Mental Imagery

We have been admiring the imagineers of books! The wow factor of imagination and the ingenious ways people express themselves through language and images. The inspirations they receive, whether conscious or unconscious. We enjoy the unexpected swerve off the beaten track of bleary ideas and habitual expressions, off piste, off road, off chops. This is magnetic, developed as a particular skill for courting, for making others laugh and connection. Imagination has no bounds. It revels in the abstract and extraordinary, squashing the mundane with the fantastical. Absurdity can be nonsensical, and yet also watermark deeper social commentary. It unpicks behaviour, cultural conditioning and belief systems. Turns a norm on its head and looks at it from different angles. Then tickles its tummy. We are ardent enthusiasts of Roald Dahl, Matt Ottley, Tina Wilson, J.K. Rowling and Julia Donaldson. Julia in interview talks about the inspiration for her latest book. It was a basket of woolly caterpillars under a muslin cloth. She asked the caretaker of these caterpillars if some of the very dull-looking ones would ever turn into very beautiful moths. The answer was yes. That sparked her latest children’s picture book “The Woolly Bear Caterpillar”. How is the imagination developed? Art, music, books, quotes, Nature, conversations and introspections into the pineal gland inspire people to create. Being in the world and observing what’s around us with attention and awareness feeds the imagination and nurtures the creative impulse. Dreams, reading, imaginary play, making something, brainstorming and sharing ideas, asking questions, daydreaming, challenging perceptions and seeking new adventures all birth creation. Like anything, the more it’s allowed and encouraged, the more it grows. Imagination is a gift in which children are masters. When adults tap into their own inner child and genius, everything becomes possible. And funny. 

Photo by Gabriel Baranski on Unsplash