Divya Marie Kato - When In Doubt, Draw - Getting The World Drawing

Finding Home In 2017

8th January 2017 By divyamariekato

Happy new year friends. We’re a week (and a bit…) into 2017 – how are you?

The holidays have been as unplugged and outdoors as possible for team DMK.

Walks, bike rides, coffee catch ups, reading, writing, meeting friends, calling family, movies, museums, music, drawing and cleaning up our house.

In my last post I talked about the face that lights up. (You can check it out over here)

For this, my first post of 2017, I thought I’d share our word for the year and how it came about. A word that kept bobbing its head up, at strange and unexpected times, throughout the holidays: home.

Felt home as I was drawing the picture above of Jakuchu Ito’s famous rooster for 2017. I had a You Tube video of the London fireworks on and the combination of one of my favourite Japanese artists with my home city caught me off guard. Just felt like home. Click here for a video of that moment or on the rooster above

Connecting homelands. London will always be home but home is here in Japan too.

Less about the what and where and being attached to geography. More about that feeling. I feel home in places, in people and always in the creative space of making things. How about you? Where do you feel home?

What does home even mean? Does it mean feeling comfortable? Or feeling completely yourself? Spent so much time reflecting on this one over the holidays. Especially with friends leaving Tokyo to fly home and others, like us, finding home here this year with get togethers and cooking the things that smell of home.

Which brings me to what REALLY got me thinking…

See this picture below?

This is home in a bowl.

My Mama’s dahl. (aka liquid gold) We’ve been working on this all holiday and…it’s pretty close! What took me most by surprise, were the feelings that came along with the cooking – brought back childhood memories – all the smells and sound of mustard seeds popping… and here’s a video if you want to enjoy stirring it up with me (or click on the pic of soul bowl deliciousness below)

Home in food, in feelings, in loved ones, in the creative space… and when these things come together?

Joy. Through. The. Roof.

Had the great, great pleasure of conducting a drawing workshop for a family as their Christmas present. It was incredible being there in their home, everyone gathered round the table, different generations drawing together. So much fun and that feeling was definitely home.

Very grateful. LOVED every minute of it. Want us to bring a workshop to you? Details here or come join our new weekend drawing workshops in Tokyo dates and details here

Now, back to the dahl. Yes, this post is ALL about the dahl DAHLING.

Will leave you with a little something I wrote during last year’s writing retreat hosted by Lauren Shannon of Tokyo Writers Salon (if you haven’t been, go – fantastic fun!)

The Tin

Wafts of garlic dance with cumin around the room.

Onions joyfully spitting oil in short, playful bursts.

Moving the large, heavy, chopping board, I catch my heart swelling.

It’s time to open the tin.

It winks at me in the overhead light. Hello, old friend.

This tin has been in our family for as long as I can remember.

Mama’s golden, bangled hands would clink as she opened it and my five year old eyes would widen with wonder.

A rainbow of colours – hot, cayenne reds, mellow, turmeric yellows, the small, dark mustard seeds jiggling around happily – one by one taking turns jumping into the pan.

My nose would twitch and itch with the takeover of smells

(not unlike the assault on the senses when arriving at Delhi airport)

“Pop!”

The mustard seeds begin to pop, jolting me back to the present.

I hold one in my hands and remember Mama saying:

“All the faith you need in one mustard seed.”

Best wishes for a good start to the year friends.

May you feel home wherever you are.

Ever draws,

DMK x

Hi, I’m Divya and I’m a British artist in Tokyo helping people reignite creativity at home and at work through drawing. Classes & Workshops will start up again from January 24th 2017. Details here or email me at: info@divyamariekato.com

As adults, we often lose sight of our creativity:

Always wanted to draw, but think you’re not good enough?

Did you draw before when you were a kid, but now you’ve left it behind?

Heard all these great things about creativity and drawing and how it helps you release stress, problem solve, spark ideas…but you don’t know where to start or it’s been a while?

Well, did you know that drawing’s the easiest way to get it back?

Through drawing, we can rediscover our creative selves and receive inspiration, happiness, creativity and joy in the process. Drawing’s also frequently used in forms of art therapy, personal and professional development, for its cathartic, stress releasing and idea sparking properties.

Hi I’m Divya and I help people reconnect to their creativity through drawing. I’ve been drawing my whole life and have been sharing drawing, in some form or other, for the same amount of time. I get assigned by TEDx to host workshops, by companies like LUSH to highlight issues they care about through creative events, by the British Chamber of Commerce in Japan to take part in creative community aid work, by For Empowering Women in Japan to host creativity workshops, by Dokkyo University to empower their international students through creativity classes and by Tokyo Helps to raise money for community relief fundraising campaigns.

