 I don’t know why I love her so much. Believe me it’s a question that curiosity has asked of me many times over the years.
She’s mysterious and enigmatic, as well as vulnerable and available. She’s fierce and wildly soul passionate, as well as flawed and deeply fallible. She’s subject to the ever changing blowing Mexican whims and to try to pin her down is futile. I’ve tried, but to no avail! I was just 20 years old when I bought her diaries. The Frida cult craze was not yet in its full iconic throttle. As an artist myself, a sensitive and shy dreamer, she enchanted and enthralled me immediately. Frida Kahlo, whose birthday is celebrated this 6th July, was a pioneer in ways that we take for granted now: The art journaling, all poured out emotion, snippets of her bruised heart’s tales, the water-coloured walking wounded impact of her accidents (she counted her lifelong love to Diego as one of them!); The ‘selfies’ she painted, in the form of idealised self-portraits, long before even the Insta-camera, never mind Instagram! Unlike any other artist before her, she lived, and exposed, her rawness. Of being a woman in a time when kudos to women artists was not yet in favour (and is still unravelling as I type!). She dared to be a voice of a woman in pain, in the inability to carry a child, and in the many betrayals that her lover, and life, bestowed upon her. Yet she was no victim. Hell no! And that’s a part of why she speaks to us still now, stronger than ever, when everyone from Madonna, to Tracy Emin, and thousands of artists all over the world are in some way bewitched by her. You could say that she was a narcissist, and you wouldn’t be wrong. You could call her self-indulgent, and though that may be part of how she remained so close to the cuts to the bones of her being, she was also very publicly and proudly an advocate for the rights of the Mexican people, about politics and, consciously or not, the visibility of being a woman who was, and is, allowed to be both creative and sexual. Frida lived her life as art, and whose art was her life. There was seemingly no separation! She was unapologetic about her realness, and though she chose to clothe herself and make up her hair in the costumes of the indigenous people of her beloved country, ironically, she was not hiding behind any mask. Her flawed and imperfect persona, her physical as well as emotional scars, became the unfettered, and unfiltered, ingredients that made up the creative matter of her art. Her art became her therapy, long before such a thing was so common place as it is today. I stare at the poster of her that hangs on the wall of my living room. Indeed I have several dotted throughout my home. I have been looking at this image for a while, asking her questions, waiting for her to bemuse my muse with some epiphany or great insight. It doesn’t happen! She just gazes back, a force of brazen presence, that won’t, can’t and would never consider backing away from my gaze. I am not alone in believing that some part of her lives within me, as silly as that sounds. That I was born with a slight sprinkle of her cellular magic that has been brushed eternal into my soul. Over the last quarter of a century I have discovered that there are many of us out there who claim to be a little part Frida incarnate. She was and has a lot to go around! The thing about Frida was that she bore her life, her love, her pain, her beauty. All of it. Some she suffered through her self-imposed and human choices, and some through the twisted and unfair fates of her destined hand. She bore it all with such a spirit. An unbreakable spirit. There may have been times when she was broken and brought to her knees by life’s grief and brutality, but she never gave up, or gave in. She never shrunk herself down, hid or denied any of it. I wonder if it was because of this that her fire shone so bright!? Maybe she reminds us of this within ourselves. A Mother Mary deity, a modern day Kali, a goddess of the twentieth century, and something, someone, that we, as women, need to believe in, to look up to in awe, to embrace, to mirror back to us the fragments of our vulnerable but invincible spirit. We might live in a time of swaddling self-help sanitisation, and faux fixes for our feral spirit, but Frida didn’t seek to ‘heal’ herself, but rather to roar out in force! Her art, her creative spirit, used her. Not for the faint of heart. Not for those of us seeking to hold our pieces together in some kind of sane semblance of civil belonging. Where did Frida belong? In a way her art and life implores this question over and over again. And isn’t it ironic that all these years later, she belongs to all of us in some way. A myth and a mirror. A muse and a model. A misfit and a mistress of full passion and no fucks given!! Maybe Frida was a trickster, waking us up to so much truth. Maybe she was a sorceress, her art and voice like incantations and spells weaving their web over the world. I still don’t know why I love her. But maybe that’s the point?! I can’t put into words something that’s deeper. It’s a feeling that stirs within my own soul. It’s a truth that runs through my wild fire blood. And truth, when we recognise it, has no words. Happy birthday Frida. And thank you. I love you xx
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 Every living thing has desire running through it. The desire for life. The desire to create. The desire to become, grow, and thrive. It is a powerful force that can manifest into rich creativity in all areas of our life, art, business, and relationships. It is an instinctual, natural force, rooted in our innocence of being, and from our soul's yearning. Desire is the seed spark for all creative ideas, stories, art, projects, adventures, and together with commitment (see 'C is for Commitment': https://youtu.be/YMo7dOcMeGI :-)), creates a magnetic force that attracts life towards us! Healthy desire helps us to grow, and feels satisfying, and has a fullness, and embodiment, about it. It is instinctual, literally arising from our belly, body, bones, breath, blood, and our heart. It is our truth desiring to be expressed into form! We can hold many beliefs around desire though, and this can cause us to shrink or squash or ignore our natural desires through fear, judgement and shame. It is worth exploring your relationship with desire in your life. Is it an honouring one? An approving one? Are you able to give full reign and permission to allow desire to flow through you? As part of the 'An A to Z guide to being a creative genius', I have created this week's video on 'D is for Desire'. Check it out my lovelies! :-) If you enjoyed this video then do please like it, subscribe to my channel as i intend to post a new one each week, and do share with your fellow creative geniuses! :-)
So much creative rock 'n soul love to you. HH, The Creative Genius xx 
How to support your life, art and creative business.
