Spirit of Drawing

Book excerpt: Artistic expression, spirituality, and meditation combine to capture the Spirit of Drawing Spirit of Drawingengages readers in an intriguing series of illustrated visual experiments that combine meditation, expressive therapy, and hands-on exploration with drawing media. AuthorConnie Smith Siegel's ideas, developed over many years of research and learning, build on the meditation practice of sensory awareness, a blending of Buddhist meditation and simple physical activities. Applied to creative expression, sensory awareness distills drawing and painting to their simplest components: touching, seeing, and moving. In this unusual and freeing book, artists learn to use these new sensations to guide their hand toward the movements, shapes, and colors that express what they are feeling. Not only do the artists produce a work of art, they express their own emotions and inner wisdom. Techniques gradually build to more complex visual expressions such as representational drawing, color theory, composition, and to the use of art in healing. Part art instruction, part art therapy,Spirit of Drawingoffers a rich spiritual pathway to self-expression. • Presents Siegel’s unique ideas, honed over forty years of work in art and in spirituality • An entirely new approach to art education • Innovative ideas for therapists and everyone in the healing professions