Saying yes to doing more art is one of my goals for 2014. I signed up for an art camp for adults the end of August partly because I love summer camp and partly because it was a way to motivate myself to practice doing art before I showed up and humiliated myself.

Tonight is the last in a series of 6 drawing classes that I have been taking. (I am sad to see it coming to an end!) The greatest gift this class has given me is the near ban on erasers. What started out as scary turned out to create joy. We have been doing most of our drawing in ink in one form or another so an eraser, no matter how big, would be of little use! The process of drawing with ink forces you to go with the flow and not get stuck on perfection. It is another way of experiencing art which draws you away from focusing on flaws and invites you to incorporate every line you put down on the paper into your whole piece.

I would have never imagined what a freeing experience it would be to practice drawing with a sharpie rather than a pencil and eraser. The marks I make on the paper are less tentative and have more of a flow to them then pencil lines that are trying too hard to be just right. And really, this is a great metaphor for life in general – to conduct our actions with intention or boldness – we really can’t erase them anyways so let’s make our mark like we mean it. And if we go with the flow most of our flaws or mistakes can be beautifully enfolded into our path. After all, art is the artist’s interpretation of what she sees and none of us see or experience the world in the same way anyway.

apple blossoms drawn with a fine sharpie – no erasing!