Years of experience teaching within the international school environment, have familiarised me with what’s good and what’s not so good about our education system. Being raised around the world, meeting people from all walks of life, has made me into someone who lights up around others.

I’ve coached preschoolers to students to adults and have held countless live painting events, community events, classes and workshops. Why? I love the light up moments. When faces light up in recognition of what they’ve created.

Been a while? Believe you can’t? The biggest renewable resource available to us, is one that doesn’t get given enough attention at school or at work.

From idea sparking to stress relief, team building to highlighting important issues, discovering purpose, motivation and daily joy – creativity is the one thing that no one can take from you and the one thing that only increases the more the you use it.

Pick up a pencil. Start and see. I’ll show you how.

Wanna dip your toe in? Click here

Wanna join us for classes or workshops? Head here for classes and here for workshops

Can’t find what you’re after? Get in touch with me right here: info@divyamariekato.com

And…things just got even better! Want us to bring creativity to your home or office?

Divya’s now partnered with her husband, Masahiro Kato, to be able to deliver workshops bilingually. The British-Japanese husband and wife team are combining their shared experiences of creative living around the world, in order to being creativity to your home or workplace.

These are workshops with a difference and the experience will be an unforgettable one for your family or for your team. Creativity workshops click here

Keep in touch via email: info@divyamariekato.com or for latest news, follow us on Instagram:

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A Sketch A Day

5th November 2016 By divyamariekato

A sketch a day helps you yay.

Yup, yay. (highly technical term)

Halloween may be over, but scary things are ever present. ESPECIALLY as we get into the last months of 2016. The real stuff of fear and doubt. The stuff that goes on up there in the head.

That’s why making sure we take regular breaks from the left brain, and get into the right, is the best idea since sliced bread. It works WONDERS.

Not only in terms of presence, observation, reflection and expression – enough already right?? – but the simple act of drawing is one of the fastest, most portable and accessible (just need pencil and paper) ways to connect to your creativity, spark new ideas and get back into flow.

Plus, you can continue doing it into old age!

AND it helps with business.

Here’s what champion of drawing, Betty Edwards, Author of Drawing On The Right Side Of The Brain, has to say:

“Drawing is probably the best way to train perceptual skills—meaning how to see—and the act of seeing is undoubtedly involved in creative problem‐solving and in just about everything humans do.

Eyesight and seeing are surely among the most critical functions for human beings, but seeing is hardly trained at all. The reason seems to be that we all see pretty well and think that we don’t need training in how to see—that it would not be useful.

In fact, human beings do not see very well. The brain itself makes assumptions about what it is seeing, and can actually can change perceptions to fit its assumptions. Your listeners may be familiar with the so‐called “constancies,” perceptual constancy, form constancy, and concept constancy. This means that the brain, which is always looking for easy ways to do things, makes quick assumptions about perceptions based on its previous knowledge. And often these assumptions are wrong.

Learning to draw can help to make one’s perceptions fit more closely with reality. First of all, drawing teaches accurate perception—how to see what is really “out there.” Second, perceptual skills learned through drawing can transfer usefully to other fields. For example, learning to accurately see negative spaces is useful in business problem‐solving. In business, there is a term called “white spaces.”

Writers of business books recommend that business problem‐solvers look at the ‘white spaces,’ the spaces around the problem, rather than looking solely at the actual data of the problem.

Now, this is a difficult concept for someone who hasn’t learned to draw. Once you’ve learned to draw, negative spaces become real—something you can mentally grab onto. And the other basic perceptual skills of drawing have equal value in terms of thinking and problem‐solving, in business or in other fields. For example, the concept of edges—the perception of edges—which is one of the five component skills, carries profound meaning: where does one thing end and another thing begin? To return to business problem‐solving, it is important, for example, to be able to accurately perceive the edge between the client’s interest and the seller’s interest. Where is that edge located? Is it movable? Is it solid or permeable?”

A sketch a day.

Not for good or bad.

Not for masterpieces or for others. (although sometimes it’s nice to give someone something you’ve made)

For you.

With tea.

Soul soothing stuff.

Happy weekend ahead friends. Big love, Ever draws, DMK x

Hi, I’m Divya and I’m an artist in Tokyo.

I help people who believe they can’t draw (yes you can) or want to wake up their inner artist (just needs a gentle nudge.)

Whether you like learning online or in person, 1-1 or in a group, at home or at work, you’ll find everything you need right here.

Next speaking event: Tokyo American Club Dec 7th 2016, about my forthcoming book, When In Doubt, Draw.

