Drawing as a means to calm the mind. When I’m wandering aimlessly through my house, overwhelmed, I know there’s loads to do. I know I have things I ‘should’ do. The ironing pile is massive. I’ve got work to prepare for college but I don’t want to do it. The duvets need changing, the floor could use a mop. I need to go shopping, cook dinner or order that thing. I’ve got ideas for a poster, a book, world domination. I need to clear all that stuff away. I want to draw that dead beetle I’ve left on top of the microwave, those dried seed pods, next door’s window with it’s dead flowers, my stuffed rat, Alex’s latest soft toy. That skirting board needs repairing, this wall needs a paint. I have that picture to hang, the bookshelf to tidy and I haven’t cut the grass in three weeks. The flowers need watering and the veg patch weeding. I have to call my friend, sort the calendar, pay some bills and the school dinner account and arrange a babysitter for next Thursday night.
What do you do with all those thoughts, all at once, cramming through the doorway of your mind? Draw something complicated and detailed. And do it as scientifically as possible. That’s what you do.
It doesn’t get the washing-up done or the guinea pigs cleaned out, but it does make me feel a lot, lot better.
Natalie Eldred 