MAKING ROOM FOR NONSENSE AND PLAY
“A little nonsense now and then, is cherished by the wisest men.”
Roald Dahl, Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator
Ahhh.... nonsense. One of my favourite concepts of being human. Children play at this game well. They know that it serves more than to pass time. They know that play is an essential part of nonsense. Just being there in that moment of time. It's not an experience as in something that happened in the past. Its EXPERIENCING. Being right there in that moment. Catching the wind in the face. Laughing from the belly. Feeling the rush of blood flowing through the body.
And enjoying the silliness.
Someone once said to me "life is rarely as serious as we believe it to be". We spend too much time worrying and fretting. The first three months of my course this year I think I spent a lot of time with my head down mumbling under my breath "this is toooooo hard!!" I didn't leave room for play or for the spontaneous.
I am making a dedicated commitment to being easier on myself and to find a healthier balance of work, downtime and play time. To remember that balance is the key to a life well lived. As Dr Seuss says:
"You'll get mixed up, of course, as you already know.You'll get mixed up with many strange birds as you go.So be sure when you step. Step with care and great tact and remember that Life's a Great Balancing Act. Just never forget to be dexterous and deft.And never mix up your right foot with your left."
(from Oh! The Places You'll Go!)
So to remind me of this balance and this sense of play today I drew a picture of a girl on a swing set. Her pup looks up at her enjoying the sight.
How long has it been since YOU swung on a swing set?
A WEEK OF DRAWING - in reflection
“Yesterday is gone. Tomorrow has not yet come. We have only today. Let us begin.”
― Mother Teresa
This has been a jam packed week of study for this little graphic design student. I have been in the thick of learning about the design industry, publishing, tech specs for finished art, advertising and of course my favourite subject of all, illustration. I also was on TV for a little feature part (and I mean LITTLE!) for the Australian TV show Offspring.
And I have been fortunate enough to spend time with old friends that mean the world to me.
In betwixt all of these classes, assignment work, study groups, readings and catch ups with beautiful people, I have managed to find time to let my imagination out through dedicated doodles. I admit, some of them were created initially during class! In fact, I find that I concentrate better in class when I have my lecture pad in front of me to take notes and a blank page of a journal next to it to let the subconscious go into flow mode whenever it needs to reset and focus. It's almost like my ears prick up and I take in more of what is being said when my hands are occupied and the "stuff" in my mind has an outlet. Perhaps this allows more info to come in? Info goes in. Imagination flows out..? A theory worth exploring anyway!
My imagination keeps surprising me with the imagery and ideas that are being brought out. As I am given regular practice to this creative flow I am feeling that the blocks I once felt are smaller. My first post on this blog stated that I was setting out to find creative flow. And finding it I am!
I have seen a theme emerge this week as the passage and the passing of time. The over riding feeling that is coming through me is to seize the moment. On a train, in a cafe, before bed... whenever I can. Draw, draw, draw. Practice, practice, practice. And to notice everything around me. Be awake and aware. And alert. The world needs more lerts...
I am feeling more and more that my future dream is to be an illustrator. Drawing fills me with purpose and light and gives me hope that my future on the other side of this student journey will be one filled with pens and pencils - and hopefully work!! Being a student this year is a challenge financially. I am embracing living only on the basics and seeing my sketch book as my palace of promise. But it is a nice thought to imagine not worrying about how to pay rent or feed myself! Ha!
Here are some of my drawings from the week. First up: Little Red Riding hood as a child.
And here she is as a teenager (on her phone of course)
And again here she is as a mother:
The next doodle is an image that popped onto the page before I knew what was what.
As a side note to this next picture: One of my favourite artists of all time is Brian Froud. Brian worked extensively with Jim Henson creating the creatures from the film The Dark Crystal (among other things).
He writes in his book Good Faeries.... Bad Faeries that "My paintings are not illustrations drawn from specific stories or folklore texts; rather, they are images painted intuitively, springing directly from visions guided by faery muses, a paradoxical mix of chance and intent". What a great teacher Mr Froud is to artists like me, finding their feet and their flow.
Here is what appeared:
I am starting to see a style for my figures emerge. I almost am at the point where I would like to name them. They are humanlike - but not quite humans. My proportions and scale are purposely different to real life. They are innocents. Trusting and open. Of this earth, but perhaps not of this world. Not sure what it is about naming things. But I guess it's giving a life and a license to creations. This next doodle I call "One woman's journey".
And here is "One man's journey":
And my last doodle to share with you this week was inspired by my daily commute on the train.
The caption for this one is "Sometimes I want to dance on the train like a pixie and shake up those asleep".
