Tag Archives for sketchbook

Deliberate Imperfections

Even if it’s never our intention, cropping the things we create to look at small areas has a way of magnifying their flaws.

Whether it’s the unsteadiness of drawn lines or how hard it is to capture the metallic sheen of gold ink in a uniform way in a photograph, our instinct is to search out the imperfections.

In many cultures, creating imperfections in things is a deliberate act. In Japanese culture, the act of creating deliberate imperfections is called “wabi sabi” and in Navajo culture, when applied to rug weaving, the resulting imperfection is called a “spirit line” or “spirit pathway.”

Knowing that these philosophies, and others, about making deliberate imperfections exist is sometimes comforting to someone like me who is a recovering perfectionist.

Nonetheless, whether we are aware that these philosophies exist or not, it’s up to us to take a step back when looking at the bigger picture, to accept and appreciate what we’ve created, flaws and all.

 

_____ Deliberate Imperfections – January 2020 – 1 _____

 

_____ Deliberate Imperfections – January 2020 – 2 _____

 

Gratitude and Creativity: Even When…

I’m grateful that even when I’m not feeling great I try to do something creative.

Since becoming ill six and a half years ago, I’ve learned and understand how important it is to do things—especially creative things—to shift my focus, even temporarily, from constantly thinking about my pain.

Doing creative things reduces my stress and worry and adds to my sense of well-being. It makes me feel as if I’m accomplishing something with each page I fill up with lines and colours. Most importantly, doing something creative makes me happy.

Reconnecting with my creative abilities might be one of the best things that has happened to me because of my illness.

If you live with a chronic illness or chronic pain, what do you do that helps you cope with it?

 

 

My Colour-Filled Art Therapy

I LOVE colour!  😍🌈

I also love being able to see, at a glance, how much colour I use throughout the year in the pages I create to cope with my chronic pain and chronic illness.

Using an app to analyze the posts on my Instagram page, I can see which colours I use most. The larger circles in the diagram represent the most used colours. With this information I can either continue to use those favourites or make a conscious effort to include some of the lesser used colours in what I create this coming year.

I’m sharing the colour graph on a white and a black background so it’s possible to see how a light or dark background can make different colours pop.

 

______ Year of Colour 2019 – White ______

 

______ Year of Colour 2019 – Black ______

 

These diagrams made me recall a time when I was younger when I painted the main living areas of the apartment I lived in bright white to give myself the option(s) of using brightly coloured furniture and accessories to decorate; and the ability to update the colours as often as I wanted without them clashing with the walls.

So many colours, so little time…

 

Note: If you click on either of the above images, they will take you to my Instagram page where you can see the list of tags that identify some of the art supplies I used to add colour to the pages I created over the course of last year.