The “It’s Okay” collection is coming this week!
Nadia has “a resting grump face” – she might look like she’s grumpy about something, but that’s just what her face looks like. She doesn’t care, and nor do any of the other Waxwings (or other birds for that matter). Nadia says “It’s Okay to be who you are.”
I came across Waxwings when I was looking for grumpy looking birds. Unlike the other grumpy birds that are clearly shouting about something, Waxwings naturally look like they’re a bit angry about something all the time. Society so often wants us to present a certain way, but what if you’re not like everyone else? What if you’re super emotional all the time, or you’re not expressive at all? Why should you try and act differently in order to be acceptable to other people?
It can be really tough to love yourself when you’re constantly told that you’re supposed to present differently. Here’s a secret – people who want you to change are intimidated by you – they are actually insecure about themselves. They can’t handle people that make them realise they’re not happy with who they are.
When you love yourself exactly as you are, the people who want to change you don’t hang around, and you’re left with the people who love you just as you are. I speak from personal experience! Nadia’s challenge is “are you changing who you are to fit who other people want you to be, when you could just be yourself?”
Nadia is painted in acrylic and india ink, on canvas collaged with brightly coloured papers and wax pastels. She is sitting on a branch of cherry blossoms. She measures 25 x 20 x 4 cm which is a slightly odd size, so there may only be one size of print, but there will be greetings cards.
You can hear me talking about Nadia here: