Write about your first name: its meaning, significance, etymology, etc.
The name Isabel has its origins in the Hebrew Elisheba, which translates roughly to “God is My Oath”. Elisheba is also the origin of the name Elizabeth.
The biblical Elisheba was the wife of Aaron, but when I hear the name Isabel I think of a completely different Isabel/Elizabeth/Elisheba. I think of the feisty character in Ogden Nash’s poem The Adventures of Isabel:
Isabel met an enormous bear,
Isabel, Isabel, didn’t care;
The bear was hungry, the bear was ravenous,
The bear’s big mouth was cruel and cavernous.
The bear said, Isabel, glad to meet you,
How do, Isabel, now I’ll eat you!
Isabel, Isabel, didn’t worry.
Isabel didn’t scream or scurry.
She washed her hands and she straightened her hair up,
Then Isabel quietly ate the bear up.~ Ogden Nash, Adventures of Isabel
Now, I need to be more like this other Isabel. I get nervous about putting myself out there as an artist. I have a gazillion what-if-everyone-hates it moments in any one year. Fear holds me back from dipping my toes in the water, while others are out there swimming with mermaids.
And that’s my bear.
Nash’s bear was made of teeth and claws, but mine is made of shadows and what-if moments.
If I could be like Nash’s Isabel and defeat my bear, I could be out there swimming too. Or I might just drown. That’s an option too. I was never good swimming. (And there’s the bear again.)
I made the comic at the beginning of this post by drawing the chibi in Procreate. (That’s what I’m going to be calling them, btw. I’ve created enough of them that it’s become a thing.) He’s my own original design. I then added the text (also my own creation) in Canva.
The chibi reminds us that inspiration will come, you just have to get started. Get in there and start swimming.
I should start listening to the chibi.
He’s wise.
If you’d like to support my creative journey, you can Buy Me A Coffee. I also have free phone wallpapers and Instagram templates that you can download from the shop: https://buymeacoffee.com/isabelcaves/extras
