Tag Archives: scribbling

A Heart A Day #16

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Today I did some scribbling and doodling and I spoke about self-comapssion with friends. It’s interesting to see that so many people struggle with self-compassion! Why, people? Why is this so? However, I guess it’s good to know I’m not the only one coming a long way.

When I say I’m working hard to get more compassionate towards myself, I don’t mean I sit and meditate all day. Simple things help me focus on self-compassion and self-love during the day. For example focussing on what I would love to add to this world. I would love to create “tools” that help people develope a positive picture of themselves, that help developing self-compassion; and no kidding, I’m working on a book on this specific matter! Other “tools” I’m creating are gestures that you can give to other people to show you care – my cards for example. Doing this makes my heart skip and puts a smile on my face the moment I think about it. I can be my authentic self and that feels good! I love that feeling and slowly my self-love grows. Baby steps, but day by day it gets stronger.

Whilst scribling and doodling today I created a heart with one of my favourite quotes. Be the change you want to see in the world. From Gandhi. Speaking of meditation, writing a quote about 20 times is meditative! I added a picture of planet earth, for the extra drama ;-)

What change do you want to see in the world? And what steps are you taking towards it?

With love,
Tess

PS: Have you created or spotted a heart this week? Share it with me! Use #aheartaday and social media may overflow with hearts…

16

[I love love and I love hearts! But oh, this world needs more visible love. So let’s change that, step by step. Away with pessimism. Away with hate. Let’s fill this world with love. And hearts! To show compassion towards each other, towards the planet, towards ourselves. It proves to be difficult for so many of us. But instead of judging it’s more meaningful to show love, to respond with love, to act out of love. Say it with hearts.
So I’m sharing A Heart A Day. Every day I will draw, stitch, paint or otherwise create a heart and post it on this blog. Will you help me make love and hearts spread like a contagious but healthy disease?]

 

Discipline and the diary

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November is all about drawing. It’s my focus this month. And not only up here at Tessie’s Projects, also in my non-digital daily life drawing is taking over. A serious project! More on that will follow. ASAP.

I’m no illustrator, have no serious talent when it comes to paper and pencil. But I like drawing (or in my case more scribbling and doodling). I like the idea of being able to draw. Being able to sketch what I see, even. Giving form to the ideas that hide in my head by putting pencil on paper. For my study Interior Design it is handy to have or develop sketching skills, too. It’s ideal if you’re able to quickly sketch the ideas of your client, for instance. So I try my hand at drawing, sometimes. The best way to develop sketching skills is the simplest way: start sketching. Every day. Not for 5 hours. Just one thing a day. A simple thing to start with. A mug. Your telly. Knives, forks. Whatever. Easy peasy. Child’s play.

But not for me. As always, when I have to (no, want to) practise things such as sketching, I start doubting myself. Get scared even. And to prove myself that indeed I won’t be able to, I set the bar too high. So I can’t reach. Easy peasy! Mostly this results in not doing it at all – procrastination. My favourite hobby. Tomorrow. Tomorrow. I love you. Tomorrow.
Same with writing. The ideas are enormous and are fired at me by my brain. I can’t keep up. So I stop before I even start. Even a simple diary must be a master piece. Let me illustrate (did you see that one coming?) this: in March 2013 I started a diary, inspired by a tip I read in some book. The tip was perfect, especially written for me: Just write one sentence a day in your one-sentence-a-day-diary. No pressure at all. And so I went to a cheap shop. Bought myself a cheap notebook. And a cheap ribbon. And I started. Of course I added an accompanying sketch a day to the just-one-sentence. To practice my sketching skills. Otherwise the bar would be too low.

It’s a shoe! A day, a sentence, a sketch.

 

It didn’t even last a month.

As it’s now November and I’ve sworn to draw a lot this month, I dug up the one-sentence-a-day-diary. And I’m gonna do it again. Every day. One sentence. One sketch. I’ll report to you.

To keep up the good work I often seek inspiration on the internet. There’s a lot of illustrators to be found, all unique and independent. It’s always inspiring take a good look at their technique, their fantasy, their solutions. Also, sketching-diaries are booming at the moment. Just type “visual journal” or “visual diary” on google and you’ll get results aplenty. My favourite isn’t a contemporary, however. It’s Christiaan Andriessen, who drew in his diary daily from 1805 – 1808. Trendsetter he! The book “De wereld van Christiaan Andriessen” (in English “The world of Christiaan Andriessen”) is the publication of this 19th century Dutch artist’s diary.

Christiaan Andriessen

From the trendsetter’s diary. Christiaan Andriessen.