I am a visual artist and one of the things I do is keep a daily sketchbook. The book I presently use is an old ledger. The old paper accepts ink and watercolor well which surprised me. I’m on the lookout for more old ledgers to use as sketchbooks- they’re hard to come by!

A daily creative endeavor or exercise is an important part of self care and healthcare. I believe it’s essential for the health of all living things that they engage freely and creatively with themselves and their environment. Western society has too long been focused on labeling, quantifying, measuring etc. as a way to gain knowledge, and grow. Susan Griffen and her book, Woman and Nature: The Roaring Inside Her gives a feminist perspective on how destructive such an approach has been and continues to be.  Left brain activity cannot get to the heart of Life! So much understanding is bound up in creativity, which strengthens our intuition and compassion.

I’ve touched on several topics here and don’t have enough time today to explore them in more depth. I end with images from my daily sketchbook. I began keeping a daily sketchbook about 2 years ago at the urging of art teacher, Robert Siegelman at The Museum School in Boston, who said even if I only had 1 minute to make 1 mark in the book I should do it- consistency and persistence were the key. The effects are cumulative and the results felt over time.