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Art is for the artistically imbued…and for children. I stood by this limited belief about art for most of my life, mostly because of an experience with drawing I had in college which, for decades, turned me off of drawing and distorted my view of making art of any kind.

But in recent months, nearing the age of 60, I’ve experienced a seismic revelation of the purpose of art. Creating art has far less to do with outcomes and everything to do with the process itself. What an epiphany!

I’m embarrassed to admit that I had overlooked this important point of making art even though I have lived my life with an artist who is also an art teacher. 

What artists of all kinds know, of course, is that producing art is not only therapeutic but essential to well-being. Art is expression, and humans have intuitively known its value as a medium of catharsis and communication for thousands of years.

And an important note, is that when humans work to make art, they are exhibiting humanity at its best (second only to altruistic acts of kindness toward others). Individuals making art is a beautiful thing. And people collectively making art is astounding.

When you go to a concert, or listen to the symphony, watch a dance team, see a play or movie, you are witnessing humans transcending the darkness of the human experience—all the sad bits of inhumanity—to aspire to express something greater and inspire others to do the same.

WHY YOU SHOULD DRAW WHEN YOU JOURNAL

Not to go too far off course here, but I share this personal perception of art as prelude to the recent experience I’ve had with drawing and journaling—specifically doing both of these things together. I’ve given over to drawing in my journal and here is what I’ve discovered.

These days, like the free-flow writing in my journal, I’ve largely given over to drawing without expectations of any kind other than to enjoy the process. I draw what I see or copy something I like in an image, and let the pencil and my eye connect. When I feel the drawing is complete, I ink the lines and color it in with colored pencils.

I dub my efforts “cartoons” because, in my mind, it sets it up as a reasonable goal. I try for the simplest lines to achieve the “idea” of something and consider that good enough. In the process, I’ve learned that drawing is relaxing and absorbing to the point of achieving “flow,” which is when it takes up my full attention in the moment of the doing.

In an article titled, “Feeling Artsy? Here’s How Making Art Helps Your Brain,” Malaka Gharib over at National Public Radio points out that creating art allows you to solve a problem. Through the work of drawing, you are reaching toward a more hopeful future outcome, and this can translate to solving more substantial problems in life as well.

Gharib also addresses the therapy of art and how the process works your brain to produce serotonin (happy hormone) and reduce cortisol (the stress hormone). So, that doodling in the margins of your journal along with the brain-dump of writing make for powerful personal self-care tools.

THE DETAILS: HOW TO DRAW YOUR CARTOON SELF

This is the transcript of a conversation I had with the artist (and my spouse) David Borzo about how to draw a cartoon version of your face. He walks you through the process using his mug as the example.

Sherry: Hi! Today since we’re working so much on journaling here at Storied Gifts, I thought we’d talk about how to incorporate art into your journaling. Now, I’m no artist, not one at all, so that’s why I’ve commandeered my husband David to kind of walk us through one thing you might want to do in your journaling which is to draw a cartoon of yourself.

David: Doodle.

Sherry: Well we’ll call it a doodle or a cartoon, or you can even call it art, whatever you decide, but again it’s for the people like me who don’t know how to do any of this. So, these are very beginner steps, but obviously you’re going to start by looking at yourself to determine what you look like. Right?

David: Right. So, get your phone out and put it on reverse and look at your features, and then you start with a pencil.

Most great art (all the art I do 😊) starts with a pencil—nice and sharp—and shapes. So, if I’m going to do a cartoon of a face, I’ll start off with an oval. Then you kind of measure off by thirds where the eyes and nose are going to be. The nose will be in the middle of this cartoon. Now, this cartoon I’m going to make with suspicious eyes.

Why do we use a pencil? Because you can erase a pencil mark and you can’t erase marker mark.

Who knows what the eyebrows will ultimately look like, but I’ll just kind of put them in there. Now, because this is a cartoon, everything is exaggerated, and again you start with a sketch.

Now just because you start with an oval doesn’t mean you keep it. You will go in and adjust shapes.

I think an easy way to start with cartooning a face, is to start with a cartoon of yourself, so this will be me. I’ll need some nice, big black glasses, and some big floofly hair. This is “hasn’t had a haircut in six months” hair.

Once you’ve finished your sketch, then you go over your marks, which is what we call inking it in. You go over your pencil marks and once again, adjusting, picking what you’re going to do, and how cartoonish you’re going to go. What are the shapes? Emphasize the darks. You don’t have to go over every mark you made, but you can use them as a guide.

And for those of you who have seen me recently with sheltering in place, this is what happens to your hair. Now, here is an ear but you don’t really need to worry about it.

Now, if you’re using a Sharpie, you’re going to have nice, big, bold black lines. When you’re done, then you take an eraser and you erase all the pencil marks. If you’re using a lesser marker, then you’d wait until it is dry. Then follow up by working on some details like the mouth, eyelid, bags under the eyes, and little chubbier cheeks. Voila!

So, simple. Start with the oval, pencil everything in. Exaggerate a little. Go over it with the ink and erase the pencil marks. That’s a simple cartoon face. You can make one of yourself, or you can make one up.

GIVE CARTOONING A TRY

Oftentimes, doing something new is the portal to doing other things in your life better. By giving yourself permission to create, you expand your mind to what is possible elsewhere in your life.

It turns out drawing is a simple but healing activity. Give it a try and please share your experience in our new Life Journaling Group!

JOURNAL PROMPT

Try drawing a cartoon version of yourself in your journal. What are the features that are most prominent on your face?

picture credit: Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash

Postscript: When things seem out of control like it feels these days, acting where we have control is a comfort. Cleaning up your stuff is within your power! If you need help getting going on organizing your home check out Get Organized Gal’s courses for support.

I used her course to organize my office, and it is in pretty good shape these days. Success in one space has lead to cleaning channels to other rooms and photos as well. Check out he courses here.

Sherry is the founder of Storied Gifts a personal publishing service of family and company histories. She and her team help clients curate and craft their stories into books. When not writing or interviewing, Sherry spends loads of time with her grandchildren and lives in Des Moines, Iowa.

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The shop is a mother and daughter venture for Sherry and Alexandra Borzo of Content In Motion. They both work to help their client's stories sing. The shop is their effort to inspire a focus on healthy minds for everyone through positive thought.

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