Women Rising. Thank you to all of you for coming and to the FEW board for a truly incredible day with incredible people. FEW. For Empowering Women. You did just that. A big thank you for joining us and entering into all activities in the spirit of exploration. With curiosity and an open mind.
Thrilled to hear that many of you wanted more time to draw! I hope your “When in doubt, draw,” pencils and canvases are with you at home (gently calling your name!). Not gifts. An invitation.
Given with all my heart. The two, simple things that have served me so well. And when you know about something SO good, you want to shout it from the rooftops!
So here’s to that very first line of yours. May it be the start of a great adventure.
Our theme for CSS 2016 was “Women Rising” and I opened with the question:
“What prevents us from rising?”
The Weight
Where does this weight come from? We all have experiences that happen to us — the day-to-day ups and downs of being a human. These experiences get stored in our bodies as information. We often take it for granted that our bodies magically process our food — extracting required nutrients and expelling the rest. So, how do we go about processing the information too?
The Invitation
Here’s an invitation to try a way that will surprise you — and notice I said “will” and not “may!” Because of the very nature of the process putting you in a place, a space of not knowing. Putting you in the playground again. The Playground of Possibility.
Peel Off the Labels
“Who or what are you without your label, your name, your title, your qualification? And are you happy being that?”
I invite you to peel off the name of the activity I’m talking about. To peel off the labels of good and bad. Of buzz words like “creativity.” Of big words like “art” (this is a BIG one, you may need to tug a little).
Let’s dive into the space of not knowing and leave the weight behind.
Connection
In the same way Ai Futaki, diver and Guinness World Record holder, took you back and invited you to reconnect with the ocean and water, so will I. I will take you back to our beginnings — to painting in caves, to carving into rock and to our essential nature, as creative beings — back to the roots of our development, to when your chubby, child fingers first clutched a crayon.
Warm-up Exercise
“What do you need to let go of to rise?” We’re under the surface — imagine what you need to let go of so you can reach the surface — now let go of that weight!
On your paper: Take 2 minutes to write down all the things that are weighing you down — get the weight down and out of mind — e. g “I’m not creative . . . I can’t . . . I’m too . . . I’ve always been . . . I’m this . . . I’m that . . .”
Things to Notice When Drawing
Think: Not how to draw, but why draw — focus on the process, of engaging mind to hand connection. As you begin to make marks on the paper: Reflect on the organic lines you’re drawing — I always encourage people to begin drawing things from nature like flowers, leaves, trees, shells — notice how you can find similar lines in your own hand and contemplate your intrinsic connection with nature. Meditate on how you’re actively fostering connection to yourself and consider how often you make time to sit and see.
My offer to you:
Enter the space of not knowing more often. To play and discover. Make it a practice. My invitation to you: One back to yourself. To be with and better understand yourself, your experiences and your stories.
My 3-Step Process
Through a lifetime of sharing and practicing drawing, I’ve unearthed many discoveries and distilled them into a 3 step formula. This is how drawing can help us process our experiences:
Observation. Reflection. Expression.
Observation: Taking in the world around us.
Reflection: The inner work — taking time to transfer what we see onto paper and check in with ourselves. How do I feel?
Expression: The outer work — we have a way of translating our inner work out onto paper, to connect with others and show them.
This is how I feel.
Rise Up, Women
I hope you’ll catch a glimpse of the more in you that is yet to come out. Once weight has been lifted and you’re allowed to play. Without the burden of expectation. The rest of you resting inside. Ready to help you rise.
FEW CSS 2016 Cornerstones
Knowledge: Stretching ourselves — thank you Jay Ponazecki! — aiming high and reaching to learn. How to process the weight of information that comes from our daily experiences.
Inspiration: Allowing ourselves time to play and explore. To be inspired by nature and by discoveries made in the space of not knowing.
Connection: To nature, to the bigger picture, to our place in that bigger picture, to ourselves and to others. Making time to be with ourselves, for inner reflection.
To see how this affects our connection with others so we don’t bring our weight to them. So we can help them rise, too.
Ever draws,
DMK x
For those of you who want to dive into your drawing more at home, you can find Part 1 of my drawing guide by clicking HERE or on the pic below – for an instantly downloadable and beautiful PDF – for free. Includes my number one drawing tip. Enjoy and happy drawing friends. Let me know what unfolds when pencil hits paper.
