Day 7 of Intuitive Doodling

Day 7 - 15 May 2014

Today I doodled with my non-dominant hand and my eyes closed. As it created a general feeling of unease when I did it yesterday - I figured I could benefit from repeating the exercise. 

I opened my eyes and added some colour with my dominant hand. I filled in shapes that looked like an eye and a nose, and continued from there...

Like yesterday - I really found the colouring-in to be quite relaxing. 

What I really like about the doodle is how the perspective changes - sometimes when I look at it, is seems' like the "cow's" jaw-line is on the left-hand side and at other times it appears to be on the right-hand side. Other than that I don't have very much to say about this doodle. To me it kind of resembles a "cow" and if I really have to find meaning - I guess one could say that it could be representative of my star-sign which happens to be the bull (Taurus).

Day 6 of Intuitive Doodling

Day 6 - 14 May 2014

Today I tried a different approach - I decided to doodle with my eyes closed and with my non-dominant hand. As soon as my eyes were closed and I started putting pen to paper, I felt very unsure. I was constantly feeling for the edges of the page. 

The following thoughts entered my mind:

1. Am I filling the whole page?

2. What is my doodle looking like so far?

3. Was this a stupid idea?

4. For how long should I keep my eyes closed?

After what felt like a mere minute or two I opened my eyes - and was amazed to see that what I had done didn't look totally horrific! I continued to work on the doodle with my eyes open and added spots of colour with my dominant hand. I then switched over to my non-dominant hand and added some patterns to my doodle. Unfortunately I forgot to take pictures of my progress, but this is what my finished doodle looked like...

I rather liked the abstractness and line quality of it - it looked totally different to my previous doodles, and it felt 'fresh' to me.

Reflecting back on this experience I realised how difficult it was for me not to be in control - not to be able to see what I was doing, not to have control over some parts of the doodle - even if I was drawing it (and even if it was just a doodle). I guess it's a reflection of my personal life - I have a need to always be in control, and I find it extremely difficult not to be - hence my anxiety disorder. This is definitely something that I need to work on!

Day 5 of Intuitive Doodling

Day 5 - 13 May 2014

I decided to take my doodling outside today to take advantage of the glorious sunshine, armed with a cup of tea and a rusk. I must say, since the arrival of my pup "Meeko", I have been spending a lot more time in the garden. Some afternoons I put a towel down and I just lie staring up at the sky... It's not always as relaxing as it sounds, because if "Meeko" is in a biting mood I need to hide my hands and protect my face... My husband has nick-named him "Ninja Buzz-Saw" - go figure -

Anyhoo, on to my doodle for the day...

This doodle is my most favourite so far! I LOVE the resulting image and colours! Obviously there are recognisable images such as the stem and leaves and the stars. I also saw a sliver of a moon...

If you've read through the first few days of my "Intuitive Doodling" endeavour, you'll know that "Meeko" has been keeping us awake at night. Yesterday my husband bought "Meeko" an igloo-type bed, as opposed to the open basket-type bed he has been sleeping in - we felt that it would make him feel safer. And instead of HIM waking US up - we woke him up twice during the night to take him out to wee. This approach seems to have potential, and the result was that we got loads more sleep, so I woke up in a good mood this morning! 

"La laaaaa la la laaaaaa" 

I think my doodle shows this happy feeling! The plant to me indicates that instead of becoming 'stuck' we 'grew' with the situation.

If I turn the focus internally the doodle to me also indicates that in some way, shape or form - I am growing. The flower-like representation indicates that things are happening - there is a mixture of lines and colours - it's not your normal 'static' flower motif. Furthermore, the plant is anchored, yet at the same time it seems to be encompassing the stars!!

To me this is such a powerful positive doodle! On a personal level I find it to be very reassuring - So I'd like to make a toast 

to not only reaching, but to encompassing the stars! 

Cheers!

Day 4 of Intuitive Doodling

Day 4 - 12 May 2014

Today I sat and doodled on the couch with a tray on my lap... 

Meeko was sleeping on the couch next to me and all went well until he woke up... He became very interested in what I was doing and starting chewing my pencils *sigh*

He even 'helped' me doodle - lol...

This is what my finished doodle looked like...

Today while I was making the doodle I really liked the sound the pencils were making on the paper - it was almost as if I was honing in on the sound. I found the 'scraping' noise to be quite comforting. 

I studied the doodle for a while, to try and make sense of it, and it kind of looked like flowers. I also noted the mix of hard and soft lines... All the flowers also had the same 'boxed-up' centre. So what did I make of it all? 

