When I plan for a workshop I spend a lot of time thinking about what people would enjoy and what they may not know about already. Creativity and the mind are perpetually linked; so I love to incorporate ideas of memory and the brain into my work as well as my workshops. One of the tools I use when I teach, both in-person and on-line, is doodling – the act of scribbling shapes and images in an absent-minded fashion.
Doodling is not drawing and drawing is not doodling.
Both are similar in the sense that they use the same part of the brain, and they both can calm the mind and bring ideas bubbling to the surface, but their purposes are different. Drawing implies a specific image or scene is being created or recreated; doodling is just allowing the pen or pencil to go where it pleases across the page.
Drawing and doodling are versatile activities; you can do them standing, sitting, or traveling. You don’t need special paper or some secret formula; you can use junk mail, paper bags, and newspapers. You can doodle while standing in line, riding the bus, or sitting in your armchair.
So, in my workshop, There Is No Wrong Way, I encourage you to doodle like an artist!
