Thoughts of a perfectly imperfect artist

I'm not only against perfectionism but also quiet supportive of trying and doing ones best effort, irrespective of the outcome... Apparently that is true only when I am dealing with others! 

Internally though, in my self-talks, I am and have always been quiet critical of my art & the more artists I talk to, It feels more like I am in the same boat with many others. It is as if there is one ideal form of art or a set expectation of what " a decent piece of work" should be to which we are constantly comparing ourselves. 

Then in the midst of this daily struggles, every now and then we come across a person who didn't give a sh*t about what that perfect image is and kept doing what S/he liked and enjoyed. So no surprise there that person ended in the center of attention as a person with a unique style.

The more I think about it, the more i'm convinced of the importance of building that strength to not being affected by others' judgments and the ability to focus mainly on finding and doing what I like and enjoy. It might be a better mindset to strive to gather around myself more of those who genuinely enjoy hanging out with me, with all my imperfections. Those who share the same views, those who can see the beauty in things that I find beautiful, or those who can be happy for me despite our differences. And, I hope you all can be surrounded with like minded & supportive friends and family.

So cheers to all those imperfect journal pages, silly doodles and unfinished paintings :D

Easter Egg with no holes

This year I took my egg preparation and coloring to the next level with real eggs. I emptied the eggs, covered the holes and decorated them. If you want to know how, you are in the right place: 

How to prepare and empty eggs for decoration

If you want to know how to use real eggs to decorate for Easter or Persian's New Year or if you are just looking to rather use real egg shells to decorate with the kids, Keep reading:

Can Art Change Our Brain?

We can travel farther than ever in to space, easily cure many diseases that we were victims of for centuries, we have learnt more about our bodies than it was even imaginable decades ago. However with all this mind blowing discoveries and technologies, there are still lots left to know and study about the most sophisticated system of all times – Our Brains. One thing I recently came across to was that we can have significant impact on our brain functions and as a result on our psychological resilience level by doing what I like to do the most: splashing paint, doodling, sketching and drawing. 

In an study published a while back in US National Library of Medicine - National Institutes of Health website, 28 male and female retired participants between the ages of 62 and 70 were divided randomly into two groups and were faced with art intervention for two hours long, once a week for 10 weeks. Keeping the age and other environmental factors flat, the difference between the two groups was only the type of art intervention they received. One group was involved in creating art such as drawing still lives, fast or blind drawing, painting and coloring, while the other group used thinking to analyze, interpret and evaluate art pieces such as paintings and sculptures.

The amazing result after analyzing post-intervention MRI scanning of their brain revealed that those involved in merely evaluating the art had no sign of improvement or change while the visual art group who were in the hands-on intervention group had significant improvement in a function of their brain that translated into higher psychological resilience  or the ability to successfully cope with a crisis and to return to pre-crisis status quickly.

Now, I’m thinking with anti-depressants as common as candies, mental disorders and Alzheimer’s spiking to the roof, maybe it’s time we start spending more time with our brushes and papers (oh, that sounds familiar?!). Let’s hope that we all can squeeze a few creative moments in our crazy busy days.

Cheers as always,

15 New Year's Resolution for Artists and Art Lovers

Happy New Year every one. 

Do you like to start your new year with a plan a vision of can be accomplished in the year ahead? a self-development plan that you can revisit during the year and measure your progress? yes, yes am talking about new year's resolution. Well, if you do and want to add a few artistic twist to your 2019's list maybe this 15 goals can help: