I had a lot of fun drawing these images, and who doesn’t need a koala planet or an angel pusscat in their life? Not forgetting all the crazy aliens and critters and other things!
Colorist is an app that allows you to colour templates in like you’re using a pencil or a gel pen. Great fun, easy to use, and you can colour each template again and again. Oh, and you can add doodles and patterns to the images too!
Dot Mandala
My youtube recommendations today included some videos about how to create ‘dot mandalas’ – the kinds that are seen on stones and also as paintings. They’re made up of patterns of dots, and I watched a couple byKristin Uhrig and Travelling Kindness Rocksand they inspired me to have a go. This is the result:
It’s not perfect – I found out this is much harder than these two ladies make it appear. It was, however, a lot of fun to create!
I used my embossing tools dipped in PaperArtsy Fresco Paint and some gold Liquitex paint, both of which were watered down a little, to make the dots. I did draw some pencil circles on the black card to help keep the design circular; I drew three circles in total! Then, I just let the design flow without over thinking it.
As I’ve said, it was great fun to do, totally engrossing, and I’m quite pleased with my first attempt. I’m sure I’ll be doing more of these, on all kinds of scales!
The last few days have seen me working in my sketchbook, and I may post some pictures from that later on.
I’ve spent some time the last day or three revisiting mandala drawing in my own inimitable way – definitely not symmetrical, with lots of flowing lines and intricate line patterns filling in the spaces, though not all.
I prepared the coloured backgrounds first, using Distress Oxide inks along with a light spray of either copper or pearl mica sprays. The spray adds a gentle sparkle to the background, which hasn’t been picked up in the scan.
I used various pens – UniPins, Sakura’s Pigma Sensei, and Pilot Hi-Tec pens with nibs as fine as 0.25mm!
It’s been a long while since I indulged myself in these kind of mandalas. I know that I really enjoy drawing on coloured paper.
This is a little bit of a different blog post from me.
As I’ve mentioned before, I experience CPTSD (complex post-traumatic stress disorder), which presents itself in many ways, including anxiety, depression, and a low self-esteem.
I’ve had lots of counselling over the past eight years or so, and for the last two and a half years I’ve had a lovely therapist who specialises in EMDR therapy. It’s taken a long while for me to get to the point where I believe that such a gentle kind of therapy works, and works for me. It’s still a slow process…but progress is being made. A major change in employment nearly a year ago seriously helped with that.
Last week, my counsellor suggested I read a book called ‘Tapping In’ by Laurel Parnell. In the book, Laurel Parnell describes how the process of bilateral stimulation by means of tapping the knees or outer thighs can be used to reinforce a safe place, helpful guardians and other tools to help during both therapy and everyday life. My own therapist has successfully used it to reduce anxiety during a dental appointment as well as aiding in sleep.
She suggested I read the book and we do some work on the resources I need before continuing with EMDR as the last few sessions have left me rather upset, fragile, and, unsually for me, unable to find my ‘safe place’ at the end of a session, so that I can leave the fragile and upset state behind.
So, yesterday we worked on my safe place, with me coming up with a new one and ‘tapping in’ the contentment, peace and safety I feel when I imagine myself there. The bilateral stimulation from alternating taps to the outer knees, helps to reinforce the feeling of the place, and actually helps to intensify it.
I have no problem imagining places I can go to in my imagination; I’ve used guided meditations over the years for various purposes. When it comes to me coming up with my own imaginary places, it never ceases to surprise me what these places are like!
The other thing that was suggested after I’d verbally described my place, was to spend time over the week drawing/painting/creating images of this place, as well as practicing the process of tapping in my safe place and using it to help me manage my current high anxiety levels. (My anxiety intensified greatly yesterday, not as a result of counselling, but by the decision to hold a ‘snap general election’ and my worries about what is happening in this country, in the world, which then gets transferred to worrying about finances as I’m now self-employed, and so on and the constant chatter of anxiety winds itself up if I’m not careful).
Me being me, I get to it almost straight away…starting with these mandalas
Mandalas based on the feelings I get when I’m in my ‘safe place’.
“My mandalas were cryptograms concerning the state of the self which was presented to me anew each day…I guarded them like precious pearls….It became increasingly plain to me that the mandala is the center. It is the exponent of all paths. It is the path to the center, to individuation. ” – Carl Jung
So, I started with some abstract, intuitive mandalas to try to express the feelings I have when I think of my safe place, when I remember the feelings I have when I’m there.
Next, I wanted to draw some kind of representation of a view from one of the windows of my place. And this is what I came up with, though the view changes all the time!
Yes, I know water isn’t yellow, but in my inner world it can be! It also shimmers with gold and has lots of shining gold and blue ‘dots’ in it. Lots of happy creatures and colours there, all entertaining me … diverting my attention away from my anxiety.
Yes, I use art to help me manage my mental health. When anxious, doing art helps me become less so; when depressed, art lifts my mood. I’m sure the inner critic chatters away even when I’m ‘arting’, but the art takes my attention so the critic’s voice can be ignored.
Oh, before I drew anything, I took time to write a clear description of my safe place, as words are how I build up mind images.
I’m looking forward to ‘tapping in’ help for creativity, amongst other things… I’m also looking to intuitively drawing and creating some more of the living things that I can see from my safe place – all friendly and protective of course, nothing scary allowed there! Which suits my tendency to rather whimsical, cutesy, artistic style.
So, I’ve shared a little of my ‘safe place’, but I’m keeping a lot of details to myself – no offence, but I don’t want any gate crashers there!
I returned to work at school two weeks ago and I have found it has resulted in a lot less time for me to indulge myself in my creative, artistic pursuits. The evenings and weekends seem to disappear in sleep as I’m so tired.
I do seem to be coping a lot better with the stresses and strains of being a teacher, which is a good thing.
The mandala above was finished earlier this week. I am debating whether to add colour and/or shadows or to leave it as it is. I shall see how the fancy takes me over the weekend.
It’s been a while since my last blog post. The reasons for this are many but include focusing on the art projects “Color Me Calm” and “Color Me Happy“, a return to work after a very extended period of illness, and now working on a book project called “Entangled” for Dover Publications.
It’s been a busy but exciting time with these projects, and I’m sure there’ll be more in the pipeline for me. I’m hoping that this will result in me posting to this blog more often, with updates and sneak previews from time to time of the projects I’m involved in.
It has been a while since I last made a post to my blog.
I have been struggling with vagueness and lack of focus with the medication I’m taking, and this one I’m on now doesn’t suit either. As well as the vagueness, I’m constantly on edge and fidgety, and the medication is supposed to treat that not cause it. Have to give it a couple more weeks before it’ll be changed though. I’m still away from work as a result.
In spite of all of this I’ve still been busy with art, though the focus for the projects I’m involved in has been lacking at times, but just ‘doodling’ with no constraints or requirements does help me settle a little and also is something I can do that doesn’t need that focus.
In the summer I signed contracts to do the artwork for two books linked to art therapy. In the last week I was approached by another company to do one book for them in the first instance, and if it goes well then there could be a whole series of them. My hope is that I’ll have enough contracts and work lined up that I can go kind of part time at work. That won’t be for a while and I need to get myself better first, but the part time may be a way of helping me remain ‘better’ in the future. Time will tell.
Art is the Adventure 