Five months ago I embarked on an adventure to learn more about drawing, to practice and build skills and, most importantly, to tame my inner critic and learn to have fun with drawing. So far, it has been quite the ride. I haven't always been able to keep up with my two assignments per week, but I'm drawing more than I ever have before and I'm learning so much.
There's something about the repeating patterns of a mandala and the organic way that the designs unfold that is mesmerizing, meditative and addictive. In my Etsy shop I now have 5 patterns that you can buy individually, or you can get a pack of all 5. These are instant downloads, which means that as soon as you pay, you can download the files to your computer and print them out as many times as you like. Use them as a relaxing, meditative practice, or do them while you watch Netflix.
Our sense of smell is probably one of the most overlooked and undervalued - until we don't have it any more. We all know how it feels to be congested and not able to smell anything (which is, oddly enough, exactly how I'm feeling as I write this). Everything seems flatter, and farther removed than usual. Our sense of smell adds texture to the world, giving us a more subtle sense of our surroundings
Years ago I read the book The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin. In it, she made two lists of statements, of truths, that she lived by. She called them the "Twelve Commandments" and the "Secrets of Adulthood." They contained things like, "Be Gretchen", "Enjoy the process", and "Bring a sweater." These lists felt really important to me, so ever since then, I've been compiling my own lists of learnings to remind myself of what works in life, and what doesn't.
instead of sharing my plan for what I hope to accomplish this year, I'm sharing my creative values with you. The things that are important to me and that will hopefully shape my decisions when I'm trying to divide up my time. These are things that I want more of and though it seems impossible that I could ever have all of them, I'm willing to try. Because when it comes to creativity, we can't always tell it what to do. We can make space for it, and guide it and hope that it comes along for the ride.
One of my favourite parts of December is taking time to look back over the year and celebrate everything that happened. It's something I only started doing in the last couple of years and I find that it is so worth it. I usually make a list of all my favourite memories and moments, and the accomplishments that I'm especially proud of. Then I think about what I want more of for the coming year, and start working on a plan.This year part of the recap involves looking at the creative projects that I undertook and appreciating everything that I made this year.
My art room looks like an angry Christmas elf tore through it. The floor is covered in scraps of paper and assorted pieces of gift wrap, and both my desk and my craft table are overflowing with glue, tape, paint, stamps, ribbons, bobbles, and other materials. Why so much chaos? Because I went a little crazy making Christmas gift wrap and wrapping gifts.The mess was definitely worth it though, since I was able to make so much fun stuff. I made four different types of wrapping paper, some bows, and some gift tags.
In some ways, sight is the easiest sense to work on, since it's the one we use the most anyway. According to Psychology Today, more than half the body's sense receptors are in the eyes. But how much of your surroundings do you really see on a daily basis? If you follow the same routine every day, you probably have long since stopped noticing the buildings you pass, or the way the sky looks - unless something is drastically different. What if you could train yourself to look at the same old things with fresh eyes, seeing something new every day?
I stumbled on Shawna's blog a few years ago and have been turning to it ever since as a source of inspiration and peace. Her soft photos and gentle words often soothe my agitated mind and leave me feeling refreshed.