Best way to keep up to date with classes, retreats and drawings is right here on Instagram:

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Winner! 10 Day Blog Challenge 2016

5th October 2016 By divyamariekato

Winner!!

10 Days. 10 Challenges. Over 1800 participants and over 1600 blog posts.

Out of which, 180 humans (10% of total), showed up every single day.

Our Tokyo tribe, led by Helen Iwata, Sasuga Communications, were in that 10%. We showed up to the challenges every day and gave them our best. Thank you Helen for inviting us to do this with you and for keeping a caring eye on the group.

Winners have now been announced & HOLY MOLY, I’m number 2!! (AND the mail went to my junk mail!! Thank you Ann-Katrin, Christiane, Jayne and Ilana for letting me know!) Thank you tribe. Thank you Natalie Sisson (cartwheels all morning and likely hugging people all day) for this incredible opportunity and for guiding us through the 10 day journey. Here’s to showing up for what you stand for, for all the small steps and for learning as you go.

Friends want help with your business?
Natalie’s mail concluded with fact that although this challenge’s over, there’ll be more in the future. Real ones, the ones you’ll face when trying to create an online business that supports your ideal lifestyle. That’s why she’s designed her most comprehensive training program, The Freedom Plan, to help overcome them. Check it out here

10 Day Challenge 2016 completed! If you liked this and want more, make sure you’re signed up for DMK news (pop your name and email in the cool box to the right or on the bottom) for writings, drawings and news on where I’ll be for events and workshops. Best wishes for a good week ahead friends, big love, ever draws, DMK x

Previous 10 Day Blog Challenge Posts

Day 1: DMK’s Challenges Click here or on the pic above

Day 2: DMK’s Why Click here or on the pic above

Day 3: DMK’s Perfect Day Click here or on the pic above

Day 4: DMK’s Superpowers Click here or on the pic above

Day 5: DMK’s Daily Success Plan Click here or on the pic above

Day 6: DMK’s Tribe Click here or on the pic above

Day 7: DMK’s One, Imperfect Action Click here or on the pic above

Day 8: DMK’s Adventure Click here or on the pic above

Day 9: DMK’s Balancing Act Click here or on the pic above

Hi, I’m Divya and I help people who believe they can’t draw (and hate doing things they might not be good at) but secretly want to. Best way to keep in touch is here on Instagram:

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Day 10 of 10 Day Blog Challenge: DMK’s Last Day Takeaway

20th September 2016 By divyamariekato

Day 10: I want you to think back to the journey you’ve been on in the last 10 days. I encourage you to read through all your posts to celebrate all that you’ve written, learned and experienced as part of this daily blog challenge. And in today’s blog post, I want you to write about:

What you enjoyed most about your experience of taking part in the blog challenge
Your favorite challenge day and why
The biggest takeaway you’ve had from it
The next step you’re going to take to make your freedom plan a reality

– Natalie Sisson, The Suitcase Entrepreneur, 10 Day Blog Challenge 2016

“We’re all working together; that’s the secret.” – Sam Walton

It’s the morning of day 10. Heavy rain plays its music outside and I’m here writing with a smile on my face and in my heart. We did it. A community, made up of people from around the world, has been writing together, daily, for the past 10 days. Being a part of this was moving. Knowing that other humans were carving out time to sit down, every day, to create, made me feel part of something. Something bigger. It’s always this feeling that keeps me grounded, motivated and inspired and the experience I enjoyed the most.

“Stop waiting for the perfect day or the perfect moment… Take THIS day, THIS moment and lead it to perfection.”

― Steve Maraboli

My favourite challenge was My Perfect Day because envisioning what life would look like, in such detail, was exciting, fun and rocket fuel for motivation. Yes, details in the day may change, in fact I expect them too as I grow, but the importance of keeping what I’m working towards, and why, clearly in my mind is what will help me the most to get there. With passion, focus and determination. Essential ingredients in a life of ups and downs.

“Great things are done by a series of small things brought together.” –Vincent Van Gogh

This etching above, which I made at university, is of a boatbuilder’s hands. Created as part of a project exploring the line between art and craft. It’s a series of small marks built up and brought together. There’s a process to it. Time invested in it. Each time I sit down at a blank page, I’m back in that space. Creating small marks on a page that will grow into a drawing. This has been my biggest takeaway from the challenge: the reminder that there is great power in small, consistent action. Small steps, every day, towards your dreams. When we look back at the past 10 days it’s incredible to see what we now have – 10 intimate posts about the adventure of being alive and creating a life and business around our why. The quote I chose there meant a lot too – Gogh was so dedicated, so devoted to his practice, that the amount of attention didn’t dissuade him from creating. To forgo comparisonitis for inspirationitis and keep creating everyday. As we take these steps everyday, we also learn through the practice of doing, how to do things better. We can set up systems, ways of streamlining the process and get into a good rhythm to play forward with.

