Calm in the Storm

Calm in the Storm

In these weird and too often stressful times, it is vital to have a means of grounding and calming oneself. My ability to use those tools was sorely tested yesterday when we had a pest control service at our house dealing with rats in the crawlspace, tree ants all over the front siding and in the house walls of my art room, and fungus on the floor joists. Oh, the joys and financial burdens of home ownership. Besides practicing gratitude that I have a house and doing some deep breathing, art came to my rescue. . . again. I just put on some calming music and played with watercolors and pens. Intuitive. No goal or planned vision in mind. Just play. 

First task was to learn which of the watercolors I have are transparent. I researched and made swatches and inserts for my paint palettes. Then armed with new knowledge and a passion for intuitive art, I painted random swirlies and stripes.then came play with Micron and Posca pens. Great therapy! I painted lots of backgrounds and stashed them in a folio with a black and A white pen, all ready to take with me on a moment’s notice to any inspiring outdoor setting. 

A technique called kumomi, a powerful meditative, mindful art practice. An act like cloud gazing.

雲見 is read as “koo moh mee” and is the combination of the characters for “cloud” and “to see” so it’s essentially “cloud watching.”


The eggs turned out kind of weird and wild, but they were fun. 


These are already stashed in my outdoor play kit: 


Bonus - some colorful brush-cleaning papers ready for my collage fodder collection: 




And an interesting soundtrack:





 

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