Hi, I‘m Lorena and welcome to The Stress Less Pencil. Together, we create art to make us feel good, not to make it look good. All weekly prompts are designed for total beginners and experienced artists alike, so come join us.
Who did you want to be when you were growing up? Not what, but who? Was it Ariel the Little Mermaid? Maybe Batman? Or one of the Spice Girls?
No matter how old we are, there are always people - real or fictional - we look at and think "damn, I wish I was as cool/strong/smart/amazing as them!"
When we're children, this is totally within the realm of possibility. Of course, I can be Batman. Why wouldn't I be?
As we grow up, this kind of uninhibited optimism is trained right out of us. Don't be ridiculous, we think, stop dreaming, you could never be like her.
And of course, there's hard learned truth in that, too. Try as I might, I'll never be able to sing like Mariah.
But even if we can't actually become them, it's still very important to have heroes and to continue to let them inspire us. The people we admire are a reflection of our values. They impersonate the qualities we feel are important and aspirational in life.
They can help us decide which road we should go down, how we should show up for ourselves. Not because society tells us to, but because deep down that's how we want to be.
So this week, ask yourself, what would Buffy do?
The Activity: A Collage of your Heroes
You can do this digitally, or print out the pictures and collage on paper.
Step 1 - Collect Your Heroes
Start by collecting pictures of people you wanted to be like at different times in your life. Go down the rabbit hole of Google and Pinterest and save the photos on your computer or phone.
Start with your childhood, who did you want to be then? Who did you and your friends play-pretend to be? Who were your favourite characters in the books and comics you were reading, and the shows you were watching?
Moving on to the awkward teenage years, who were your idols and style icons. Who was just like so cool, you couldn't even?
And what about now? If you remove the veil of rational adulthood pessimism, when I ask you “who do you want to be when you grow up?”, who comes up?
Step 2 - Collage It
Take your photos and turn them into a poster collage. You can use free tools online like Canva, or Google Slides. Or you can print the pictures and glue them onto paper.
Arrange them chronologically, or in a rainbow pattern or whichever way you want.
When you're done, take a look at all of them together. What are the things your heroes have in common? Who is that person they describe? It's you, that's who!
Next time you're stuck, ask yourself, what would that person do?
My Example
Who do I want to be when I grow up? A badass, that's who!
I hoped you enjoyed this activity. Have a fantastic week!
Love, Lorena
Bonus
It's fascinating to watch this process in real time with my daughter. At the moment she wants to be is Ghost Spider, and also a mermaid.