Alvaro's Mandala

Hello CWW community!

At a recent family dinner, Rebecca’s twin Jenny playfully “forced” everyone to make art.  Although Jenny doesn’t identify as an artist, she enjoys not only making it but also that people seem to engage in more meaningful conversations when they are doing it. 

Needing a Warm Up

So at this latest get together, Alvaro, (fiancé of Rebecca’s other sister Julia), said he was willing but he really wasn’t sure what to make. It wasn’t that he minded doing art, he just didn’t feel inspired. As usual, Rebecca suggested starting with a mandala, explaining that even artists often need some kind of a warm-up and the simplicity of the circle provides a structure to begin. It's no longer an intimidating "blank canvas". Although still slightly uncertain, he jumped in, making that first piece above. 

Alvaro starting with a small mandala--the finished version of which you see above

Creativity and Expression Flows

But then, as often happens, once he’d finished this warm-up drawing, he spontaneously moved on to another piece, this time without any need for structure. With broad sweeping stroke, he made a landscape with a dark road that he intensely filled in with layers of black pastel. 

Alvaro's Second Image

And then he moved on to another piece, this one even more loose and expressive.

Alvaro 's third drawing

Was it Art?

At the end, he wasn’t concerned whether what he’d made was “art”, he was just more relaxed. And literally more “creative”. He’d made not just one piece of artwork, but three, each progressively looser and more expressive. 

Being More Relaxed, Creative, and Expressive Changes the Mind

Because we were just hanging out with family, we didn’t take this any further. But what we know is that becoming more creative, relaxed, expressive, and “looser” actually involves changes in the mind that can then be applied to the way we perceive things in our immediate environment and in our lives. Hopefully the impact this can have is self-evident. 

Is Alvaro an Artist Then? So is Alvaro an artist?  Who cares?! At the end of the experience neither did he.   

Four take aways that this example illustrates:

1)   Creativity often requires a warm-up.

2)   Warm up often requires structure (like a mandala, a specific directive, or being in the company of others who are being creative, etc.).

3)   Creativity helps us be more expressive and loosen up.

4)   When we loosen up we become more receptive, curious, and open-minded. 

Links to Handouts of the Topic

Click here to go to a more detailed blog post for more on warming up to creativity and for a few useful handouts on the topic, e.g. on Demystifying Creativity, Mandalas and Creative Journaling (that can also be useful warm-up to creativity).

Warmly, Gioia and Rebecca

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30 circular mandala designs showcasing the magical flora and fauna of the Arizona Sonoran desert. Relax, reduce your stress, and get into flow.  Includes an introduction on the benefits of coloring and suggestions for ways to color.  Absolutely no artistic experience needed.

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