Below are some resources for you lovely, that may be of help for you in supporting your creative life. Enjoy, and let me know if you found any of these helpful! :-) And if you haven't done so already, at the bottom of this article is a link to watch the video 'S is for Support!', from my 'An A to Z guide to being a creative genius' for more juicy tips! XX Heidi Hinda *Articles: Do you have the psyche to live as an artist? (Written by my wonderful creativity coaching teacher Eric Maisel :-)): https://medium.com/@RoweCenter/the-psyche-of-the-artist-seven-tips-for-living-the-artists-life-9331c650e722 How to get out of your own way/Julia Cameron's 'The Artist's Way': https://www.brainpickings.org/2014/07/04/the-artists-way-julia-cameron/ How to make a living from your art: https://www.theguardian.com/education/2018/oct/30/how-to-make-a-living-from-your-art-young-artists-share-their-stories A poignant and powerful article on what does it take to survive as an artist: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/how-artists-survice_b_2966184 Need a little motivation?: https://www.bustle.com/articles/21916-9-steps-to-staying-motivated-for-artists-makers-and-creative-freelancers On how essential it is to separate one's sesne of worth with one's creativity!: https://www.brainpickings.org/2014/02/28/creative-block-krysa/ A tongue in cheek guide to marketing yourself as an artist: https://www.sketchbook.com/blog/10-ways-to-unsuccessfully-market-yourself-as-an-artist/
*Books:
To support the wild artist within you with myths, folktales, and Jungian analogy. An absolute classic book!
To inspire you to change your perspective and attitude towards your creativity, from being an amateur to a professional!
One of my favourites by the musician, performance artist, and writer, Amanda Palmer on the value of asking for help as an artist :-)
*S is for Support:
 Photo by Lauren Volo An exerpt from my latest piece of writing on what Passover means to me, from Elephant Journal (link below darlings xx)
"Do we have to have faith? (Thanks, George Michael!) The show “American Gods” (now excitedly showing up for its second season), foretells of such prophesy, though ’twas written 18 years ago by the genius that is Mister Neil Gaiman. The falling away and forgetting of our old Gods, of nature and honour, of respect and mystery. Where do we place our faith these days? Who do we pray to or seek to glorify? Surely, for the masses of our Westernised living, ’tis the false gods of Kardashian, soaps stars, and footballers. Perhaps “faith” is a dirty word, muddied by war, grief, power, and corruption. Can we reclaim it? Dust it down and hold it closer to our hungry hearts? To wonder, with willingness, what it might be like to pause, and to listen to nature and our own breath. To ask the clay of our own bodies how we are, who we are, and how can we be reminded of where we once came from, and to tell those stories once more to our children, and to our children’s children too. To see with reverence the wisdom held in a leaf, the sky, our world, our breath, and our very soul. When did we stop believing in miracles? In stories and tales? It’s never too late to still believe in magic and wonder, and in the glorious technicolour madness of it all..." Read more: https://www.elephantjournal.com/2019/04/passover-the-ultimate-technicolour-performance-art-festival/ 
W is for Why?
Why starting with finding and living from your 'why?' creates meaning, value, and is vital for sustaining any creative project! The idea of 'meaning making' is something I came across about a decade ago upon reading the creativity coach (and whom I trained with), Eric Maisel's 'The Van Gogh Blues: The creative person's path through depression'. (Link to this amazing book below :-)) Many of us creatives may find ourselves, at some point during our creative lives, traversing through what is known as 'the dark night of the soul'. Maisel refers to this place as a meaning making crisis! For him, all creatives need to refine and become clear as to what is the meaning behind our lives, from the times we are creating art, through the ordinary moments, and as a greater whole! For me, this question of 'Why?' is a fundamental one to ask of ourselves before undertaking any new project, business, or body of work. It is aligned essentially with our intention, the reason we are pursuing what we desire to do. In fact our 'why?' serves as the fuel behind our creativity. It is the force, the motor, and the drive. Becoming clear in our 'why?' can assist us in navigating our creative path, particularly when times get challenging, overwhelming, or when doubt, fear and judgement kick in. Which they will! Repeatedly! Our 'why?' will sustain us and give us an unshakeable, strong, vibrant and honest place to continue on our path. You may have come across Simon Sinek's TED talk 'start with why'. He may have been the first to bring this idea to the forefront of many peoples minds, especially in the arena of business. This talk explains the reasoning behing 'why?' beautifully. Finding your 'why?' is the first step in creating a life of joy, ease, wonder, authenticity, integrity, and clarity. Let me know what you thought of this video, and leave any comments on any discoveries you have made about a) What has been the fuel for your life so far?, and b) Can you identify what is your 'why?' behind what you desire? If you enjoyed this video then do please like it, subscribe to my channel as i intend to post a new one each week, and do share with your fellow creative geniuses! :-) In service, as always, to your ceative freedom xxx |
Heidi Hinda Chadwick
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