Train your brain to think out of the box. Increase your creativity and innovation with a mindful art habit. Discover the benefits for your mind and heart when you create art. Take the 4-day Egg-Doodle Challenge and let your creativity flow.
Happy Easter! As this week's blog falls on the Easter long weekend, I wanted to pay homage to the holiday tradition of making Easter eggs.
I never made Easter eggs when I was a child. Even though I grew up in Canada during the 70s and 80s, my Hong Kong immigrant parents were not well-versed in many Western cultural holiday traditions. Eggs were for eating, not painting.
Then I moved back to Hong Kong as an adult and had my two sons. I wanted to make sure they were exposed to both Chinese and Western holiday traditions. So my first Easter egg creations were done together with my children.
It was great fun for them to paint their food as I tried to make sure they didn't eat the paint. I don't remember what the eggs looked like, just the giggles and laughter of my boys when they were little.
Arts and crafts are an important part of child development as it helps them with everything from developing fine motor skills to cognitive problem-solving skills to self-expression and the ability to process the world that they live in. These skills are equally as important for adults and yet many of us stop our arts and crafts endeavours as we grow out of childhood and life gets too serious and too busy.
In my blog Doodling to Mindfulness, I talk about the benefits of art therapy and my discovery of Zentagle Art and Neurographic Art as two forms of meditative art that have helped me to build mindfulness. Returning to my arts and crafts helped me to heal and find a sense of accomplishment when I was suffering from depression brought on by the pandemic in 2020.
This week I am challenging readers to pick up pen and paper and rekindle their carefree childhood creativity!
Download and print the 4-Day Easter Egg-Doodle Worksheet and doodle an egg a day over your long weekend. Then share your fabulous creations with me on Instagram by tagging @ayclimitless and be sure to include #ayclimitlesscom so that we can all see the eggstraordinary 😉 results.
I hope that you can carve out some self-care time for mindfulness with a fun activity for you and your family. Let go of the need for control and perfection. Enjoy the process of creation and let lines flow without the fear of failure. The secret is releasing the need for control, finding unexpected results and appreciating the outcome whatever it may be.
Here are 3 examples of using meditative art to create Easter Egg-Doodles
Left to right: A. Zentangle style B. Neurographic Art style C. Zen-Neuro Art Mixed style
Each egg took 10-15 minutes to create. I had no preconceived plan of what they would look like in the end. I just started with lines and whatever popped into my mind next. That's part of the challenge and excitement of letting go and letting inspiration guide you.
Here is the time-lapsed video of my Zentangle egg for you to see how easy it was to make.
Here is the video link to watch the 3 steps of creating a Neurographic Egg.
You can leave your Egg-Doodles black and white or shade them in with a pencil or colour them in with colouring pencils. It's up to you. Just get cracking. 😂
Suggested supplies:
Black medium to a fine felt tip or roller tip pen (you can use colour pens if you desire)
HB pencil for shading
Cotton bud for smudging pencil shading
Colouring pencils
For creative inspiration and learning, here are some helpful videos to introduce you to Neurographic Art and Zentangle Art.
How to Create Beautiful Neurographic Art, Engage Neurons in the Brain and Reduce Stress - YouTube Video - Art With Mrs. Hibbs
Original Zentangle Kit - YouTube Video - Zentangle
Creating Art is Good for Us. So Why Are We So Intimidated?
"Good" art is in the eye of the beholder. I am still trying to wrap my head around NFT art and the fact that Beeple's "Everydays: The First 5000 Days" digital art piece sold for more than $69 million at a Christie’s auction. Check out The 15 Most Expensive NFT Art Pieces Ever Sold - Online Article - Gothammag.com
I think it's sad that many people say they are not good at art and therefore don't take up an artistic pursuit. As children, we made finger paint pictures and traced our handprints to make a turkey. We beamed with pride as we put our masterpieces on the refrigerator door for all to see. As adults, we build up so many self-expectations and self-pride walls which stop us from taking more creative and innovative endeavours in life, let alone creating art.
The truth is that the end result of creating art is not what gives you the most benefit. It's the process of making art that benefits your mental health because it increases dopamine levels and exercises your neurotransmitters.
As a part of my mindful art journey, I started with water painting flowers, outdoor scenery, flowers, etc. I was relearning how to work with the tools and mediums that I gave up during my teenage years. Although I enjoy relearning and practicing, I am still inhibited by my expectations of the end result. I am still struggling with the controlling perfectionist and the egotistic need to see "beautiful" results.
