Travel sketching: how does it change lives?

Artwork by Annelinde Tempelman

Why am I so passionate about Travel Sketching?
During our last Quintessential France Creative Journey in April 2019, I asked our participants this question: ""why is it that people who spend time sketching go about the rest of their day making different decisions and hence begin to transform their life?"

And this is what a couple of the very wise women came back to me with - written straight from their personal experience: 

Hera says:
"When we physically put something to paper that is expressed from our hearts and created by our hands, the creative right and left brain work together in harmony.
The process (mentally and emotionally) reinforced through repetition, requires us to just action and push through our own left brain logic, mental fears and emotional blocks, inner judgements and criticisms. Rhythms in doing are activated instead of the usual rational mind stopping us from either starting or completing something that is close to our heart. So doing a drawing from start to finish creates a sense of inner fulfilment which is a Segway into yet another decision we are ready to take into reality. 

Also, our feminine creative power and our right brain have been weakened through years of conditioning, hence there’s a lot of resistance when the left brain logic (masculine) is being asked to let go of the reigns. With consistent acts of creativity, and being in the flow, our feminine creative right brain is given the ultimate freedom of expression. And this is an opportunity where we learn to be kind to ourselves, not to care for anyone’s opinion, honour our own and enjoy both the experience and the outcome.

There’s a lot people that could pick apart my work, but I love what I created. It was my expression and it's about me putting myself out there. It’s about having the confidence and the voice to support that, and embracing vulnerability, and the importance of having the appropriate company that’s nurturing and holds space when sharing it. 

All the inner critic stuff and self consciousness is really 'how will society take what I’ve done and is it up to standard? and where does it stack up?', and 'if it’s not making money, is it good enough?' It’s like working in the corporate environment really....
 
On a personal note, this challenging, fun and highly creative trip especially during Easter/Spring season, brought an inevitable sense of blossoming!"

And Marina says:
"Perhaps sketching/drawing helps us to take a closer look at our world and to notice in greater detail the mysteries of being alive".
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