ART FOR DEVELOPMENT
My background and experiences
I took my first course in learning to draw when I was 18 years old and since then I have been lucky enough to teach creative joy in Sweden, Australia, Bali, China, Singapore, Malaysia, England and Norway.
I have learned a lot from my students from many parts of the world. From exercises, to techniques, to how we share with each other what we discover in our art. It became increasingly clear to me that I could often see in a work of art where the artist came from.
I think how we use color, shapes and composition is very much related to the landscape we were born in. Imagine a winter day when you wake up and everything is white and blue in Scandinavia, as opposed to waking up to go to the flower market in India with every single color you can imagine. The connection between our culture, nature and color is something that we can explore to get to know ourselves, develop our art but also to feel better.
More and more scientific studies support that idea. If you are curious, there is a collection on the cultural brain.
How we use our brush, how we divide the process after painting, the complexity, the style and how we look at the negative space differs in each place. . But the way we look at the pure joy of creativity and color is universal. Being blocked by perfectionism or feeling guilty about taking the time to be creative also seems to be everywhere.
The priority changes when students feel the joy of the flow of creativity and begin to understand how this practice can bring clarity and joy. In these moments, you also begin to see students draw conclusions about thoughts or feelings that have held them back for years. .
These moments are at the heart of what this practice is all about. I love that each participant has come to this understanding from their own practice, which means that once you learn the tools, you can use them when you need them. Creative self-empowerment is at play in these sessions. .
Having this experience is something I am extremely grateful for, and it has been the basis for developing the Zenart process into what it is today. This has of course also inspired me as an artist, and above you see a photo from the Shanghai Daily. . .
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Är du nyfiken på mina erfarenheter från Singapore och Sydost Asien så hittar du lite länkar här:
En dokumentär om en designer från Singapore i Stockholm, och om Ingela Johansson från Sverige som arbetar som konstnär och konstlärare i Singapore.
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Min blogg från tiden i Asien, Artclass in Singapore
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Intervju från Shanghai Daily
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Relax
Relaxing through a focused walk or meditation opens the door to creativity and intuition.
Create
When you create from meditation, you get more focus and can more easily get into a state of Flow.
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Reflect
The reflection makes us aware of and creates a deeper understanding of our own patterns and habits.