Embracing Your Human-ness

© Robin Edmundson, 'Sunset, Doug's Field', watercolor, 10 x 14 inches.  

We are taught from infants that we are to be perfect.   And that someone else gets to decide what perfect is.  It's a perfect recipe for disaster.

I wrote a few weeks ago about self-loathing.  It's hard not to be hard ourselves when we're constantly reminded that we don't measure up.  It's hard to take the risks we need to take when we're constantly reminded not to fail.

One way to step out of that dance is to embrace our human-ness.  Wink at our imperfection.  Make friends with our self-loathing.  Pat fear on the back and tell it to take the night off.

Confession:  That stuff is really hard for me.   I love the idea of it, but I'm not so good at doing it.

So.

I have put up there a recent painting that I'm not very happy with.  It was a big risk. I had a fabulous idea, but once again, my execution fell far short of my vision.  I am disappointed in myself.

Here is where I choose where to go next.  I have a few options:

1.  Delete the pic and this post and write about something else less difficult - like chocolate.
2.  Tell you why that painting is bad and why you should think so, too.
3.  Let the painting tell its own story and not dwell on whether you might like it or not.

In an effort to take my own advice, I chose #3. 

And then I thought a lot about Wabi Sabi, [which I've talked about before.]

And I remembered a thing called Kintsugi.  So I looked it up again and that was so cool, I kept reading and found this piece on what broken pottery can teach us about feeling flawed.

Think about your flaws for a minute.  Now imagine them filled with gold, stronger than ever.  The flaws have become the work of art. 

What if that is the real trick of embracing our human-ness?

Please consider joining our Best Self facebook group where we can talk freely about becoming our best selves - and all that that entails.  In addition, I have another group, The Well Balanced Artist, for creatives of all kinds and in all stages of their creative lives, who are trying to balance their art, business and personal lives. We'd love to have you!

Watercolor Meditation Bonus: FLOW-ers

I hope you've been having a terrific time playing around with watercolor over the last few weeks and that these meditations brought you some peace, calm and focus during this crazy time of year.

I know the name of this last meditation is a pun, but it was a way to remember the purpose of the meditation so you won't get caught up in the stress of trying to paint perfect flowers. 

The point is to play.  Let things flow.  Just watch and see what happens. Look for the wabi-sabi.

Bonus Meditation:  FLOW-ers Remember it's all about relaxing and letting things flow. Take a deep breath and relax.  Breathe in.  Breathe out. Relax your shoulders. Relax your arms and hands. Breathe. You are going to have so much fun! The purpose of this meditation is to put a few of the previous activities together in a fun way.

Gather your materials:   You will be able to use these few materials for all of the activities in the series.   Watercolor pigments: Tubes, pans, or sets. Whatever is easy for you to get and use. Make sure you like the colors. [You can also use coffee or tea if that's all you have close by.] If you have tubes, then you'll need an old plate or lid to use as a palette.  Paper:  Any size mixed media paper or watercolor paper.   Thicker watercolor paper won't buckle if you decide to use a lot of water in one of these activities.  You'll need at least one sheet for each activity, but you'll probably have so much fun with some of these that you'll just keep playing.  6 x 6  inches or so is a nice size.  Big enough to play, but not be too intimidating.  If you have larger paper and want to cut it down, go right ahead.  [You can also use a napkin if that's all you have close by.] Brush:  Any watercolor brush will do.   Size 8 or 10 round is good for starters. [You can also use a straw, spoon, etc. if that's all you have close by.] Water jar:   To clean your brush in.  A recycled food jar is great.  Pint sized is great.  Salt: Any type, any size.

MEDITATION:  Painting FLOW-ers We're going to use the activities you played with in the other meditations to make a flower. Remember, it's all about the FLOW.  It doesn't have to match anything you see in real life.  This is just for fun. Choose two similar colors for the petals: 2 reds/pinks, 2 blues, 2 yellow/gold/oranges... Paint a circle with clear water, leaving the center dry, just as you did in the OBSTACLES meditation. Enlarge the circle with paint,  leaving the outside edges irregular, like petals.  Alternate your colors, leaving some lighter places and some darker places. Choose a color for the center:  Yellow, orange, purple, blue.  You can't choose wrong. Put some of that color into the center.  It's OK if flows into the other colors as it did in the FLOW and OPPOSITES meditations..  This is just for fun. Now sprinkle some salt into the center as you did for the RESISTANCE meditation.  Let it dry.   Play.   Try it with different colors.  In the photo at the top of this section, I used a pink and a red for the petals and yellow for the center.  You can see the puddles on the sides and how the yellow  blended right in to the side. This is what it looked like dry:   Here are some others that I've played with: Oranges & yellows with a purple center:  [The purple changes as it blends.] Reds with a dark blue center, still wet: Once they are dry, look them over and find the perfect in the imperfect as you did in the WABI SABI meditation. This is the joy of watercolor.

