(Who can pick the theme tune I sang in my head when writing the above blog title??)
So why do I prefer doodling to drawing? They are similar in many a way…pen or pencil creating marks on a surface sometimes fast and free, sometimes tight and controlled. Yet they are worlds apart too… There’s been many a student who has scrawled and scratched and doodled their way through lectures, a lot of the time out of boredom, but it is also a great tool for visual and kinaesthetic learners (who need to be doing in order to learn) to help remember what was being said. If I doodle while on the phone I can look back at the star or flower I created and remember exactly what we were talking at that point in the conversation. Doodling is a process without completion in mind. It keeps you in the here and now. It’s begun with ease and finished/ abandoned whenever. It can be messy or beautiful (as can all art– beauty is in the eye of the beholder after all). Drawing, however – eeek! Who’s got sweaty palms just thinking about it? How many times have you heard someone say ‘I can’t draw’? (What that actually means is ‘I haven’t practised or learnt the skills’.) Everyone CAN draw if they wanted to. But many don’t. At some point in our schooling we had to start ‘getting things right’ and this pressure put many of us off. Doodling doesn’t have this same intense feeling of pressure. A ‘doodle’ isn’t meant for anyone else to view, it’s something we do for ourselves. And that is something hard to find these days. Here are some of the reasons I love to doodle: There is no ‘pressure’ to get it ‘right This can something just.for.me I don’t know what the outcome will be and this helps me stay in the moment It engages my creative ‘right side’ of my brain and it’s a great gateway for beginning a more focused art-work if I have that aim in mind I don’t care if someone sees it because they are unlikely to want to ‘critique it’ The mark making helps release emotions or tension without having to ‘talk it out’ It doesn’t have to be perfect (I suffer from perfectionism) I can play with it and have fun I can do it with or alongside others, including my toddler It calms me
If you are interested in dipping your toes into the creative calm that doodling can bring pop your details in the form below to gain access to the 8 - Day Doodle Me Sane video journey.
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Hands up who gets to do that lovely thing called meditation?
I'm talking the cliche, sit with crossed legs and breath deep and let go of worries and racing thoughts, kind. I tried that a couple of times. The dinner got burnt. Seriously though. I do LOVE to do this, I would love to do it more. I SHOULD do it more. But I find it very, very hard. Even pre-kiddo. It is a skill set that of course can be cultivated, however it takes time, and I feel like time is something I am short on at the moment (that's something I am working on though- creating space and time - so watch this space!). I'm pretty good at the guided meditation kind - but usually I can't find-the-bleeding-headphones at the 'right' time (aka when child is napping...and to be honest I like to nap then too). So that ain't a goer either. So. I am finding a new way. An active and creative way. This suits me. My mind calms, I am still feeling mildly 'productive' and I am not sitting half listening to see if a child's cries might interrupt Deepaks Chopra's sultry tones. Don't get me wrong...I am not abandoning ship completely on the 'be still' kind of meditations, but I am not solely relying on them. I plan to break up my day with calm spots of creativity. I plan to doodle, to play, to use my senses and best of all do this with and alongside my lil one. Care to join me...?
I am starting with a 10day 'Doodle Me Sane' challenge and I'd like to invite you to come play. It's all about quick lil spurts of creativity to foster a habit of letting go through doodling and a meandering pen/pencil...heck anything that makes marks! Come join the Creative and Calm Mumma's fb group to jump on in. There will be more activities to follow....
p.s. I promise to also include 'calm spot' ideas that don't involve kids as well. Alone time is so very important to the Introvert that I am....oh yes indeedy! See you in the facebook group, and let's have some fun! (and calm) xxx
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