Hi and welcome back to the Chrissie Murphy Designs Blog. I have some zentangle art to share with you today. This is the piece that broke the drought! It’s the piece that started my movement to Reset, Rebirth and Recover. It’s the piece that broke my stagnation, procrastination, boredom, confusion, self pity and apathy. Yeah I was a mess. There’s so much in this piece…. and I explain it all in this blog post.
The Expressive Bits
What inspired me to create this Reset, Rebirth and Recover piece?
A few years ago I came across “The Artist’s Way” by Julie Cameron. It’s a book about rediscovering yourself as an artist. I’ve worked my way through the book before, and at New Years, I decided to do it again.
The book is about discovering and recovering your creative self. Julie says:
While there is no quick fix for instant, pain-free creativity, creative recovery (or discovery) is a trackable, teachable spiritual process.
Julie Cameron, The Artist’s Way
The book is a program designed to help you identify self-doubt and self-sabotage and to pursue creative activity as a core part of who you were designed to be.
This zentangle art piece was made toward the end of the book’s creative recovery process and it encompasses all I had been living. I experienced reset, rebirth and recovery as an artist.
What techniques did I use for Reset, Rebirth and Recover and why?
Because I felt like I was resetting, I went back to basics.
- Black ink
- Coloured pencils
Over the years my zentangling has gotten quite complicated. I use layers of colour applied in many different mediums. Somehow I had backed myself into a corner creatively and I wasn’t sure how to get out of it.
The process of “resetting” myself, going back to my defaults of where I started was healing. I used traditional Zentangle techniques;
- Dots in each corner
- A string
- A few Zentangle patterns
- And a lot of freedom to go where the piece called me
What does it mean in terms of my artistic work as a whole?
On the Home Page of my website I share about a time when I used to be lost. I have spent decades of my life trying to fit into boxes and moulds that other people have for me. And all that did was produce a sense of unfulfillment, emptiness and apathy for life.
I made a conscious decision to start to follow what speaks to ME. When I decided to move in a way that aligns with how I believe I’m made, I noticed a freedom come over my life. I accept how I’m made, all my flaws and quirks. They are all perfectly designed by a Creator who knows what He’s doing. Upon this acceptance, I noticed I no longer felt bound by expectations. There was, and is, real freedom.
This “resetting and rebirthing” lead to my “recovery”. So this piece represents my artistic work as a whole… Reset, rebirth and recover, completely.
How can you take this idea and be more Expressive?
When you listen to your heart, to the core of who you are, what’s been unsettling you? Can you identify the source of your restlessness? When you examine it, is there a reset button sitting near it that you can press?
You know, if we listen intently to the core of who we are, the Lord will use it to lead us to a beautiful place. It’s so easy to come to a crossroad and make a wrong turn. One minute you’re travelling down the road without a worry in the world, and in the next minute restlessness kicks in. You don’t know where it came from. You just know things are starting to feel off. Friend, you need to turn around. You need to Reset and allow the rebirth to happen so you can recover.
The Lord made us, he knows the desires that are in our hearts, and He will use the desires (those that are His) to lead us to freedom.
Express your restlessness this week. You can write about it, draw it, cook it, mould it, paint it, you can do it however you like – but just express it. And when you’re done expressing, think about hitting that reset button.
The Factual Bits
What materials were used?
- White Strathmore Artist Tile 6in x 6in.
- Unipin Fineliners (Size 0.3 and 0.05) in black
- Grey Copic Markers (W3, W5 and W7)
- Prismacolor Coloured Pencils in varying colours
- Uniball Signo white gel pen for highlights
How big is the Reset, Rebirth and Recover tile?
It measures 6 inches x 6inches.
Have you joined the Expressive’s List yet?
Join the Expressive’s List to begin to learn ways you can start to express yourself creatively. There are no moulds or limits with the Lord, just possibilities and the promise of one day unearthing who you were created to be.
Expressive Subscribers receive an email each month that contains creative inspiration and ideas, links to helpful resources and a month’s worth of journal prompts to stimulate creative expression. These prompts are a great way of learning to express yourself when you’ve never really tried it before. Fill in your details below to sign up.
Until next time, listen to your heart and sharpen your coloured pencils. A masterpiece awaits!
Bless you my friend
Chrissie xx
