Reflecting through Making

‘Why not make a drawing to reflect’ is the invitation. ‘I cannot draw’ might very well be the answer, ‘it is not part of my work as a professional’. The inviter however continues: ‘OK, but my invitation is not asking for the skills of drawing, it invites a mindset of making as a reflective mode. It is about finding images as an alternative for words’. And as an extra stimulus the inviter says: ‘just give it a try…. approach it as an improvisation in unknown territory’.

So you try. Now you sit with paper and pencil and maybe other materials like crayons in different colours. Overlook a session, a conversation or a topic in your mind. Allow yourself the transformation of thoughts and feelings into lines and imagery on paper. Invest some time. Slow down and linger a while with what comes up. In the making at a certain point the ‘work’ that grows starts to talk back. Be alert to receive unexpected meanings! The act of making will give you in addition a ‘long term memory’ to what was meaningful.

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