Ultimately, in its purest form, drawing is a meditation. It requires your trust and the engagement of your instincts. It could be said that the moment you try to control the outcome, like anything in life, it ceases to evolve.
Drawing is a visual Yoga as much as breathing is the source of life: So to draw fully, you need to breathe deeply and consciously.
By definition Yoga is a path, not a destination. if we re-frame drawing as the act of Yoga, exploring what appears as a result of laying emphasis on the process rather than the outcome – then what might show up and what can we garner from this?
The invitation is to connect to the breath and use it a tool to access the more subtle realms of the body: Our intuitive state – allowing the medium to glide across the paper without thought for a destination.
To do this in a group is to harness a collective energy. We are all in this together, our shared awareness of this unites us in this experience. Using breathing exercises to help us enter alpha brainwave activity where we are fully absorbed yet detached of the ego. Thinking without thinking.
This might be a whole new way of experiencing drawing and require you to step out of your comfort zone. In fact, it may require you to re-evaluate your whole idea of what the word ‘drawing’ or ‘art’ really means. It’s not easy, and it shouldn’t be. More often than not we are unlearning ideas we have clung to all our lives. It takes practise, focus and like a muscle we build over time, we become stronger.
Life drawing: Intuitive life drawing with visual artist and Yoga teacher Laurie Nouchka
The sessions are an experiment into the whole idea of what it means to draw. Drawing is ultimately a meditation, a state of flow, so we will start from there and see what unfolds.
Laurie will be at Villa Lena from 15th – 25th October running yoga and Dynamic drawing classes during her time here.