Well it seems like I feel 'boxed-up' and restricted, and I think it's because of my change in routine since "Meeko" arrived. We also didn't get much sleep last night 'cause he kept us awake, crying and howling, so I woke up feeling irritated and frustrated. This morning my feelings were all over the place and I think that's what the mix of hard and soft lines indicate. Because I didn't get much sleep I was in a foul mood and felt very teary at times. I also think I might be coming down with a cold. It kind of felt that I was neither here nor there...

Note to self: We'll definitely have to make a plan to get "Meeko" under control at night, so that we can get some quality sleep-time in! 

Day 3 of Intuitive Doodling

Day 3 - 11 May 2014

I'll be honest, - I almost didn't doodle today. Today was Mother's Day in South Africa, so my mother, my mother-in-law and sister came over for a Mother's Day "braai" or barbeque if you will, together with their families. The day flew past and before I knew it, it was 21h30 and I had not yet made a doodle. As I have no intention to skip a day, I stuck my butt down, grabbed my stuff and started doodling at the dining-room table. 

When I had finished I found myself to be glancing down at some kind of "Funky Bird"...

I sat staring down at the doodle for a few minutes... This one was a little harder for me to reflect on, but ultimately the following aspects stood out to me:

1. It was a bird.

(I worked on my first mixed media canvas 2 weeks ago, and the finished canvas sported 2 birds...)

2. The bird had a bright red hand, which to me indicates "to do, or to take action". 

3. The bird had a layered body, with almost an organic type structure tucked away in the middle, which to me suggested a need of "being protected".

When I put all these elements together I got the following message: 

"I need to be brave and DO the things I want (and need) to do!"

Day 2 of Intuitive Doodling

Day 2 - 10 May 2014

The day went by quickly, and before I knew it, it was already 20h30. I quickly grabbed my journal, pen and coloured pencils and sat at the dining-room table to do my doodling for the day. I have to admit that it was much more comfortable than sitting on the floor, but I did enjoy the sunshine and picnic feeling of yesterday - so I foresee more outdoor doodling in the near future.

For today's spontaneous doodle, I set a timer to 30 minutes, as it is soooo easy for me to get carried away... I mean the point of this activity is to end up with a doodle - not a masterpiece, right?!

Anyhow, 30 minutes later I had doodled this...

I found this doodle to be quite strange... A snake, a Christmas tree, 3 Monkey-like faces and a flower - What a strange combination?? 

I sat and thought about it all and this is my interpretation of it. First off, I felt that the 3 Monkey-like faces (which I viewed as "Hear no evil, Speak no evil, See no evil") and the snake conveyed jealousy. I will be honest, jealousy is something I struggle with often, but at least I've identified it as a trait that I need to work on. Next I shifted my attention to the black Christmas tree, and what it might indicate. The fact that it was "black" suggested negativity - and I recalled that December 2013 wasn't too peachy... and I realised that I had not yet let go of the negative feelings I was harbouring inside regarding things that went down during this time period. The flower to me, kind of indicated growth and forgiveness - that which I need to move towards. It kind of reminded me that I need to let go of the negative to be able to experience and move towards the positive. 

Today's doodle was mighty insightful and I can't wait to see what tomorrow's doodle might reveal about myself.

21 Days of Intuitive Doodling

Welcome to

A 21-day creative commitment towards developing a creative practice through spontaneous or intuitive doodling.

Rumour has it that if you repeat an action for 21 days it will become habit. Hmmm... so why do I want "Intuitive Doodling" to become a habit you might ask? It's not JUST about the doodling (which is loads of FUN and aids in creative self-expression), but ALSO about building a daily "Creative Practice". 

larabandarian explains it nicely in this quote:

"Creativity is putting ideas and ones vision into practice- the process of producing. I think people often mistake creativity as something that 'just happens' or only produced from a sudden spark. Or, that it should be done only when one is "feeling creative". However, I think it is important to get into a creative practice; meaning, getting into the practice and habit of constantly putting work out there, producing, whether it is original or not - polished or not. Every creative practice can lead to another creative element, even if it is transported to another medium".

[From: https://courses.ischool.berkeley.edu/i263/s14/content/creative-practice]

So, I'll be embarking on my journey of establishing a "Creative Practice" today, with my first stop being "Intuitive Doodling". Toot-toot!! Why not join me for the ride? 

PS: What will this activity entail? Well - basically setting aside about 30 minutes a day to do a spontaneous doodle and then to reflect on what it is you might be creatively expressing about yourself through your doodle.