the original Secret Garden Peekaboo! Collection (go see):
♠The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
This is a classic childrens’s story of growth and change and endlessly fascinating with its multiple allegorical meanings. I ponder this in the Secret Garden Peekaboo! (Secret Garden Illustration by Charles Robinson)
♠The Secret Garden Audiobook narrated by Vanessa Maroney
There are a few audio versions of the Secret Garden. This is the best and only one you should listen to. Vanessa’s narration of the local characters’ dialects is spot-on and immersive.
♠The Soundtrack to the Secret Garden by Zbigniew Preisner
Getting in the mood of the story isn’t complete without this beautiful soundtrack from the movie of the same name. I love the gorgeous, haunting piano melodies, sends me into the garden every time.
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Explorer Tip: I hope you’ve enjoyed this little respite from your regular inspirations, remember, it’s not enough to just know about them from me, you’ll need to dive in yourself and read the story to spark your own imagination and creativity. Be the voracious explorer I know you are, now go!