Friday, January 05, 2007

Studio Friday - What would I change my name to?



"I've been reading Twyla Tharp's book The Creative Habit and here's an idea from her book - " the ancient masters of Japanese art were allowed to change their name once in their lifetime. They had to be very selective about the moment in their career when they did so. They would stick with their given name until they felt they had become the artist they aspired to; at that point, they were allowed to change their name. For the rest of their life, they would work under the new name at the height of their powers." So let's presume we are at the height of our careers - what name would you choose and why? - Susan
What a wonderful question!
I will confess that the first name I chose for myself was Mariposa - butterfly in Spanish (because it sounds prettier than English), but then I googled some quick info on the life of the butterfly and learned that the only goal of the mature butterfly was to mate and reproduce, neither of which I will ever reach great heights doing (ha ha).

So then I started trying out other words in Spanish (again, just because I love the sound of Spanish names), and I settled on Ella Vuela, "She Flies." I love the concepts of freedom, escape, and limitlessness that flying represents to me, and I hope that at the height of my creative life, it feels just like I imagine it would feel to fly. Of course, I still love the butterfly as a symbol of the beauty of flight.

5 comments:

Artful Creations by Tracie said...

I have always found Spanish words to be very pretty and your name you chose fits in quite well! I especially love the meaning behind the name you sure could take that to many new heights!

Anonymous said...

Ella Vuela has such a wonderful flowing sound to it and together with the meaning it makes such a great choice!

Anonymous said...

I like the sound of that name...kind of rolls off the tongue doesn't it? wonderful choice. Did you know Ella means dauntless...that fits you too I think! thanks for playing with my topic!

Silvia Hoefnagels . Salix Tree said...

What a cool name, very lyrical. I think it's perfect!

Anonymous said...

Upon reading your choice of "new name" I was filled with jealousy: oooh! Good name. Very good name. (gnashing of teeth...clenching of fists...pulling of own hair) This Studio Friday topic completely stumped me... but wow, you did very well with it, Ella!