Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Right Brain Exercise and Encouragement

I loved this idea to protect chalk pastels and so I did this with mine at home. 
Last weekend, I took an art class run by a local Gold Coast artist at her cafe Canvas. It was so much fun. I had been trying for quite a while now to delve into my art but every attempt I made, felt like failure. Like most artists, I am my own worst enemy. What I struggled with was my desired visual outcome. What I achieved was never quite good enough. In life I have been learning that the outcome is not always the most enjoyable part, in fact, it is, in most cases if you let it, the process of doing/creating. Most of you reading may already know this but for me it has only just sunk in and it has significantly changed the way I look at the world around me. Instead of being discouraged by the failure to meet a desired result, I am now only seeking the joy in the process! I don't know why I let this  result based thinking rob me of this joy.

Blind continuous line drawings of my teacher in pencil
We did some right brain exercises which involved drawing in continuous lines without looking at our drawings, drawing with eyes shut, drawing from memory. These exercises allow the right brain to be active without the left brain, (the reasoning) to kick in. I got so much out of this, it helped to shut out all those thoughts that occur (which for me are usually negative). Instead, I was able to clearly focus on my subject or object and notice all the details within. I really improved on my observational skills.
A pear in chalk pastel

 After indulging myself in an art session and a nice cup of coffee I felt so encouraged and rejuvenated. I didn't care what was on my page at the end of the day, I just enjoyed the experience of creating.
Are you a right brain exerciser?


No comments:

Post a Comment