Doodling Continued...

30 May 2014 to 3 June 2014

So I was quite excited that I stuck it out and doodled for 21 consecutive days! - BUT then something strange happened on the 22nd day. I wasn't planning on religiously continuing with the doodling, but before bed I sat down and doodled - and I've doodled every day since. Now it seems like if I don't doodle I almost feel guilty??! 

The good thing is that it seems if you do something for 21 consecutive days it really does become a habit! I am well on my way to having a creative practice! *woot woot*

Here are my doodles...

30 May 2014 - This doodle somehow reminds me of a Lotus flower...

31 May 2014 

1 June 2014 - I really REALLY like this one!!

2 June 2014 - This doodle was done with my non-dominant hand and eyes closed. Afterwards I added the heart and coloured in the doodle.

3 June 2014 - I just love this sweetie pie!

May the doodling continue!

Day 21 of Intuitive Doodling

Day 21 - 29 May 2014

HOORAY!!!

I DID IT!

21 DAYS OF CONTINUOUS INTUITIVE DOODLING!!!!

So EXTREMELY proud of myself! :-D

In the next few days I'll be reflecting on this doodling experience and what it has meant (or hasn't meant) to me...

>please stay tuned to read how the rest of my journey unfolds<

Lots of hugs and kisses from me and Meeko xoxox

Day 20 of Intuitive Doodling

Day 20 - 28 May 2014

This afternoon I sat outside and doodled. The Sun was 'deliciously' warm on my back! Mmmmm.... 

Today's doodle started off with a spiral which in the end turned into an eye. I also realised that I kept changing the layout of the page while I was doodling. And now on to the doodle! 

A 'cute' fury monster! 

When I reflected on this doodle I sensed some rebelliousness - especially present in the coloured-in background. You will notice that I coloured-in in all directions, instead of creating a smooth uniform background. I kind of felt like this was my doodle and I didn't want to be restricted in any way!! The 'cute' fury monster (which I reckon represents 'Meeko') once again has sharp teeth, and the area around his head is red - and to me these are symbols of aggression. This is quite fitting as I was feeling angry...

Today I also realised something... Meeko is a puppy. He doesn't know how to act - which behaviour is acceptable and which behaviour isn't. We need to TEACH him. It was kind of like an AHA-moment!! *...smiling with relief...*

Day 19 of Intuitive Doodling

Day 19 - 27 May 2014

I took advantage of the glorious sunshine today and sat and doodled outside. My doodle started off looking like letters...

...and then morphed into something that looked like a dress...

I filled it out, and am quite happy with the end result!

Of course "Meeko" wasn't far away... *wink*

 Today I didn't have a great day - to be quite honest. I felt angry and depressed! I'm at my wit ends with Meeko - he is biting like crazy and it hurts like hell! Today I told my husband that I don't want Meeko anymore - and that he should find a new home for him. I know I come off sounding like a heartless spoilt-brat, but those are my feelings... :-(

When I look at my doodle, I see isolation - I see a person 'stranded' (trapped) and balancing on top of some stones. Her arms are outstretched - in the one hand she is holding a broom - which to me suggest housekeeping, and in the other hand she seems to be holding a handbag - which might be representative of the outside world. I guess in order for me to feel better I need to introduce "balance" into my life. Sitting at home - day-in and day-out, is not a healthy situation...

Day 17 of Intuitive Doodling

Day 17 - 25 May 2014

Today I sat and doodled before bed-time. To be quite honest, it took a lot of me to actually sit and doodle because I didn't feel like it and I wanted to go to bed... And now that I look at the facial expressions of my characters you can tell exactly how I felt - lol!! 

Day 9 of Intuitive Doodling

Day 9 - 17 May 2014

This doodle almost didn't happen... Fortunately I have an awesome personal cheerleader (a.k.a. my husband), who edged me on tonight to do the doodle and blog post. What I've come to realise is that it is soooooooooo VERY easy to procrastinate - but if one just gets on with the task at hand, it's actually so easy to get something done - and the task doesn't get dragged out unnecessary. PLUS you don't get the opportunity to dog yourself later on for not getting something done! YAY YOU!

On to the doodle...

To me this doodle doesn't carry any significance, but I did find that I was pressing quite hard and that most of my lines were short and energetic. Definitely a little frustration going on beneath my surface... Perhaps it's time to tear up some newspaper?!

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.