The Healing Power of Art (Sketchbook, part 1)
Many of my readers know life’s not been ‘normal’ of late; I’ve had some medical procedures that were called for years ago and finally was able to get all that done over the last 6 weeks or so. Nothing life-threatening, just so no one gets too concerned – but the process of healing meant I wasn’t able to spend time in my studio. I won’t get into the medical details of the surgeries etc, but – I do want to say THANK YOU to all those praying for me during this time!
I fortunately had plenty of time to prepare for this season; beforehand I not only filmed what felt like a gajillion videos so my channel and blog would appear as ‘normal’ to the algorithms, wrote all my weekend newsletters, prepared social media posts. But I even cleaned the studio! I knew I’d keep walking past it and groan at the mess, or would begin to dread eventually getting back in there due to the mess. (I also do a spring cleaning on my house anytime I go on a trip, so yeah, I’m THAT kind of person!)
The one thing I missed getting done was cleaning the window above the desk – ha! In my defense it was January, and very cold. I tried cleaning the inside but yikes did I find out how ineffective and incomplete that was…but if that’s my only problem, then hey, life’s good, right?
As I’m moving closer to getting-back-to-normal season, I decided to do something about the desk – inspired by artwork, of all things…..you might remember the earlier piece I refer to in the video, which I remembered when working on a pencil sketch. Check out the video to see the connection!
Tutorial: The Healing Power of Art (Sketchbook, part 1)
Watch the video below and scroll to the end to leave comments or questions — or click HERE to watch it on YouTube and leave comments over there. I read both dutifully!
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Revamped!
Over the last week or so I visited some local shops to see if I could “rehome” some green stems – because I’m not good at keeping plants alive. (Inside or outside!) Just remembering to water them is so hard for my poor brain; I have a sprinkler system to at least save the grass, but there’s no such thing for my indoor plants. So I went with fake greens.
I used a yellow bucket and blue ceramic pot for my new “plants” on the desk – filling in the empty space on that back corner that is too far over to be helpful for storage. (I had debated a stack of drawers over there that could have worked, but everything felt very dark because of all that blocked light!) The plants let plenty of light in and make me feel surrounded by at least a reminder of Mother Nature.
I even included a small pot on the windowsill with some floral stems in it, which makes the 360 view feel more full. And my sister’s flowers on the desk as well!
These changes make me even more excited to start getting back in the studio. And excited for some good weather to go clean that window.
The Healing Power of Art
That all brings me to how I’ve gotten through this season of life. I know many of my subscribers have ongoing chronic health issues – and after just this season of waiting and healing, I have fresh empathy for that situation.
I’ve had surgeries before, and found art got me through those as well. The kind of medical issue often has dictated what kind of art I could create in those seasons. Crutches or casts cause different problems than back issues or vision problems! And sometimes fully bedridden means even sitting up to try to create can be near impossible.
My situation in this season meant sketchbooks were my constant partner. Different types, as both my health each day and my state of interest would dictate if it would be pencil, watercolor, gouache, or marker. So I am very grateful for the ability to have all those mediums and sketchbooks at hand!
Simply the act of putting marks on paper made me feel like less of a bump on a log; there were days, even almost a week at one stage, when just sitting there and doing nothing was all I could do. Reading wasn’t possible, either, and catching up on podcasts was all I could do – so I do feel I got smarter during this time! But none of those learning-days made me feel as good as a day when I could look at a sketch or a little painting that would open up the hope in my heart that this season, too, would end.
My daily phenology wheels have been so helpful – getting me to go outside even for little walks on bad days, longer walks on good days, and then trying to create a little something when I returned home. My progress is underway- my blobby gouache skies of February (specifically planned, knowing it would be a challenge) have moved into sometimes-mushy drawings of birds for March! I’ve been identifying them primarily from sound and the Merlin app. Will I find a full 31 birds? Who knows! So far someone new has showed up every day…
Healing is not the same for everyone
Each person’s journey and health status is their own; only you know what’s right for you. I’ve done different things for different illnesses/types of surgeries, and none have followed the same patterns. Day to day everything can look different depending on energy level and even mental health status.
But I would like to suggest finding something you can create as you heal. It could be a 3″ square sketchbook where you doodle with a pencil. That might be all that’s doable. But it could be a step toward healing as you work through it; practicing something, a flower a day, could give your heart the hope you need that a season of illness can come to an end and transform into something beautiful.
It might be crocheting or knitting that keeps you moving. You might need to find an arrangement of your surroundings that can accommodate your needs. A lap desk, tray table, side table – or just treat yourself to a fancy pencil cup that’ll get your attention and inspire you to try something.
During some of the most dire days I had in these past 2 months, all I could do was take in the creativity of others, often just listening to podcasts about creativity, or listening to someone narrate the art they were creating. I couldn’t see well enough to sketch, I couldn’t type on a tech device. But those days I would make voice notes for myself for later…ideas I want to try, something I heard or saw that day which I want to capture later and not forget. Those days were so hard since I couldn’t create, but trying to process my creative thoughts helped.
Whether you’re in a temporary or extended season of health challenges, I encourage you to find something that’ll keep your creative mind engaged; instead of being a “waiting” season to getting back to your usual style or medium for creative expression, see if it helps to view it as an alternate season to create something entirely different.
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Drawing book
I picked up this 301 Things to Draw book back in December, knowing this season of life was headed my way. Not only would it be something “new” that might keep me entertained, but I liked the feel of the paper inside when I was at Barnes and Noble. And was right!
(Tip: when you find sketchbooks you like, get a good idea of what the paper tooth feels like, so you’ll be able to decide if a book is sketchable!)
I used a 9B pencil for my drawings and it worked out great – a kneaded eraser and electric eraser were by my side too. During this time when sitting at my desk wasn’t do-able, I hung out on the sofa with the pups, and had my 2-drawer easel with some art supplies tucked inside. It meant everything needed was right there with me, whether I used the whole thing on my lap or just had the drawers close at hand.
The Post-Apocalyptic Vehicle
When I got to prompt 34, I wasn’t at all sure what to make of it. Other prompts were very ‘normal’ and could be easily sketched, though I worked to MAKE my lazy brain try a little harder to imagine a new view of the topic.
But this one….it had me stymied. If the apocalypse already happened, what would a new vehicle run on? What would it be made of? Who’d be driving it? What purpose would it serve?
I decided on a regular vehicle – made probably of metal, with big tread-y kinds of things – not wheels per se – for navigating over the dangerous surface of the ground. The vehicle resembles perhaps a tractor, which got me to think farming….and the dinosaur driving it, who has come back from extinction, is repopulating the earth by spreading seeds and watering them!
He’s even got tunes playing for his own entertainment and that of nearby dinos…got any suggestions for a save-the-planet spotify list we could cue up for him?
A few more pages….
If you’d like to see more, most of these are on my Daily Sketches page – you can subscribe for free to just get one a day in your inbox.
