Local artist Frankie Curtis, from Curtiscreationz, joined us this weekend to create the new Tiger Art Therapy Mural. Frankie is a professional doodle artist based in Croydon, London. Like many children Frankie was inspired to draw during childhood because of her overactive imagination and her passion for cartoons and video games. We had a great time letting our imagination run wild and doodle directly onto the walls of the ‘Blue Room’.
At first, we used some cheap paper and had a practice with the uni posca pens Frankie had kindly bought along with her. These marker pens are water-based with stable pigments which means they can be applied to pretty much any materials. They are permanent with no need for fixers on porous materials like wood, cardboard, textiles, or pebbles for example. We will be looking to get Frankie back to the ‘Blue Room’ in the new year, so look out for details of new workshops coming soon.
It’s been a very busy week, so I was really looking forward to being creative. Unfortunately, our busy modern lives don’t allow much time left in the schedule for creativity. Giving yourself the time and gift of creativity can be extremely nurturing. It is important to me, to put time aside each week for something that fills my creativity cup up! Allowing some time for an activity that fires up those creative brain neurons can be very beneficial for our wellbeing. There is a big misconception that being creative means painting some exquisite masterpiece, this simply isn’t the case. Now I have a very small sketch book which I carry with me on short trips, instead of feeling overwhelmed by a A4 sketch pad I prefer to paint or draw quick observational art. Because my brain likes to jump around a lot, observational drawing can give parts of my brain a holiday!
Doodling is also thought to give certain parts of the brain a mini break, while often firing up other more helpful ones. I was feeling uptight when I started Frankie’s doodle workshop, the cartoon characters which appeared from my unconscious had a worried look about them. Doodling is thought to give us a powerful mirror into our unconscious mind, this can allow us to tap into ideas or concepts that we had not previously considered about ourselves. Doodling, like lots of other creative activities, can counterbalance over-use of technology, like mobile phone or tablet devices. Spontaneous drawing may relieve psychological distress, by activating the brain’s unconscious contents. Essentially doodles can reveal a lot about yourself, including your emotions, moods, fears, fantasies, or inspirations!
Do you have a wall at home, you could have a go at doodling on! Give it a go with your loved ones.
