Contemplative Sketchbooking

What is it?
Contemplative Sketchbooking is a process I discovered which uses art as a method of contemplation. This practice of spontaneous painting, drawing, collage and written word gives powerful and immediate access to the symbolic language of the soul.

The Materials
I keep my art table strewn with art materials, collage papers, paints, brushes, pens, sands, scrapers, homemade stamps, and Sumi ink. The paper I use is the one constant, 9 X 12 inch Lama Li sketchbook paper (by Savoire Faire), which can be taken out of the book. It is handmade and looks like a piece of art itself. When I have completed a book's worth, I bind it in a homemade book.

How it works
With these materials in front of me I gently let go of any mental urgencies. Unfocusing or closing the eyes and breathing softly helps. Sometimes I put on quiet instrumental music such as Native American flute. As the thoughts lose their grip I sense a kind of inner movement that takes on a shape. Without questioning it or trying to make conscious sense of it, I translate it to paper by making a mark with Sumi ink or paint on the paper, going with whatever feels right.

Often a recognizable image pops up, sometimes a word. If nothing comes to mind, I noodle around with it, spraying the edges with water, scraping a palette knife through the wet ink, adding watercolor or acrylic or collage. I do want it to be pleasing to look at, artful. The inner Creator is an artist who knows how to balance, to decorate, elaborate.

Then I pause a moment. Very important! Otherwise the mind takes over and imposes its own complex agenda, and nothing gets revealed. I let the image that has been created speak for itself in the language of symbol. It's message is often breathtakingly simple; a metaphor for a feeling of overwhelm, a larger perspective on some confusing personal issue, a flash of wisdom far beyond my usual scope, a sense of peace coming from a vast well of consciousness.

A note about language
Words may, of course, be the entry point in this process, particularly if they are drawn on the page as shapes themselves. More often they are the ending point for me. A word or phrase comes to mind and I allow others to follow without censoring at first. Sometimes I will look up a word in the Thesaurus and it will become the basis of a poem, or I will list all the synonyms. I prefer to draw the letters, giving the words character and style to match the image.

Offering of gratitude
Whatever is revealed on paper must be accepted with gratitude, even if it seems insignificant or is unsettling. Sometimes it is days later that I understand a meaning. An offering of gratitude ensures that the process can be repeated with success another time.

Channel to the unconscious
This practice of Contemplative Sketchbooking has become an ongoing conversation with my Self, opening a channel to my unconscious mind, and giving me access to restorative energy. It is my belief that this process of opening is available to us all through the practice of art.