I just finished reading Pat B. Allen's guide to self knowledge and spiritual fulfillment through creativity aka Art is a Way of Knowing. Allen is an artist/art therapist who uses her personal journey as illumination and guide. It's not a new book, but stands the test of time, delving into archetypes and Jungian territory. If she'd written it now, instead of 15 years ago, it might have been a blog. Like this. Kind of.
Inspired to try one of the automatic drawing techniques she describes in the book, I dug out my oil pastels and scribbled away for a few hours last Sunday. The scribble technique is similar to some processes I described a few years ago here, from the Surrealist bag of tricks. In soufflage, one blows on paint to make it dribble, inspiring or revealing an image. Eclaboussure employs water or turpentine to create splatters and space. Automatic drawing and frottage attempt to get pencil to paper, away from our conscious mind's control.
I was anxious when I first sat down to draw. And as you know if you read this blog, drawing isn't my go to art. So it's bundled up with a bit of anxiety all it's own. The nice thing about oil pastels is they glide on the paper in a particularly yummy way. So it feels good, physically. Smooth. Delightful. And the colors are nice. Pretty. I like pretty.
After scribbling away for a while I held the paper up, and wasn't sure what I saw or didn't see. I started rubbing my fingers into the pastels. A little fiercely I have to say. The energy of the scribbles was chaotic, like my mind. And the energy of my rubbing was aggressive. But calming too. In the way a burst relieves pressure.
Suddenly I started to see things. It's like looking for faces in clouds. I began to outline in black. Struggled a bit with a half bird/half cat creature I couldn't quite make out. Set it aside, physically. But left it smouldering on my mind's back burner.
Meanwhile the next day, a friend posted on her blog about an online nixed media owl course she was diving into. And suddenly I knew that the creature trying to take form on the page was Owl. A little research into Owl medicine revealed that they are often thought to look like feathered felines. Owl symbolizes mystery, magic, the unknown and unseen.
Of course, Owl is popping up all over for me now. Surfing this morning, every other image seems to be my feathered friend with wide eyes and even wider wing span.
This bird energy is familiar to me, as I've been exploring the Axis Mundi archetype for a number of years. But the Owl energy is new. Intriguing.
I'm looking forward to more explorations in scribbling, and looking for images in clouds of color and line. It's my intention to create a workshop that explores this fascinating territory too. It so captures the process of creativity and really gets us out of the way of ourselves.
Try it. And see for yourself. You remember how to look for faces in clouds don't you?
May your day be filled with the Magic Medicine of seeing.
Inspired to try one of the automatic drawing techniques she describes in the book, I dug out my oil pastels and scribbled away for a few hours last Sunday. The scribble technique is similar to some processes I described a few years ago here, from the Surrealist bag of tricks. In soufflage, one blows on paint to make it dribble, inspiring or revealing an image. Eclaboussure employs water or turpentine to create splatters and space. Automatic drawing and frottage attempt to get pencil to paper, away from our conscious mind's control.
I was anxious when I first sat down to draw. And as you know if you read this blog, drawing isn't my go to art. So it's bundled up with a bit of anxiety all it's own. The nice thing about oil pastels is they glide on the paper in a particularly yummy way. So it feels good, physically. Smooth. Delightful. And the colors are nice. Pretty. I like pretty.
After scribbling away for a while I held the paper up, and wasn't sure what I saw or didn't see. I started rubbing my fingers into the pastels. A little fiercely I have to say. The energy of the scribbles was chaotic, like my mind. And the energy of my rubbing was aggressive. But calming too. In the way a burst relieves pressure.
Suddenly I started to see things. It's like looking for faces in clouds. I began to outline in black. Struggled a bit with a half bird/half cat creature I couldn't quite make out. Set it aside, physically. But left it smouldering on my mind's back burner.
Meanwhile the next day, a friend posted on her blog about an online nixed media owl course she was diving into. And suddenly I knew that the creature trying to take form on the page was Owl. A little research into Owl medicine revealed that they are often thought to look like feathered felines. Owl symbolizes mystery, magic, the unknown and unseen.
Of course, Owl is popping up all over for me now. Surfing this morning, every other image seems to be my feathered friend with wide eyes and even wider wing span.
This bird energy is familiar to me, as I've been exploring the Axis Mundi archetype for a number of years. But the Owl energy is new. Intriguing.
I'm looking forward to more explorations in scribbling, and looking for images in clouds of color and line. It's my intention to create a workshop that explores this fascinating territory too. It so captures the process of creativity and really gets us out of the way of ourselves.
Try it. And see for yourself. You remember how to look for faces in clouds don't you?
May your day be filled with the Magic Medicine of seeing.
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