Hello, dear readers of Astrodata! Today I want to talk about something they don’t teach in art schools, something absent from visual arts curricula, something I discovered myself through experience and intuition. Working with children and observing their artistic activities closely, I gradually began to notice certain things. Specifically, something I had been taught—certain methods or what I had read on my own—somehow felt off, unnatural, not quite right to me. Many children are good at perceiving and copying objects from their environment, and with sufficient attention and patience, anyone can learn to draw! Over time, my sense of “something being wrong” intensified. So I began searching for alternative ways of presenting material. I think even then it was already destined that I would come to painting on water, because the first thing I changed was how I explained forms. Previously, when drawing an animal, I would explain that everything is based on simple geometric shapes, as is traditionally taught. But then I noticed that in fact, the foundation of any animal’s body is another shape, one that is by no means geometric—it’s the shape of a drop! Essentially, any animal can be composed of drops of varying shapes and configurations. For young children, I made many stencils of different drop shapes. Rounded forms are closer to nature—children naturally begin drawing with circles. After all, leaves and flowers also have structures that are far from geometric. Later, I began working on eliminating outlines and the “coloring-in” effect, because even the great Leonardo said that in nature there are no outlines, and he painted his masterpieces using the sfumato technique, which creates a soft, hazy effect that blurs sharp lines and allows one form to gently flow into another. Once, I came across a workbook titled “How to Think Like Leonardo da Vinci” by J. Helb. This book contains very useful exercises—things you probably never considered. It encourages setting yourself unconventional tasks and conducting experiments in daily life, which ultimately transforms the way you perceive many things. Leonardo enjoyed observing water—its smooth currents, spirals. For example, he believed that painting water and painting human hair could follow similar principles. The spiral principle lies at the heart of many of his inventions. Thus, rounded shapes, drops of various configurations, and spirals became the main elements in my art classes with children. Now I understand that nothing happens by chance, and much of my searching and new perspectives laid the foundation for my encounter with ebru—the art of painting on water. Because this is the most natural way of drawing for me, staying in the flow, in harmony, aligning my reality with the rhythms of the Earth.
So it turns out that nothing happens suddenly—everything has its preconditions, and certain things can only be given when the necessary foundation has been laid. In reality, all events have a certain duration; we simply aren’t always able to see the causes preceding a particular moment, which is why it seems to us that something suddenly happens, occurs, throwing us off our usual track. But “the usual track” isn’t always what supports our development or aligns with the breath of the Universe. By the way, speaking of breath—how often is it truly rhythmic in daily life? Observing myself, I can say that my breathing is often either shallow or fragmented. It’s simply become customary to pay little attention to breathing, even though it is the foundation of life. It also reflects our ability to receive and give—to establish a harmonious exchange of energy with the surrounding world. When you turn your attention to your breath, you begin to experience life differently—air contains not only nourishment for our cells but also information. Intuition is largely based on breath. I invite you to observe the rhythms of your own breathing, to feel space through breath, and if you wish, share your observations in the comments! Until next time 😉
Living water – http://astrodata.pro/arhiv/6006
Source ASTRODATA
