Last night I was over at my parents' and they have been performing an archeological dig of their home office this past week, unearthing thousands of power cords to devices that probably don't exist any more, tons of documents that are useful only for shredding and recycling, and old laptops which function mostly as external hard drives for photo storage. Anyway, they'd pulled out my mom's old laptop from circa '06-'08 and it's screen saver was a slideshow of old photos taken during those years. One of the big things that happened was our 2007 family cross-country RV trip and hidden amongst the photos of us standing in front of national monuments and at national parks, there's a photo of a 70's Winnebago RV. It's not a Brave, but it's the same generation as my Braves, and I remembered how that trip galvanized my love for them, and my desire to live mobile. I went back to college that fall and started making art about and of Winnebagos, and a year after graduation, got my first Brave.
As far as talismans go, I don't recommend something that takes an oversized garage to house, but we all have those talismans that we hold dear that represent more than just the object itself. While what the Brave represents for me has always been in my heart, that summer of 2007, being on the road with fellow RV residents, and finding my love for 70's Winnebagos galvanized that meaning into something more tangible and real. My Brave represents freedom, living life on my terms, living sustainably, feeling wild and untamed, exploration, creativity, the beauty of necessity, being in nature, the sacred sanctuary of the road, meeting new adventurous humans, and so much more. The Brave encapsulates so many of the things I most value in life. Like a locket worn daily, I keep the image of her close to my heart, reminding me of those things.
My talisman is a ridiculously large vehicle, what is yours? What is the image or object that always hones in on what you value, what you desire for your life, what makes your creativity come alive?
