As part of my Creative Hug, I have a word a week to inspire my art. This week, I’m doing everything with curiosity – in my drawings, my walks, daily life.
I have enjoyed learning the etymology of “curiosity”.
Historically, curious took quite a journey. In medieval times, it was almost an insult – suggesting nosiness or meddling in things best left alone, especially divine mysteries. But by the Renaissance, curiosity became something to celebrate. Think of the Cabinets of Curiosities (or curios): collections of marvellous and peculiar objects, precursors to museums, honouring human wonder.
The Latin root cura means care, and it gave us words like curate, accurate, secure, and cure, all about attention and tenderness. Curiosity, then, is care in motion: the willingness to look closely, ask questions, and be surprised.
This week I practised that. I sprayed alcohol over a canvas covered in Posca pen scribbles (the effect was amazing!). I watched garden birds, slowed down, and noticed what attracted my eye.
I tried a new meditation teacher who, by perfect synchronicity, spoke about curiosity as the path to truth.
I wandered through a museum of Neolithic finds, wondering whose hands shaped the pots — and how I might echo their shapes in my work.
Curiosity, to me, means looking for truth without judgement. Staying open to the strange, the beautiful, and the unexpected.
How could you be curious today? When we are curious, we are most alive.
I can’t wait for next weeks word!
It’s not too late to sign up for My Creative Hug – a gentle, non pressured way to keep engaged in your art over the Winter. Find out more here!
Ailsa Brims Art 
I love this post. Your reflection on how the meaning of “curious” has evolved over history is educational, and I like the way you move from the Latin root “cura” to the idea of “care in motion”. I especially liked your photo, and video reel, of your collected curiosities. All in all, a creative and visual reminder that to stay curious is to stay alive. Thank you.
Thank you! Stay tuned each week for a new word of the week 😀