Pondering Creativity
I ended 2023 by committing to myself to do a small drawing most days of Advent. Drawing everyday (well, almost everyday) reminded me of a few things. 1) I love to draw and doodle; and 2) drawing helps me order my mind and heart ~ it helps me understand God better.
As I looked back over my advent drawings, I saw an interesting progression. They started mostly in black and white and, I think, a bit tight. As the meaning of advent settled in to my heart (with the inspiration of Kris Camealy’s fantastic advent book, Come Lord Jesus: the Weight of Waiting), and as I took time to settle my soul and draw, I saw color pop into my drawings. I saw more movement, more freedom in my drawing. I even (gasp) started coloring outside the lines.
Rolling into 2024, I crave more creative time. Funny how being a professional artist doesn’t quite fill my cup of needing creative time. Truth is, being a professional artist is almost more about running a company with all the crazy hats I get to wear, i.e., social media guru, janitor, paperwork-filler-outer . . . the list is long of non-art things that are integral parts of being a professional artist.
Advent showed me again the wonder of making time to settle ~ to slow and to focus ~ opened my eyes and heart to see more, to see expansively, to see in color, to see outside the lines, reminding me what a gift the creative part of being a professional artist is.
As I looked back over my advent drawings, I saw an interesting progression. They started mostly in black and white and, I think, a bit tight. As the meaning of advent settled in to my heart (with the inspiration of Kris Camealy’s fantastic advent book, Come Lord Jesus: the Weight of Waiting), and as I took time to settle my soul and draw, I saw color pop into my drawings. I saw more movement, more freedom in my drawing. I even (gasp) started coloring outside the lines.
Rolling into 2024, I crave more creative time. Funny how being a professional artist doesn’t quite fill my cup of needing creative time. Truth is, being a professional artist is almost more about running a company with all the crazy hats I get to wear, i.e., social media guru, janitor, paperwork-filler-outer . . . the list is long of non-art things that are integral parts of being a professional artist.
Advent showed me again the wonder of making time to settle ~ to slow and to focus ~ opened my eyes and heart to see more, to see expansively, to see in color, to see outside the lines, reminding me what a gift the creative part of being a professional artist is.
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