Reflections on Little Drawings by Barbara Thomas
When Mary Jane quoted Dennis Klocek advocating “art as a cultural deed,” I was charmed and curious. “What does that mean?” I pondered, and was then stunned and delighted to realize that it is what I have been doing for over 35 years. It is what my art is about, what I am about.
Long before I met Mano, to relate to in person, he guided me into the experience of doing little drawings while traveling or in meetings. I would entertain myself by making little “scribble” drawings. In Paris the drawing had the shape of the Eiffel Tower; in London it had circles that reminded me of Trafalgar Square. Seeing this I intentionally focused on drawing the energies of the angel of each place as we traveled. As I did the drawings, Mano began to teach me the potential inherent in the process.
Attending a meeting I noticed that my squiggle drawing was making big circles. When I realized the speaker was going round and round never getting to the point, I drew a strong firm line to the center of my circles and made a sharp point. The speaker also came to the point of his discourse.
In another meeting there was discord among those trying to reach agreement. My drawing was strange and discordant. I then used soft lines and color to bring harmony to my drawing. The discussion among the people also came into harmony and agreement.
I have done hundreds, if not thousands of these little squiggle drawings. The purpose is to give a form to the formless, either to see what is present or intentionally to create transformation in a difficult situation. When the form is clear, it can be identified and changed if necessary.
Mano led me to discover that the drawings I do in nature have a very special purpose and service. Once while at the Grand Canyon as I was drawing I heard the inner voice say, “This will help Mother Nature to see herself.” On a family vacation in Yosemite, camping by the river, I painted the magnificent granite Half Dome. When the work had been on my wall for a month or so, I saw an elemental face in the cliff. I knew that I had painted and revealed the spirit of Half Dome. I think my “cultural deed” in this instance was to give this spirit a way to be seen, and perhaps to see as well.
When doing a pencil drawing of a face I saw in the bark of an old redwood tree, the face kept changing. I drew the next face that appeared, the next, and the next, until the light shifted. Mano explained that when the elementals who make up the tree realized I was drawing them, each lined up for a chance to be seen. Here the cultural deed was to give the elementals an opportunity to be acknowledged by a human. They hunger and yearn to return to the old times when people interacted daily with the elementals, in their houses, yards, and neighborhoods. Mano often tells that me a simple “hello” helps to restore what has been lost.
I constantly use the little drawings to release my own pent up energy, frustration, fear, or anger. I deeply focus on the feeling in my body, then pour that energy onto the paper with strong lines and feeling. Sometimes I yell as I do the release. When I feel the energy subside, I then transform it by going back into the drawing and filling in spaces with color. This often reveals to me images or actions that create a picture, which then transforms the energy put into the squiggle. My changes to the drawing thus change the energy in my body. I always feel a release and a return to harmony.
Over and over Mano says, “Your little squiggle drawings are your most important service.” He often asked me to do a daily drawing to release and transform energies in certain world situations prominent in the current news. Anyone can do this; it is a doodle with a purpose. And as the lovely saying goes, “try it, you may like it.”
NOTICE: Barbara will hold a “Healing Burned Woman” workshop in Santa Cruz on February 20, 2016, from 11 am to 4 pm. Call 831-462-1807 to register.
A friend recently told me about your blog. I love this entry, and the others that I have read as well. Thank you so much.