A NEW WAY OF SEEING

My soft pastel workshops are about developing skills, gaining confidence but also about engaging with your environment. Recognising the extraordinary in your everyday wanders gives people a chance to share that escape with others via their artworks. Have you found that art has given you both a new skill but also an ability to switch off? I came across this video describing the Flow state. I think artists have long known the benefit to creating but I haven’t, until now, heard it given a name.

I’m always trying to find new ways of helping my students find time in their busy lives. I know the benefit first hand of art and even a small art dose is always worth it.

Tips for managing time are always difficult, sometimes it’s just nice to know others struggle. My advice? Allowing yourself to fall off the pastelling habit occasionally but return to it more regularly, thats the key to progress!

Here’s an excerpt from a discussion by one of my online students. I hope it will inspire you to get back to your pastelling very soon, I always feel better for some happy pastelling.

Lindsay A.
“I have a mega busy job – plus juggling sorting out the family (who knew older teens take up more of your time than when they were smaller!) and several volunteering roles. In reality, it’s probably fair to say I don’t have time for any hobbies. In addition, when I do find I have a few minutes spare, something unexpected comes along and fills it up – someone else’s crisis that they need my help with – or, simply, I’m just too tired to think straight, let alone concentrate on anything more complicated than scrolling through Facebook!
However, I have promised myself that I will squeeze up my other demands (or say ‘no’ more often!) and make space for things I enjoy. I haven’t been pastelling for long. I ’mess about’ with various art/mixed media materials, but tend to get cross with it because nothing turns out as I think it will in my head. Or at least, that was the case for a while! I really enjoy Nina’s sessions – if I’d not come across the Unison 5 day challenge series, I’d probably have given up. But Nina’s lessons are easy to follow – I find using an underpainting really helps and Nina walks us through the little steps to get the various effects (although I’m still mystified but how she can make a ‘squiggle’ look just like a rock… will keep watching!)
I wish I had time to do all the sessions – but it’s a fact of life that I don’t, so I’m not going to worry about it. I watch all the videos (if I can’t ’creep’ into the live session) – eventually! They’re all excellent lessons but some really resonate for me, others less so. When I find one that I particularly like, I gradually get everything ready (like Nina’s pictures) and put it all on a tray in the corner of the room until I have the time and energy to pick it up and have a go – that way, I don’t lose valuable minutes or enthusiasm trying to get things ready and then run out of time to use them! I rewatch the video as I draw along – and then find I get into the ‘flow’, after an hour or so, something normally happens meaning I have to take a pause – but it’s then just a case of looking at it again with fresh eyes a few days later to finish it off.
Doing a few you really like then builds confidence to tackle others, particularly the more complicated ones!
When I started doing art courses, I was always in a rush – thinking I could work on it in the same ways as everything else – and got very cross with myself that I couldn’t ‘create’ lovely things quickly. Many years later, I realised that actually, it’s better to do things in small doses as you feel you want to – and progress beautiful things over several hours, days, weeks (or potentially months or years!)… my art has taught me patience and given me peace in a busy world.
You can tell me if I’m wrong, but I suspect many people ‘fall behind’ because they’re in a similar position to me. It’s not because the images don’t inspire or they’re too hard, or anything like that. It’s simply that the world is too busy, any we all only have so much energy to cope with it all.
I share my ramblings in the hope that someone feels less bad about ‘falling behind’ or ‘losing their art mojo’… and maybe encourage others in the group to share how they make space in busy lives to do a little whenever they can to develop their art.
In the meantime, a big ‘thank you’ to Nina for being so supportive and caring. This is a lovely group to be part of. I’ll get through most of the sessions one day(!) but I’m not going to stress if I don’t – they all offer different learning and it’s OK to just focus on those that appeal most.

If time is short, it’s fine to just do some sketching or maybe colour tests – but I find it really helps to have something ‘ready to start’ when you find yourself fortunate enough to grab an hour or so or yourself!
I am now dashing out to do something else but am hoping to be able to reach for my next ‘project’ tomorrow. It’s waiting for me when I’m ready.”

Thanks, Lindsay, looking forward to time happy pastelling is almost as lovely as doing it.

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Nina Squire