“The vision must be followed by the venture. It is not enough to stare up the steps – we must step up the stairs.”

– Vance Havner

And we’ve got to keep putting one foot in front of the other! The next step I’m going to take, to make my freedom plan a reality, is to hold to my one, imperfect action from challenge 7 . I’ll continue this forward momentum by creating blog posts about my book, When In Doubt, Draw, until it is finished and out in the world.

Thank you!

Natalie, thank you so much for guiding us through this 10 day journey! I’ve learned so much the past 10 days and it’s been a great experience being given daily challenges to rise up to. Am very grateful to my friend, Helen Iwata, for sharing the challenge with me and others in our Tokyo community, and look forward to meeting up soon to celebrate and share our takeaways. If you ever come to Tokyo, you’ve got friends here Natalie!

Warmest wishes to everyone and congratulations – more emotional than I thought I’d be here! – here’s to keeping at it, every day, until we arrive at our perfect days. I have no doubt that the more people, with more perfect days, is exactly what the world needs most.

Big love & Ever draws, DMK x

This is day 10 – the last one of this challenge! If you liked this and want more, make sure you’re signed up for DMK news (pop your name and email in the cool box to the right or on the bottom) for writings, drawings and news on where I’ll be for events and workshops. Best wishes for a good week ahead friends, big love, ever draws, DMK x

This blog post is in response to Natalie’s 10 Day Freedom Plan Blog Challenge Day 10

Previous 10 Day Blog Challenge Posts

Day 1: DMK’s Challenges Click here or on the pic above

Day 2: DMK’s Why Click here or on the pic above

Day 3: DMK’s Perfect Day Click here or on the pic above

Day 4: DMK’s Superpowers Click here or on the pic above

Day 5: DMK’s Daily Success Plan Click here or on the pic above

Day 6: DMK’s Tribe Click here or on the pic above

Day 7: DMK’s One, Imperfect Action Click here or on the pic above

Day 8: DMK’s Adventure Click here or on the pic above

Day 9: DMK’s Balancing Act Click here or on the pic above

Hi, I’m Divya and I champion the arts for speaking a universal language that inspires and influences change. I share drawing as a way to keep moving forward with purpose and presence and recently married my best friend. We live in Tokyo, Japan. Best way to keep in touch is here on Instagram:

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Divya Marie Kato | “When in doubt, draw”

Day 9 of 10 Day Blog Challenge: DMK’s Balancing Act

19th September 2016 By divyamariekato

Day 9: Imagine you are on a long holiday in Portugal (or wherever your dream destination is). There are castles to explore, secret bars to discover, and sunny beaches to laze around on. In today’s post, I want you to write about how you will balance your adventure and work while you are away on this holiday. – Natalie Sisson, The Suitcase Entrepreneur, 10 Day Blog Challenge 2016

Last year, I read a book called Momo by Michael Ende. He is also the author of the wildly famous Never Ending Story (lord knows how many times I watched this as a kid!) and I was surprised that I hadn’t heard of Momo before. It’s now my favourite book of all time. The Never Ending Story is about imagination and the importance of keeping it alive. Momo’s central theme is Time. It totally changed the way I looked at life – I began to think of Time as currency. I thought longer about how I spent it and how I shared it: how much was spent with people and how much was spent alone? How much was spent working and how much was spent playing? What work would I spend more time on? How much time was spent in the city and how much out in nature?

As I marinated in this challenge, I thought about times when the line between my play and work disappeared. The picture with this post is an example of this. Unplugged holiday time by the sea.

“Almost everything will work again if you unplug it for a few minutes, including you.” ― Anne Lamott

Love recharging in nature. Learning from its stillness, nowness and not-wanting-to-be-anything-else-ness. And my sketchbook, the tool of my trade, comes holidaying too. In this way, I’m keeping up my personal practice and can spend devoted time on my craft – outside of my city life. I’m constantly thinking about how to balance adventure and playtime with work and it’s hitting home that I can’t do one well without the other. Rest, play and unplugged stillness are essential for the writing and drawing work I do.

