There are many ways to receive the reality that surrounds us.
Drawing is a neutral and sensitive instrument through which we can explore it.
There is the reality as we see it,
the reality as we interpret it,
and then the reality as we feel it —
the one that arises from the body, from the heart,
from the unique way in which life touches us.
It is here that drawing becomes a practice of contemplation: a meditation that opens us to our deepest sensitivity.
I have previously introduced my online course Essential Drawing — a 9-module journey that explores beauty, sensitivity, and soul through the act of drawing.
I am very pleased to announce that I will begin bringing some of the contents of this course into live workshops.
The first gathering will take place in Ravenna, a very special intimate spiritual center.
We will draw inspiration from the themes of still life and nature drawing to explore our sensitivity and the ways we absorb and perceive our surroundings.
Kendra has a lovely courtyard garden, where we will sit and draw for an afternoon of sharing, creating, and drinking warm tea together.
Below are some quotes and reflections that are inspiring me in shaping the workshop:
“When you open yourself to the other,
you are no longer yourself nor the other:
you are a path that allows itself to be walked.”
— Attar, The Conference of the Birds
Essential Drawing is a space that helps you rediscover a sense of intimacy with your own way of creating.
It is not only about drawing,
but about learning to see, to feel,
and to listen to the space between you and the world around you.
“Thanks to Nalini’s nourishing meditations
and gentle, reassuring energy,
I found again that deep connection
with the creative part of me I had set aside.”
— Chiara, participant of Essential Drawing online
We often begin an inner path because we want to change something. But the practice of drawing invites us to contemplation —to stay with what is, without wishing to alter it.
In contemplation, we learn to see more deeply,to recognize the beauty of reality as it is.
Essential Drawing ~ Drawing and Meditation
will take place at Kendra on Saturday, November 8.