Thank You Thanks so very much for spending some time with me today.  I hope you've used these meditations to relax and put some calm in your day.  Please feel free to forward them to anyone who will enjoy them. If you have a question, observation or photo you want to share, I'd love to hear from you! Email me.

See all of my classes here.

The other activities in this series:

Meditation #1: Observation

Meditation #2: Flow 

Meditation #3: Resistance

Meditation #4: Obstacles

Meditation #5: Opposition

Meditation #6: Wabi Sabi

Bonus Meditation:  FLOW-ers

Meditation #6: Wabi Sabi

Are you still having fun with these? I love doing these for warm ups when I get into the studio.

One of the characteristics of watercolor as a medium is that it can be very unruly. This is code for: OMG. I can't make it do what I want it to do!!

You're not alone in that frustration. The trick is to work with the medium and to let it surprise you.

The knack of finding the perfect in the imperfect is a Japanese philosophy called wabi sabi. It's a good philosophy to have when working with watercolor.

Watercolor Meditation: WABI SABI Breathe in. Breathe out. Relax your shoulders. Relax your arms and hands. Breathe. You are going to have so much fun! The purpose of this meditation is to help look for the perfect in the imperfect.  It's easy to judge our efforts as unsatisfactory when we are learning or when things spin out of our control.  It's easy to focus on what we don't like or what didn't turn out instead of what is beautiful or what did turn out. Wabi sabi is the Japanese philosophy of finding the perfect in the imperfect. Watercolor is a perfect way to explore this idea. Take a deep breath and relax. Gather your materials: You will be able to use these few materials for all of the activities in the series. Watercolor pigments: Tubes, pans, or sets. Whatever is easy for you to get and use. Make sure you like the colors. [You can also use coffee or tea if that's all you have close by.] If you have tubes, then you'll need an old plate or lid to use as a palette.  Paper: Any size mixed media paper or watercolor paper. Thicker watercolor paper won't buckle if you decide to use a lot of water in one of these activities. You'll need at least one sheet for each activity, but you'll probably have so much fun with some of these that you'll just keep playing. 6 x 6 inches or so is a nice size. Big enough to play, but not be too intimidating. If you have larger paper and want to cut it down, go right ahead. [You can also use a napkin if that's all you have close by.]  Brush: Any watercolor brush will do. Size 8 or 10 round is good for starters. [You can also use a straw, spoon, etc. if that's all you have close by.]  Water jar: To clean your brush in. A recycled food jar is great. Pint sized is great.  Salt: Any kind, any size. MEDITATION: WABI SABI Choose four colors. Any four. It doesn't matter if they 'go together'. Remember how beautifully the Opposites worked together in the last meditation? Make puddles of each. Thick or thin - like cream or tea. Start with one color and drip it or brush it in three places [big or small, you choose] Clean your brush and do it again with another color. Three places. Touching or not touching the first color. Clean your brush and do it again with the third color. Clean your brush and do it again with the fourth color. OBSERVE how they mix and mingle. CHOOSE: Do you want to stop here and let it dry?  Do you want to drop more paint on in places?  Do you want to drop plain water on in places?  Play. Find the places that make you unhappy. Look at them closely and look for what is beautiful about them.  Look for the perfect in the imperfect.  Let it dry and look again. Watercolor can really change as it dries. Find the perfect in the imperfect. Thanks so very much for spending some time with this today.  I hope you've used this meditation to relax and put some calm in your day.  If you have a question, observation or photo you want to share, I'd love to hear from you! Email me. See all of my classes here. The other meditations in this series: Meditation #1: Observation Meditation #2: Flow  Meditation #3: Resistance Meditation #4: Obstacles Meditation #5: Opposition Meditation #6: Wabi Sabi Bonus Meditation:  FLOW-ers

Watercolor Meditation #5: Opposites

This is the time of year when our family differences really show up.   I love lots of holiday music.  One of my kids does not.   Two of us like a little tree, two of us like giant trees.   Some of us like egg nog thick and sticky sweet, some of us like it thinner and less sweet.  I like gift tags, others don't.  Some of us like surprises, some don't. 

There are a lot of opposites this time of year.   This meditation is all about how beautiful that interaction can be.

