I found an interesting article in the Kansas City Star newspaper last Sunday. I was attracted to the headline “Preventing Memory Loss”…. I am at that age where I have started to observe slight forgetfulness in myself and in my friends. I think we are probably just way too busy and our brains can’t keep up, but if there is a decline starting, then it is time to start doing activities to counteract this.
This article, written by Tony Castro of Los Angeles Daily News, is about a physician, Arnold Bresky and states “success comes when people exercise their brains by doing artwork”. “The brain works through numbers and patterns…. The numbers are on the left side of your brain, the patterns are on the right side”. What Bresky’s program is doing is connecting the two sides….. through art.
Well, that certainly caught my attention. I’ve been thinking for awhile now, that I should be blogging less and doing more artwork. After all, I’m not a writer, but a painter. Although, I bet blogging has some benefits for the brain too.
So recently I’ve started trying to build a new habit of doing some “mini sketching” daily. My art teacher, Mary Muller, always preached the benefit of this to improve drawing skills. Unfortunately, I haven't yet been doing this every day…. But I hope to work up to that.
These mini doodles are small- something I can finish easily in an hour or less. I went to photograph a few and needed to hold the picture flat with my foot…. Thus, I have created the name “toenail sketch” to describe my mini artwork. (Yes ,that is my big toe... surprisingly it looks a lot like my thumb..... I never noticed that before)
So if I don’t feel like writing a blog, I will be posting some of my toenail sketches. These aren’t perfect. That’s not to point. The point is to exercise my brain and keep the creativity flowing.
This is a great idea - even for those of use who are non-artists in drawing. We all have something creative we can do each day...great post!
ReplyDeletejudy - you make me laugh out loud. Am I one of the friends you are observing forgetfulness in? You can't quit blogging - sometimes you make my day!
ReplyDeleteWhat a great idea! And I love that you coined that phrase! When my hubby retires next year, I'm going to give him two gifts. One is a trip to a fly-fishing camp including lessons and gear. Number two is art lessons. He has always wanted to learn watercolor painting and now he will have time.
ReplyDeleteYou're very talented!
Susan, it's never to late to take art lessons!
ReplyDelete