Day 4’s shape for the Five Day Challenge is the hexagon. A six sided figure, the hexagon is found in nature from bees to bubbles. In man made items such as nuts and bolts to tessellated tiles it is used. Snowflakes are based on the hexagon and perhaps the most easily recognizable group of hexagons are to be found on soccer balls.
Even items we use on a daily basis are constructed using the hexagon. Most pencils will have six sides…. go ahead and count if you doubt me! Modern use of the hexagon can be found with mobile phone towers constructed in a hexagonal grid – hence the term “cell phone”.
Today’s shape took a while to come together
I dusted off my compass and protractor and set about to construct a hexagon. After a couple of tries and much rubbing out of pencil lines, I eventually got the shape right. Then to fill the shape….. pleased with the pattern that emerged, I then allowed my conscious mind to take over. Big mistake. I thought that I would “improve” the pattern by colouring in using the chakra colours. From simple to dreadfully contrived in just a few minutes.
Take two…. now that I had the hang of constructing the hexagon, it was much easier to stay with a black line marker and see what transpired. With the addition of some compass work and very simple lines and shapes the following emerged. Perhaps I could add colour, but it was relaxing not to have to think about which to choose. It would be interesting to construct a series of hexagons and see what evolved from that.
From an Art Therapy point of view the benefits of “doodling” are that there are no preconceived ideas as to what the finished product will look like. It is a free form of expression and the shapes emerge from deep within the one’s psyche.
As it is a non verbal form of expression, the doodle literally can help you to “connect the dots”. It allows you to engage in sustained attention to a task without needing to create perfection or a recognisable image and is a useful tool for stress reduction. This is helpful in using art therapy as a means of unconscious expression.
I did two squares today as part of my mental health strategy to avoid the state by state updates.
Both squares took a little longer than the 5 minutes that I anticipated as today I decided to create something more structured. This second square evolved by creating triangles in the corners and rotating the paper in a circular fashion.
Using just a blue marker today and straight and curved lines to fill the spaces. Light blue is the colour of the throat chakra. The throat chakra governs the ability to communicate, to speak your truth and if you find that difficult, it means that this energy centre is blocked. If you are in lockdown and finding that you are eating unhealthy food, a mini detox diet may help in rebalancing your energy.
Art therapy is a great way to reduce stress. This five day challenge is designed so you can take five minutes or so to focus on a shape and change it with simple lines and colours.
As emotions arise from our thoughts, then it is more than likely that they are influenced by events, people, places and circumstances that we have experienced from the time we are born until the time that we die.
There has been a long relationship between art and spirituality.
Walking amongst the trees to observe their seasonal change and growth was the one thing I really looked forward to during the second lockdown here in Victoria. These trees were planted many years ago and the park is part of a precinct that now includes an art gallery and a library. The trees were most likely planted by some settlers of Irish origin who took up farming in the area who may not have envisaged the growth of the urban sprawl that has since happened.