Hey, Kid! Get Outside!
For this Artist Date I ended up in my garden for several reasons: We are currently blessed with a few really warm, late summer days, and since I never know how long they’ll last, I decided to do something outdoors. Recently, I noticed I need to make room for some light fun in order to feed my inner child, plus I had realized that it would be a good idea to use my artistic, pastel chalks outside where I can be as messy as I want without the fear of ruining my carpet. So, the decision was made!
Upon gathering my things I noticed that I hadn’t bought the pastel chalks I had intended to, but a second pack of oil pastels. Oh well, that meant I got to play with water as well, since all of my oil pastels are water-soluble. It was a plus to have the “wrong” pastels, because I love the effect of drawing with pastels, and then putting accents in the picture by using a painting brush and water. It brings the colours to life and makes them really vibrant, too.
What I like to do sometimes is to draw a picture of what I sense in that moment. It’s as if I bring the energy I’m feeling into the physical by putting it on paper. Sometimes I have a topic in mind that’s currently important to me, but this time I didn’t, which always brings in the element of surprise and wonder of the meaning of what I’ve created.
As you can see in the picture, I got to enjoy three things in one: my garden furniture, the sun, and being creative. Despite having enough time for the activity and not being under any stress, on that afternoon, I noticed that the experience wasn’t as relaxing, or easily creating flow as most of my previous Artist dates. I enjoyed it and I created something, but I couldn’t shake off the feeling of “to do” and a certain inner rigidity.
The next day I had an appointment with my Thai massage therapist. She had been on a long vacation so I was really looking forward to our time together. The difference in how I felt – not only physically, but also mentally after the massage – was astounding. When I leave her I always feel much smoother in my movements, and this time it was obvious that l was able to move smoothly in my inner world, too. With this feeling, I took the time to browse through some shops in the area looking for natural products for my curly hair. As a result, I had a two-part artist date, and wow, the relaxation and flow I had been missing the day prior were definitely there! This time the artist date made me see how the flow is not created by what I do and how I do it alone, but how I take care of my body, too!
Written by: Sabine Roggermeier; Gluecklich Im Sein
