Carla Bravo

 

My Inner Child

​“The privilege of a lifetime is to become who you truly are.” Carl Jung

​After painting the plaques for the Honeycomb project, I realized that it was my positive

response to childhood memories. When I was a child, the environment was my playground. We spent a lot of time out of doors. There wasn’t air conditioning back then. I, my sister, brother, and the neighborhood friends would sit under large trees in the shade and sometimes run through sprinklers. Wild creatures were fascinating to us.

​The “horney toads” were plentiful and could be easily caught in our alley between our home and the neighbors. I never kept them however, because I thought they would bite. I’d catch them in my hands and examine them, thinking of them as baby dragons. I don’t find them anymore when I go on road trips throughout Nevada and Idaho. I’ve learned that the use of pesticides has diminished their food source, which is insects and ants.

​Another of our pets was a small red eared turtle which we named Casey. He came in a 12-inch diameter plastic bowl which we would fill with about 3 inches of water. He had a little island in the center that he would climb up on at times. During the summer we’d take him outside and he’d crawl around and attempt to bury himself by digging a hole in the grass. Nowadays, these smaller turtles aren’t sold because of the danger of children catching salmonella. However, we never got ill.

​Fish and aquariums were always important to me. I had a girlfriend that provided me with a “guppy” fish, and I would change their aquarium water and place them in the bathtub. The pregnant females were a problem though because they’d get nervous and want to jump out. I love to go see aquariums and different tropical fish always bring back these memories.

​Another source of inspiration for me as a child and as an adult is books. I’d walk to the local library in the summers to find a good book to read. Television seemed boring compared to these adventurous heroines in the novels. The book, “The Women of Pearl Island” by Polly Crosby served as the inspiration for the butterfly picture. This is a rare hybrid found in North America. It’s a cross between a Viceroy and a White Admiral.

To this day I go to my inner child and search books, nature, gardening, and the outdoors for inspiration.