Daily ramblings with a pen and a journal
Why I recommend starting to write short paragraphs and draw a line at a time
Hi, I’m Karina!
I write about what I know! I write about what I went through, going through. I write about what helped me carry on, what helps me carry on.
I write about historical events, the ones I ve been a witness off, participant and observer, I write about countries I lived in, about people, about books, about failed projects, about human psychology, about survival, about reclaiming my life in micro steps.
Mini drawings are stories in the making! They really are. You can start to play with a pen on the tiniest piece of paper. It is way less intimidating and satisfying! 2 in 1. It is also important to write your expectations about the drawing/ doodle on a piece of paper before you start….and then burn it, chop it in small prices and practice letting go …
Sometimes, when I come back from the office I like to practice … letting go of anything that happened during the day …. Anything upsetting … I also recap what was uplifting and memorable! Everything is on the paper … transformed into shapes and colours!
If you want to start a creativity practice combining journaling and painting, start small, start with the covers of your journal! For years I ve been painting the covers of my journals! Each one unique, each one a labour of love! There is nothing like adding your own imprint onto a new cover … as this is the beginning of many, many hours in your own company and of course your muse is also invited! There is nothing like infusing it with your energy …and when you open it and look at the white piece of papers inside … ideas flow and flow some more!
“The important thing is to create. Nothing else matters, creation is all” - Pablo Picasso
What can I say … sometimes, when the muse is very chatty I step aside and let her do the drawing. What turns up on the page is always a surprise!
Saturday morning is tai chi morning! Well, what usually is a 15 minutes drive to the church hall was a 75 minutes stop and go session in a torrential rain! No tai chi for me today! So a 75 minutes drive listening to Classic FM and paying attention to the scenery for a change …. The cows, sheep, occasional house, fields … the sky … everything I wiz through on a daily basis was there to be noticed and enjoyed! the words making memories came to my mind …… we are constantly making memories aren’t we? This drive will be memorable …it was peaceful, it was a new experience for me, it was followed by a great coffee and conversation with the tai chi gang as … yes I was on time for the coffee! 😀
How can one maintain a creativity practice when one has a demanding full time job? Let me tell you…. It is hard. One of the hardest bit is to overcome the impulse of grabbing the remote control and scrolling aimlessly from one channel to another, binging on yet another tv series and feeling like a failure really. How do you reclaim yourself? In my case this is work in progress … doing a bit of drawing and colouring in … is a start! How do you stop your own mind numbing patterns!