Happy weekend to you readers. May you find your flow, your people, your creativity and dance your own unique dance. x
FAERIES & BUTTERFLIES
"Over Hill, Over Dale,
Thorough bush, thorough brier,
Over park, over pale,
Thorough flood, thorough fire,
I do wander everywhere"
Puck, A Middsummer Nights Dream (William Shakespeare).
And so continues my drawing challenge. I am noticing a distinct theme/style coming through after this first week of my challenge. Perhaps because I am using the same process of drawing: pen on paper, scanned in and digitally coloured. There is a definite childlikeness to these images. Which is a nice revelation for me as when I draw from real life (as I have done mostly in the past) my drawings are more photorealistic in a traditional way. When I draw from my imagination the shapes and colours are bold and cartoon like. I am embracing this!
Todays drawing challenge comes from my cousin's beautiful little daughter Alice. She is still just a toddler. But she clearly has GREAT taste as she asked me to draw faeries and butterflies.
I am a little obsessed with both of these. In fact there was a time when every birthday I seemed to be given presents all related to butterflies (the faeries came later). Like many people I love the symbol of the butterfly for its promise of a new life (even though in reality butterflies have a relatively short existence!) And who can resist the colour of them? Not me, that's for sure!
To me faery magic is simple the wonder of nature herself. And we appease the faeries when we stop and appreciate this - from the littlest new flower bud to the largest cloud in the sky.
Hope you spot the magic in your day!
A PIXIES PERSPECTIVE OF THE SUNRISE IN A FOREST
"A dreamer is one who can only find his way by moonlight, and his punishment is that he sees the dawn before the rest of the world."
Oscar Wilde
This drawing challenge was presented by my self proclaimed pixie friend Jay who lives opposite a national park in Qld. The forest is an important part of her re-energising herself and she knows the importance of living close to nature.
I like to think of myself as a bit of a pixie lady too. I am happiest when I am around nature. I am lucky to have a little atrium in my house (right next to my desk). It's filled with plants and faery statues and a meditating buddha. My most favourite places on earth that I have visited are natural places. Scotland and Ireland hold a special place in my heart as high energy places in nature. So does Byron Bay in northern NSW and Nightcap National Park and The Dandenong Ranges in Victoria. In fact there are too many beautiful natural spaces in Australia to list. I am blessed to live in a country with such breath taking and diverse scenery.
So dawn..... I am definitely not a morning person. If I don't set an alarm I find I just tend to sleep and sleep and have wild and vivid dreams. Having a sleepy cat on my bed assists in this dreaming process I am sure. Though the times when I do have to arise early (and this year that's pretty much every day), it's alway a magical experience and a soothing balm to actually see the sun rise. It definitely gives one the sense of a new beginning and a promise filled with hope and light.
I love to remind myself that right now at this instant, and at every instant, it is dawn somewhere in the world. And it's also sunset too. And day and night. It makes me feel connected to the turnings of the world and to feel right in the middle of my own existence to be a part of the cycle.
This drawing reminds me to visit the forest and natural spaces more regularly as it always reboots my soul and charms me with it's magic.
MY VERY OWN EXTRATERRESTRIAL(S)
“The only thing that scares me more than space aliens is the idea that there aren't any space aliens. We can't be the best that creation has to offer. I pray we're not all there is. If so, we're in big trouble.”
― Ellen DeGeneres
So here is my latest instalment of drawing from my list. This challenge comes from one of my old drama students from a galaxy long ago. I used to set creative challenges for Zoe E when she was a teen. Now she has set one for me. Looks like the tables have turned like the earth orbiting around the sun...
I got a wee bit excited about this challenge and ended up doing quite a few doodles and given them all names. After all, as no one has ever SEEN an alien (well PROVED it) the rules of drawing are out the window and its just a matter of seeing what the pen and the imagination wants to see. Isn't that like most of us though? We often see what we want to see. And we miss the obvious. I often think the search for existence of life beyond this planet is a bit of a misadventure. We have so much life down here already that we haven't quite figured out how to protect. I secretly hope we never find life beyond the blue planet. As I suspect we might mess it up. Instead let's dream up crazy worlds and try and look after the one we already have.
Which one of these ET's would you want for your very own?
MERMAID
“I have seen them riding seaward on the waves
Combing the white hair of the waves blown back
When the wind blows the water white and black.
We have lingered in the chambers of the sea
By sea-girls wreathed with seaweed red and brown
Till human voices wake us, and we drown.”
― T.S. Eliot, The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock
Here is the first of my drawing challenge: To draw a mermaid. Drawn in pen then scanned in and digitally coloured. This challenge was set by my friend Bekky (who also has a blog - check her out as her work is AMAZING: http://saintdamascus.blogspot.com.au )