In terms of maintenance and upkeep, I use my sketchbook as an inspiration container, my phone to record the moment in pictures and my laptop for when I’m sparked into writing and for storing drafts of me putting things together. These three things form my basic toolkit and I’m always on the look out for the apps that help me manage better and work more effectively. Last year, I began working with an assistant too. She’s fantastic and now knows more about me and my creative business. She’s supportive and keeps tabs on what I need done and by when. She provides an extra pair of eyes and extra pair of hands. And tonnes of useful suggestions. She also helps me with my emails and keeping tracks of finances. She helps me focus on my work in whatever way she can. No cape. But basically superwoman. Ask for help. Take the help. Two things I’m learning and loving to keep life and work humming beautifully.

That said, there are always days where there is simply too much to do. And this is another reason I like to learn form trees and flowers and waves. They’re, as my hero, Eckhart Tolle, says: “Surrendered to life.” I can’t do it all, but I can take a step each day – very much like this challenge!

Signing off from challenge 9 with a poem. An oldie but a goodie. It came to me as I wrote this.

What is this life if, full of care,

We have no time to stand and stare.

No time to stand beneath the boughs
And stare as long as sheep or cows.

No time to see, when woods we pass,
Where squirrels hide their nuts in grass.

No time to see, in broad daylight,
Streams full of stars, like skies at night.

No time to turn at Beauty’s glance,
And watch her feet, how they can dance.

No time to wait till her mouth can
Enrich that smile her eyes began.

A poor life this is if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.

– William Henry Davies

This is day 9. If you found this useful, do come back again for my response to Challenge 10. Best wishes for a good week ahead friends, back soon, DMK x This blog post is in response to Natalie’s 10 Day Freedom Plan Blog Challenge Day 9

Previous 10 Day Blog Challenge Posts

Day 1: DMK’s Challenges Click here or on the pic above

Day 2: DMK’s Why Click here or on the pic above

Day 3: DMK’s Perfect Day Click here or on the pic above

Day 4: DMK’s Superpowers Click here or on the pic above

Day 5: DMK’s Daily Success Plan Click here or on the pic above

Day 6: DMK’s Tribe Click here or on the pic above

Day 7: DMK’s One, Imperfect Action Click here or on the pic above

Day 8: DMK’s Adventure Click here or on the pic above

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divyamariekato

Divya Marie Kato | “When in doubt, draw”

Day 8 of 10 Day Blog Challenge: DMK’s Adventure

18th September 2016 By divyamariekato

Day 8: Like I said, today is a fun day. So I want you to go out and do something that you’ve wanted to do for a long time. Go out play, enjoy, and come back and write about what you did. Also, write about how you can make such adventures part of your new lifestyle. – Natalie Sisson, The Suitcase Entrepreneur, 10 Day Blog Challenge 2016

A working weekend, so today’s challenge is about a play day date I had last week. A wholehearted YES to more of these adventures in my life as I move forward. It was a day of lights, camera, action and stories. Girls On The Road got in touch regarding their project – they’re on a mission to inspire and empower women through travelling the world and collecting stories from female entrepreneurs. I knew immediately where I had to take them first. The rose shop that I’ve been spending so much time in – Afrika Rose, Tokyo – to meet one incredibly brave woman, the founder, Megumi Hagiuda.

It was an adventure and felt like play because it was exciting, inspiring and fun. Getting to know each other, working things out together and diving into journeys and stories. They unpacked their travelling film set and began the interview. I sat and watched and found myself collecting sparks and scribbling down notes. What have we come to know? What were our challenges then and what are our challenges now? Megumi told them the Afrika Rose story and how it all began. We met the roses – that have travelled 17 hours from Kenya – and then enjoyed lunch together – their first Japanese lunch! They shared some more of their journey with me – stories of women pushing for equality and empowerment by turning their passions into business. Japan is all new for them and it was treat to see their smiles.

I want to make these kinds of projects part of my lifestyle because they spark up so many ideas and many fresh ways of thinking about things. To connect with female entrepreneurs was inspiring and gave me new ways to approach drawing and sharing creativity. With a focus on building confidence, nurturing community and in turn fostering empowerment.

This is day 8. If you found this useful, do come back again for my response to Challenge 9. Best wishes for a good week ahead friends, back soon, DMK x This blog post is in response to Natalie’s 10 Day Freedom Plan Blog Challenge Day 8

Previous 10 Day Blog Challenge Posts

Day 1: DMK’s Challenges Click here or on the pic above

Day 2: DMK’s Why Click here or on the pic above

Day 3: DMK’s Perfect Day Click here or on the pic above

Day 4: DMK’s Superpowers Click here or on the pic above

Day 5: DMK’s Daily Success Plan Click here or on the pic above

Day 6: DMK’s Tribe Click here or on the pic above

Day 7: DMK’s One, Imperfect Action Click here or on the pic above

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