Watercolor Meditation:  OPPOSITES Take a deep breath and relax.  Breathe in.  Breathe out. Relax your shoulders. Relax your arms and hands. Breathe. You are going to have so much fun! The purpose of this meditation is to show what beautiful things happen when opposites interact.   Gather your materials:   You will be able to use these few materials for all of the activities in the series.   Watercolor pigments: Tubes, pans, or sets. Whatever is easy for you to get and use. Make sure you like the colors. [You can also use coffee or tea if that's all you have close by.] If you have tubes, then you'll need an old plate or lid to use as a palette.  Paper:  Any size mixed media paper or watercolor paper.   Thicker watercolor paper won't buckle if you decide to use a lot of water in one of these activities.  You'll need at least one sheet for each activity, but you'll probably have so much fun with some of these that you'll just keep playing.  6 x 6  inches or so is a nice size.  Big enough to play, but not be too intimidating.  If you have larger paper and want to cut it down, go right ahead.  [You can also use a napkin if that's all you have close by.] Brush:  Any watercolor brush will do.   Size 8 or 10 round is good for starters. [You can also use a straw, spoon, etc. if that's all you have close by.] Water jar:   To clean your brush in.  A recycled food jar is great.  Pint sized is great.  MEDITATION:  OPPOSITES Choose two colors that are very different, or opposite on the color wheel. Here are some good pairs: orange & blue red & green yellow & purple Make puddles of each color on your palette. Thick puddles or thin puddles - like cream or tea.   You choose. Swish your brush around in the plain water.  Get it good and clean and wet. Choose one of the colors you prepared and get some of that paint on your brush.  Don't worry about how much.  You can't do this wrong.  Brush it from one corner of the paper into the center.  Let it flow.  You can add more pigment if you like to make some areas darker.   Swish your brush to clean it and get some of the other color you prepared on your brush.  Don't worry about how much.  You can't do this wrong.  Brush it from the opposite corner of the paper into the center.  Let it flow.   You can add more pigment if you like to make some areas darker.  Let the colors mingle.   You can drop plain water in the center to encourage them to flow.  Watch the colors interact.  Some pairs might blend.  Some colors might push others aside completely.  Just watch. If you like, you can drop the colors on thick in places and watch them interact.  Or thin them with water and watch what happens. Now play. You can't do it wrong.  Put one color in one corner and the opposite color in the other corner.  Pull them toward the center and watch what happens.  Thanks so very much for spending some time with this today.  I hope you've used this meditation to relax and put some calm in your day.  If you have a question, observation or photo you want to share, I'd love to hear from you! Email me.

See all of my classes here.

The other activities in this series:

Meditation #1: Observation

Meditation #2: Flow 

Meditation #3: Resistance

Meditation #4: Obstacles

Meditation #5: Opposition

Meditation #6: Wabi Sabi

Bonus Meditation:  FLOW-ers

Watercolor Meditation #4: Obstacles

This year I've thought a lot about obstacles.  Things that get in my way.  Sometimes  it's other circumstances and people;  sometimes it's me and my emotions.  I like this activity because it clearly demonstrates that obstacles don't have to stop the flow.  The flow just gets redirected for a bit. And that can be a beautiful thing. 

Watercolor Meditation:  Obstacles Take a deep breath and relax.  Breathe in.  Breathe out. Relax your shoulders. Relax your arms and hands. Breathe. You are going to have so much fun! The purpose of this meditation is to show you how the water just flows around obstacles.   Watercolor is wet, so anything that is dry is an obstacle.  The paint will flow with the wet every time.  Gather your materials:   You will be able to use these few materials for all of the activities in the series.   Watercolor pigments: Tubes, pans, or sets. Whatever is easy for you to get and use. Make sure you like the colors. [You can also use coffee or tea if that's all you have close by.] If you have tubes, then you'll need an old plate or lid to use as a palette.  Paper:  Any size mixed media paper or watercolor paper.   Thicker watercolor paper won't buckle if you decide to use a lot of water in one of these activities.  You'll need at least one sheet for each activity, but you'll probably have so much fun with some of these that you'll just keep playing.  6 x 6  inches or so is a nice size.  Big enough to play, but not be too intimidating.  If you have larger paper and want to cut it down, go right ahead.  [You can also use a napkin if that's all you have close by.] Brush:  Any watercolor brush will do.   Size 8 or 10 round is good for starters. [You can also use a straw, spoon, etc. if that's all you have close by.] Water jar:   To clean your brush in.  A recycled food jar is great.  Pint sized is great.  MEDITATION:  OBSTACLES Choose a color or two and make puddles in your palette. Swish your brush around in the plain water.  Get it good and wet. Brush that plain water to make three circles on the paper.   The dry areas in the middle of those circles are your obstacles.   Keep your circles dry and paint in the areas between the circles.  Tilt the paper and watch how the color flows around the obstacles.  Add colors or water as you wish and watch them flow. That's all.  Very simple.  We'll use this process again later in the Meditation series.   Thanks so very much for spending some time with this today.  I hope you've used this meditation to relax and put some calm in your day.  If you have a question, observation or photo you want to share, I'd love to hear from you! Email me. See all of my classes here. The other activities in this series: Meditation #1: Observation Meditation #2: Flow  Meditation #3: Resistance Meditation #4: Obstacles Meditation #5: Opposition Meditation #6: Wabi Sabi Bonus Meditation:  FLOW-ers