Many years ago, I was struggling to create content for my styling workshops.
This is nothing new, as I’m not particularly creative by nature. I have a habit of descending into despair during the winter months then suddenly an idea pops into my head around Spring, and off we go. I liken my ‘creative genius’ to a cup of coffee. It takes a while to brew the perfect cup and so, it seems, with my ideas to land.
As fate would have it, I had a helping hand in the form of a New York Times Bestseller titled ‘The Creative Habit. Learn It and Use It For Life’. The author, Twyla Tharp, was someone unknown to me. I consequently discovered she was a master choreographer in the dancing world!
The book, which is a guide of sorts, starts by explaining that Twyla’s personal blank canvas is a room. A floor space, which she needs to fill with the colour, shape, movement etc.of dancing bodies. The practical examples she provides are exercises she uses to invigorate her creative genius. They are transferable to an artist with a virginal canvas, a composer with fingers hovering above a keyboard, a sculptor with an untouched block of stone and a writer with a blank computer screen, all of whom just can’t seem to make the start required.
One of the exercises that I have used, many times, to great effect is this: Pick a New Name. According to the book, the ancient masters of Japanese art were allowed to change their name once in a lifetime. As this was significant and important, it was crucial they chose the right time to do so. They would retain their given name until they felt they had become the artist they aspired to be. At that point, they were allowed to change it. Once they owned their new name, they would work using it at the very height of their powers. It was a sign of artistic maturity.
Many famous people have changed their names: Cassius Clay became Mohammed Ali. Norma Jean Baker became Marilyn Munroe. Do you recognise Eric Blair, Cicily Fairfield or Reg Dwight? No? But you might know George Orwell, Rebecca West and Elton John.
Here’s the thing: when I was at school, there were six Susans in my class. Four of us were called Susan Jane! I remember, one day, reading the name Hermione in a magazine. I loved it and decided it would become my secret name. Remember, we are talking 1960’s here and I was probably about 5 or 6 years old. It would be a very long before J K Rowling brought her to fame in the Harry Potter books. As this name was previously unheard of, I had no idea how to pronounce it. So I used my own version - Her-mee-own. I kept her around until I decided to rename myself Sue when I was about 12 years old. It felt more in keeping with my sunny spirit than the formal version I had been gifted at birth.
Years later, when writing this new exercise, Hermione popped into my head. I decided to look up the origin of the name and discovered it meant ‘of the earth’. This was so interesting. Most of my life I have had a tendency to live in my head, to get over excited about things and grounding, or being ‘of the earth’, was exactly what I needed. I decided to view my instinctive name choice as a twin persona, the one I could, and should, turn to when things felt out of control. “What would Hermione do?” is something I have asked myself frequently, and the answer is always very different to what Sue might do!
In terms of my given name, I’m still not keen on Susan, used only ever used by my parents when I they believed I was being naughty, but prefer the shorter version of Sue. I love that my husband calls me Suze and my gym teacher (and consequently the whole gym) calls me Susie. The flexibility and variety within the name suits my own personality and the feelings it evokes when each one is used.
So, let’s imagine you could change your name. What would you call yourself? Why did you choose it? What would you want it to say about you? What difference would it make to the way you lived your life? How would you dress if you had this name? Are you ready to honour your own artistic maturity and let it come out of the shadows?
Please share as I’d love to hear your stories.
I once had participants tell me that if my name had been Margaret (referring to Margaret Thatcher), they'd think twice before joining my class, in case I turned out to be a strict, conservative trainer. So I asked, 'What's your impression of Wendy then?' They responded, 'Oh, it's a girl-next-door kinda name... should be a nice girl... haha.' Interestingly, my father named me Wendy after Peter Pan.