Tuesday, April 1, 2014

Expandism in practice: Meditative Drawing

A simple mental drawing exercise to demonstrate the expandism method in practice:

1. Ensure peace and quiet for the drawing session 
Switch off the mobile phone, forget the clock, miss deadlines, put aside your busy life, all your sorrows, joys and concerns. The sketch moment can only happen in the here and now, if you allow it. 

2. Settle down to work 
Forget other people, do not talk. Sit as comfortably as you can. Breathe in calmly. Breathe out. View and explore your drawing tools. Select a pen or an other drawing medium that pleases you most. 

3. Draw a square or a rectangle and inside it random patterns concentrating on them without hurry
Start from any spot of the area and proceed very slowly. Feel the silence of the paper, exhale and touch it tenderly and wisely with the point of the pen, all your attention focused on the pen marks. Make each line individual, unique. Leave some white space between the traces. Do not try to fix anything, there are no errors. Just keep on focusing without rushing, even if something unexpected happens. Find something new, come up with new ideas, make the process more difficult, work slowly, inhale and focus, exhale and draw, there is no hurry. When space runs out, you're finished. 

4. Revert back to your everyday life 
Observe what you have done, think about what you have experienced, what you felt and make it conscious. There are no correct solutions, style points are not given. The end result is not important, the creative moment is what matters. 

5. Take the experience with you 
You can have a small meditative drawing session on the bus, at home or at work. This method will help you to break away from the hectic pace of your life, when ever you need a quiet little moment of your own. 

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