When I was in my early thirties, I moved from doing sculpture to stippling, which is way of drawing a picture by only making dots or small touches. This was a rather drastic leap, and yet in retrospect, this huge change in medium allowed me to dive deeper into my awareness of the energy behind the creative process. It was also around this same time that I began studying yoga. As my mind uncovered and linked the similarities between the two, my understanding of the creative process—at least my approach to the creative process—grew.
Practicing a yoga asana, a yoga posture, reminded me of my experience placing individual dots in stippling. I found that as I entered a posture, I would anchor my limbs in a manner that was similar to my placement of the dots. And when I drew with dots, I found myself infusing my dots with my breath in the same manner that I coupled my movements with my breath in yoga.
In stippling there is a stillness in the one point focus, attention to placement, and a vision of the “whole”—this is also true for me in yoga. The unwavering stillness they both offered gave me the opportunity to observe, review, and silence the chatter in my mind. Placing a dot became an opportunity to stop a negative thought or change a reaction. Doing an asana became an opportunity for me to become the dot. Drawing, one dot at a time, cultivated an awareness of being part of something bigger and more significant than me. Doing an asana strengthened that awareness as well.
In this back and forth process of creating a dot and being the dot, I was reminded time and time again that art had the capacity to heal and deliver me back to myself. After many years of experimentation and study, I have come to understand that the creative process can have profound restorative benefits for the body, mind, and spirit. I have also discovered that you don’t have to expensive art supplies, excessive art training, or be the next Leonardo Di Vinci to reap the benefits. You only need to allow yourself to play with crayons and paper again in an exploratory manner. If this concept piques your curiosity, you might want to explore the ICWIB Program.
If you are interested in exploring the I Create What I Believe! (ICWIB), the following activities are currently available on the website for free (just click the link to access an activity).
Just Scribble, ICWIB Activity One: Version One video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4wURBZHk8jc&feature=youtu.be
Just Scribble, ICWIB Activity One: Version Two video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dp6fCHs5f2Q&feature=youtu.be
Just Scribble, ICWIB Activity One: Version Three video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KDelU_MDNrM
ICWIB Instructional Guide: Part One
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jlj7NDAfAFw&feature=youtu.be
ICWIB Instructional Guide: Part Two
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sH5PC1AhzGM&feature=youtu.be
Labyrinth, ICWIB Activity Four
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vt0D2I_drFM
Just Scribble, ICWIB Activity One (text):
https://icreatewhatibelieve.com/icwib-just-scribble/
Labyrinth, ICWIB Activity Four (text):
https://icreatewhatibelieve.com/icwib-labyrinth/
If you find the activities helpful and are interested in more, sign up for our FREE ICWIB newsletter:
https://icreatewhatibelieve.com/newsletter/
For more information about the I Create What I Believe! Global Classroom:
https://icreatewhatibelieve.com/global-classroom/
For more information about teacher training via Skype:
https://icreatewhatibelieve.com/presentations-and-training