It’s been a long while. But that’s the beauty of it to me – no pressure, just returning whenever I feel like it. No judgement.
Today was the first day of this winter we had snow coming down, not just in the mountains but also the hills where I live and the lowlands with their cities. I love it!
It’s been a long while. But that’s the beauty of it to me – no pressure, just returning whenever I feel like it. No judgement.
Today was the first day of this winter we had snow coming down, not just in the mountains but also the hills where I live and the lowlands with their cities. I love it!
This weekend we got a first taste of the approaching fall – it rained incessantly for two days straight. What better to do than spending some time on the sofa, drinking tea, reading or watching a good movie.
When I’m lounging on the sofa I’m seldom alone these days as Elvis’ favorite spot to cuddle up is on a throw on the couch.
But I didn’t spend all my weekend hours inside. I also got myself out into the rain for a run twice. On Sunday for a 90min run which Nike Running Global Head Coach Bennett made bearable by saying the right things at the right time.
While out on the long run I saw a field mouse crossing the road in the torrential rain and once on the other side it had troubles getting onto the sidewalk so I helped it up and into the wide field away from the gushing waters pouring down the sidewalk. It quickly snuck underneath some clovers and seemed content enough.
Though the weather was quite awful to be outside in without a good umbrella, I still enjoyed the run and the feeling of badassery I carried throughout it and into the rest of the day.
Saw these guys while out running the other day. No, it’s not a kangaroo and a wolf, that’s just my artistic talent failing me. They were two gorgeous young foxes racing across the field towards the forest.
I love copying drawings and sketches as a kind of slowing down method. Copying pictures keeps me from having to think too much. It allows me to simply go ahead and let my hands do what I see. This was tonight’s doodle of a beachy landscape. The colors could be improved by using aquarelle colors but I opted for my trusty ol’ Copic markers instead.
When time and creative passion hit, things start happening.
I love to do 1 minute doodles – I start off doodling for 1 minute and then have to finish from there. It is quite remarkable how basic you can start off and still get a decent result with an little detail work like shadowing and extra inking.
The reason I like these explosive exercises is that it takes the pressure away to satisfy my perfectionism.
As a matter of fact I know that I will never be able to draw as perfectly as I would wish to so perfectionism only stifles my creativity and I absolutely need to overcome it in order to enjoy the process of creation.
The 1 minute method is how I learn to let go and improve by only focusing on the big picture for one minute. This also improves my ability to quickly sketch on the go instead of mindlessly snapping photos.
My mom is a highly talented seamstress – way more so than I’m a doodler. So no wonder she patched together two versions of a face mask made from fabric remnants in just a couple of hours (if even that).
I love the fact that the fabric sports little dragon flies 🙂
A little morning doodle with a very spontaneous quote that just popped out of my head into my hands.
Yesterday evening’s run awarded me with an amazing sunset (unfortunately my doodling skills don’t even start to match the real beauty of it).
Saturday I attended a Zentangle© Basics Course in Zurich with the first ever Certified Zentangle Teacher (CZT) in Switzerland, Hanny Waldburger. Even though I didn’t feel my best I decided to attend. My state was clearly past incubation so I wasn’t in danger of infecting anyone. And I thought a couple of hours of creative time might be the best cure anyways.
It’s not like I didn’t know anything about zentangling, meaning I could have attended the advanced course but I was interested to learn the basics, the phylosophy behind the whole zentangle movement. And it is fascinating, I’m telling you.
The three hours were well spent, even if it meant that I sounded like a failing steam-engine Sunday morning. That would most certainly have happened anyway. At least now I know that I had three memorable hours with a bunch of creative ladies who to begin with thought they were utterly talentless but as it turned out they were all amazing artists. That’s the beauty of zentangling: It takes out the stress of competing with either your own expecations or others work – each and every piece is unique and beautiful in it’s own way. See for yourselves:
I hope you all had an inspiring weekend with at least one activity that took you to that place of calm contentment that one only finds when being in the here and now, finding the flow.
What’s your go to activity to find that state?
Photo credit: All photo’s by evozeta
