Calm
Calm is how I feel when I am in the zone, in a creative flow that has no particular goal or direction. When I am making something for the joy of making it. Making art for me is the meditative space, and as long as I make it a daily practice to put pen to paper and draw something, I feel reasonably even. I was wondering, though, if I could tap into Calm, when I was feeling angry or anxious or sad?
The drawings go in order, Days 1-5. Click on the first drawing and you can click through them all.
Day 1. My immediate association with calm is of a cloud or sleeping baby. Or the idea that you have thoughts that just flow naturally through your mind.
Day 2: Calm is being in a place that feels warm and energising and dynamic but also grounded.
Day 3: Calm is floating in water and letting the waves carry you somewhere, there is no plan, you don’t have to do anything or be anywhere else but reacting to each and every gentle movement.
Day 4: Sometimes Calm for me has not definition except that it feels safe and free. It has many layers and dimensions, it is abstract and can change form but the essence stays the same.
Day 5: This is me trying to imagine what a Calm space would feel like when I am feeling the opposite, I tried to use the act of drawing to create a space that helped me feel calm. I tried to choose brushes and colours that soothe me. I always feel calmer at the sea so it was no surprise that this is what appeared. And after drawing my feelings now for many years, I am finally able to nudge myself into healing spaces through art making.
This is the Draw Your Feelings Project.
Next Feeling: Anxious
Will you join me? This is a year long project, dedicated to connecting to our feelings and ourselves through our art. Send me your drawings, I’d love to see them!