It's hard to let go of ego and give up control. But the beauty in art just as in life is that sometimes the mistakes lead us to the best results.
Discovering Meditative Artforms for Anywhere, Anytime.
While I still practice and continue with my watercolour painting on weekends when I have larger blocks of time, it was not filling my need for quick moments of creative calm to help me destress daily. I needed something more easily accessible without setting up and taking it down daily.
So, off to YouTube university, I went. I found two easy and beautiful meditative art forms that fit the bill perfectly. Zentangle Art and Neurographic Art (also referred to as Neuroart).
When I came across the Zentangle Art method of simple dots and lines, it was liberating to get amazing results with such simple strokes. The fact that it could be done on a post-it note size card made it even more effective because it only took 10-15 minutes to complete one project.
I am grateful for the YouTube algorithm gods that led me to the Zentagle website and Zentangle YouTube channel where I was able to self-study and learn from their great videos and resources. I have no affiliation with Zentangle, but I love how the founders are wholeheartedly spreading mindfulness through their unique creations.
Here's a great 2 min video where the founders of Zentangle eloquently explain their meditative art method.
Here are some of my self-learning notes and creations.
Then I discovered Neurographic Art. Which is a more artistic version of the therapeutic practice of Neurographica®. Neuorographica® was created by the Russian psychologist Pavel Piskarev in 2014 and is an entire method of therapeutic art for psychological application.
Neurographic Art borrows from the core principles of Neuorographica® methodology but simplifies it to the core steps and process. The objective is to promote mindfulness and intentionally slow down the pace of your thoughts.
Creating Neurographic Art stimulates new neural pathways by combining art and psychology. This type of art can be a way to transform one’s stress and fear by drawing freeform lines and then using a specific focus to fuse harsh intersecting corners to transform the stress into a beautiful work of art.
Here is one of my early creations incorporating circles and filled in with watercolour paint.
Creating Neurographic Art is so freeing and calming as the lines flow from your energy and breath. The rounding of the intersecting lines is soothing and addictive as they transform the lines into different and unexpected shapes. Then when you add colour, the whole image transforms again.
Here are the links for inspiration and learning more about Neurographic Art and Zentangle Art.
How to Create Beautiful Neurographic Art, Engage Neurons in the Brain and Reduce Stress - YouTube Video - Art With Mrs. Hibbs
Original Zentangle Kit - YouTube Video - Zentangle
Start Reaping the Benefits of a Mindful Art Habit!
Over the past two pandemic years, rediscovering my creative arts side has been immensely beneficial for my mental and emotional health. There is a vast amount of research on the benefits of making art and even just from looking at art.
In addition to increasing dopamine levels and exercising the neurons in your brain, here are some additional benefits:
builds attention and focus
builds self-esteem and a sense of accomplishment
reduces stress
strengthens creativity and innovation
stimulates neural activity
engages fine motor skills
improves self-awareness and connection with emotions
What do we have to lose with all of these benefits to gain? Let's push aside our need for perfection and our ego's fear of failure and give mindful art a try.
When my sons were small, arts and crafts times were special occasions when we could be messy and carefree. Everything from crayons to finger paints, to playdough could be art. I honestly don't remember many of the creations we made. What I remember is the sounds of their imagination as they described their art. I remember the laughter when they made mistakes that they incorporated into their art. Those are the most beautiful works of art that will forever echo in my heart and mind.
Print out the Egg-Doodle PDF, or just use paper and pen to draw your own artful eggs. Take a 15-minute break to let your childhood artist free. Or make it an occasion to share a fun activity with your family.
Enjoy the process, relish the experience and be thankful for our blessings.
Here are some insightful articles on the health benefits of making art.
How Making Art Helps Your Brain - Online Article - npr.org
Making Art is Good For Your Health - Online Article -npr.org
7 Amazing Benefits of Art for Kids - Online Article - artfulparent.com
I would love to hear your comments and see your Egg-Doodles!
What are your creative outlets and how do they help you?
When was the last time you created art for fun and what did you create?
Download the Easter Egg-Doodle PDF or just doodle on a post-it note and share it on Instagram with #ayclimitlesscom for our followers, members and subscribers to appreciate.
Thank you for spending time on AYCLimitless.com
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