Just Imagine!

Sometimes, its good to just let your mind run free without second guessing yourself.

When I was a teacher, there was an exercise that I learned about art that I think applies to anything that we do. It was an exercise that set you up to draw on paper without judgment.

Think about that for a second.
What could you come up with if your mind were free of its "judgment meter": that instinct/habit in your brain that constantly gauges if what you're doing is right or wrong? Wouldn't it be nice if, every now and again, one could shut down that meter and see what the possibilities are? What would happen to ideas that got "canned" because something in your brain just said - "impossible" or "impractical" or "that just won't work"?

Its like a brainstorming session where ideas are presented/discussed for clarity but not judged.

I think that we all need to indulge in this type of activity every so often so that we don't get stale or stuck.

ACTIVITY SUMMARY:
Supplies:
Paper
Tape
Pen

INSTRUCTIONS:
1) Tape Paper to table or drawing surface: you don't want the paper to be moving during the drawing exercise.
2) Look for an object to draw - anything. Take a few minutes to orient yourself so that you can draw comfortably on the paper.
3) Position your pen on the paper to draw the subject that you selected and start drawing.
4) WITHOUT lifting the PEN and WITHOUT looking down on the paper as you draw, start drawing!
5) stop when you're done.
Take a look!

The results are usually an abstract version of the subject that you picked.

What's the point?

Too often when we draw, it is "inhibited" - one keep erasing, correcting oneself, etc. Its better to sometimes 1st lay down on paper what you see without judgment and then take a look at the whole to see what can be improve.