Good afternoon,
Evening,
Morning,
Wherever you are in the world.
Hello,
It's Charlene,
Transformative coach,
Artist and,
Of course,
Parent of three wonderful teens.
Today I really want to talk about there is no such thing as I can't do that or I'm not good at that.
When it comes to picking up a pen,
Pencil,
Whatever it is that you want to make a mark with on paper,
To make some form of art with,
Go ahead,
Do it.
You have full permission to do that because I know how hard it is to actually just get around to it.
You cannot overthink this,
It's more a case of if you feel compelled to draw,
Just grab a piece of paper and a pen and sit there and doodle and see where that takes you because I know so many people will just be so judgmental with themselves about that what they can and can't do and there's no such thing as I can't do that when it comes to art.
There just isn't.
Art is about our fundamental expression,
It's not whether or not you can draw something perfectly or even semi-perfectly,
It's just about committing to having a moment of freedom where you don't have to be who you think you have to be,
It's about being who you really are.
It's giving yourself the permission to step away from life and be in that escapist place that we found in our early childhood where we could paint something and really believe that we were there,
Where we could draw something and really believe that we had that thing.
I think the biggest self-help book I've ever had is The Magic Paint Brush which I read when I was a kid where this child could paint and his paintings would come to reality,
They'd come to life and I've always bought my kids books like that because I just I remember that that would transport me to a completely different realm and life can be hard and we need to feel like we've escaped and that's what art has always done for me and that's what I'm hoping art can do for you.
It's just that moment of escapism where you're just,
It's just you and a piece of paper in front of you.
Whatever medium you choose to work in,
It could be that you want to create something three-dimensional,
You want to get a piece of wood and whittle away and carve it,
It's all the same,
It's all just that purity of expression without expectation from anyone but we are our harshest critics and it's learning to let that voice not take on the importance which stops us from actually creating and so I invite you to grab some pens,
Some paper,
A chunk of wood,
A chunk of soap,
Whatever it is you want to make something out of and do it with the joy and the innocence of a child.
Take away the expectation of yourself and what you think you're supposed to be creating and start focusing on what feels good right now.
What do I want to do that feels good right now?
And for me it's always just using hundreds of different materials,
Different colours,
Different textures,
Different sheen,
Just seeing how things work together.
It's writing,
It's repetitive drawing,
Little boxes,
Little circles,
It's just something that I don't have to think about.
I can turn my music on and I can just be at one with a plethora of drawing materials and what I'm doing now is I'm putting every creation that I make out on social media because it doesn't matter how bad it is,
I don't care,
It's not about that,
It's what I got from it that's more important and it's inviting people to do the same,
To make a mess because that mess will lead us somewhere,
It gives us a chance to just be in the moment,
In the present time,
It gives us access to our unconscious,
Our subconscious,
It allows us to process emotions without directly being with them.
If they're too big we don't have to be with that,
They will come out.
That's the beauty of art,
Is it draws things out of us that we don't even know are in there,
But it does so in a very,
Very gentle way.
It's a kind,
Gentle invitation for us to unravel and to see where that unravelling takes us,
To have a visual representation of what's going on inside our bodies,
Inside our minds,
Inside our hearts,
Inside our souls.
So I invite you to just make a start because from humble beginnings amazing things happen.
Sending you lots and lots of love.
