There once was a girl, who lived in the woods, in a nest on the tallest of treetops…
Through parable and environmental sculpture, Girl in the Woods is an ongoing body of work that explores my personal journey through the lens of yoga philosophy and nature-based art. Central to the story is a woodland character named Timberella. Timberella 2 emerges in parable #4, with the message of emotional safety and tending to one’s roots.
Timberella 2 | Jodi Rose Gonzales
In the opening scene, Timberella is a young girl who is blown from her nest during a great storm. She awakens on the forest floor: frightened, lost, and naive.
Timberella is used to the view from the treetops, and the forest is an entirely new scene. She begins to wander, interacting with various forest creatures who impart their wisdom teachings.
Parable Four: Timberella #2
Presently the Girl came to a hollow log.
“Hollow log, I feel like you,” she said. “All that is left of me is the shell of who I once was.”
“Now I feel empty. I don’t know who I am. Without my friends and my home in the treetops, I’ve lost my identity.”
Much to the girl’s surprise, the tree stump began to quiver and shake…and from its core emerged another songbird!
“Dear Girl, don’t be sad,” it said. “You are not hollow…by the very nature that you feel sad, and seek answers to your feelings, you are not hollow. And neither is this tree!”
“Do you see how I emerged from its depths? Do you see that at its core there is found a home?
“But this tree was once living, and now it’s dead,” said the girl.
“Correction: this tree has transformed many times,” said the bird. “When it was young, a sapling, you wouldn’t recognize it as the great tree it would become.”
“As a mature tree it provided seeds to grow the forest. It provided shelter for many creatures.
“Now, it provides shelter for young trees. Do you see the beginnings of a little tree here?”
The Girl looked closely at the inside of the stump, and she did. There was a small little tree taking root inside the stump!!
“Many creatures like to eat young trees, especially deer,” the bird chirped.
The Girl was shocked.
“This stump is like a mother, sheltering and nurturing; protecting its young. In this way it is not a hollow shell but an incubator. The shell of what was is now the shelter for what will be.”
The Girl thought about this as the bird continued.
“You noticed this stump because you felt hollow, and so you assumed it was hollow. But now you know the stump is not hollow.
“Consider what the stump asks of you: what former part of yourself provides shelter, and makes you feel nurtured?
“What part of you, deep inside, is ready to grow?
“What one taproot is so strong, that it is no effort to sprout and revitalize?”
The Girl looked down and started weeping.
“I was once very creative,” she said. “I sang and danced and inspired others with my imagination. I had so many ideas, great ideas, and they made me feel alive! I thought that I would become someone important, or do something important.
“But since the Great Storm I have been lost. I have been searching. My creativity feels limited…and I no longer have great ideas…or when I do, there is no one there to share them with.
“Your emotional pain is indicative that your creativity wants to grow again,” said the bird. “This is not something that you need to search for. It already exists, within you. You need only to provide shelter for it to become established.
“To be clear, stop searching,” the bird said. “Be still, and just be with yourself for a while.”
Then, the bird flew into the treetops.
The girl was stunned. She breathed deeply as she observed the tree stump. From her chest she felt a tickle..and right there, she made the decision to return to the heart of the forest: the place from which she had fallen.
Songbirds on the Workbench | Jodi Rose Gonzales
The songbirds are a series of small sculptures comprised of seed pods, jewels, pine cone parts, and other found objects.
They represent the various matriarchs who steered me correctly, throughout life. In the Girl in the Woods series, they are prominent in the first three Timberellas
Inside the 8 Keys mini-course you’ll find audio meditations, fourteen art prompts, a practice guide, and additional resources to support your art-based mindfulness practice. The 8 Keys is FREE and housed inside Jodi’s app, True Natured Creatives. Available in your Apple or Google Play stores, or explore it online here.
Jodi Rose Gonzales ATR, NCC, ERYT, YACEP was recently celebrated in Times Square as the International Association of Top Professional’s Global Impact Artist of the Year. She an artist, art therapist, author and yoga teacher who inspires her audiences through art and teachings intended to spread more hope and healing throughout the world. Get her free mini-course called Creative Freedom: Eight Essential Keys to Inspiration, HERE.