Tag Archives: quiet

Line Meditation with Trees.

Finding focus with your line.

I began “collecting” trees in my journals after taking a class on forestry stewardship in order to increase my knowledge of the forest around me. I had never really looked at the rings of trees as storytellers until I became fascinated with some fallen trees and began to learn how to read them. As my knowledge grows, so does the wonder of the secrets the forests hold. I could spend hours in the forest looking at the details of life, growth and decay with my sketchbook in hand.

From these sketch breaks came the inspiration to bring the growth back to my studio where I added watercolor and soon found myself in the trance of line meditations, forming my string (in Zentangle terms) from the shapes of the trees fallen in our woods.

Combining the wisdom I found in the forest, and many of the principles of the Zentangle Method, I soon found myself engaged in a regular exercise of line meditations with the trees.

Upcoming classes incorporating this practice and working lessons are coming soon.

The Quiet Side: Stillness

Stillness:

devoid of or abstaining from motion: free from noise or turbulence

The world runs at a frenetic pace, especially the online, constantly connected side of our lives.  Constant notifications, texts, emails, social media updates.  As we learn to live at this speed it seems even more important to find a balance by being still.

Allowing your mind to be still takes practice. Allowing your body to truly rest takes practice. Not a lot of new skill or explanation required, just reminders and practice.

You might naturally find when you journal or draw, or in the middle of other focused activities that you pause for a moment and capture a bit of stillness, where the silence envelops you like a bubble.  We need these moments in our day like a breath of fresh air for our minds.

Try This

Sit quietly for a few moments with all your screens and sounds off. Watch the raindrops fall outside the window, or the flames flicker by the fire.  Sit still with yourself physically. Feet flat on the floor, hands gently resting on your legs. Take five minutes, two minutes or one minute to sit gently.

Close your eyes or focus on the distance and just sit.

Breathe and be still.

Sit still with your mind. When your mind wanders, bring it back quietly reminding yourself that you are still. It is a practice to be still for even a moment when you are used to constant stimulation.

Breathe evenly. Let your eyes relax or gently close them. When you start looking around remind yourself, take a breath and be still.

deliberate – still – appreciate – quiet – focus – trust – deconstruct – beautiful – reflect – relax- discover  create – comfort – shade – breathe – inspire – be bold – embellish – savor – slow – calm -admire

The Quiet Side: Exploring the unseen benefits of creative focus

The Quiet Side

Exploring the unseen benefits of creative focus.

I am very happy to introduce my new series, reflecting on the Quiet Side of taking a few moments to yourself, finding creative inspiration and allowing a little bit of stillness into your day.

What draws me to sharing Zentangle isn’t the artwork at the end – it is the “how we get there” that I love. The method is purposeful in its ability to help you relax and be in the moment. As a result of the process, a beautiful piece of art is created.

I encourage you to give regular, quiet, creative time a try.  Learning a new art form like Zentangle is a practice.  Your results each day won’t always be perfect – but you will receive benefits from exploring creativity on a regular basis and spending the time to focus and quiet your mind.

Likes and shares are common on my posts that include images and completed tiles – its a little bit harder to draw attention to the benefits of slowing down, stillness or calm.  What I hope you get from this series is inspiration to find time to get offline, pick up a pen, and perhaps try a few of the exercises I include. And I hope that starts you on a path to enjoying the benefits that a regular practice of focused creativity can bring.

Sign up for my blog directly to allow yourself to get the inspiration and some fun exercises right to your inbox. Expect an issue of The Quiet Side about every two weeks throughout the year.

Happy 2017

Kellie

deliberate – still – appreciate – quiet – focus – trust – deconstruct – beautiful – reflect – relax – discover – create – comfort – shade – breathe – inspire – be bold – embellish – savor – slow – calm – admire – harmony