Hello Friends,
This is a VERY long post with links to previous, unpublished posts (x13). You may want to make yourself a cuppa and view this on the desktop.
As many of you may know, a cancer journey is not linear, predictable, or easy to navigate.
For this reason, I have been quietly and slowly working on creative ideas behind the scenes, practicing zoom drawing sessions with a small group of friends and testing the waters to see if I could actually bring my ideas to life and share them with others (I still don’t really know the answer to that to be honest, its all just “day to day, lets just see what happens” in the moment).
I have no guarantee, or certainty, for what will or wont happen tomorrow (I wish I did), but today I still have dreams, and plans, and goals, and things I want to do.
I would really like to host some Zoom Drawing sessions again. I’m not sure how many I will be able to manage, or for how long I will be able to do them, so I’ll just take it day by day and see what happens. I wont be able to commit to a regular schedule, although I wish I could say I could.
There are lots of great reasons I want to host drawing sessions:
to connect with other creatives
to connect with other people wanting to use creativity as a tool for healing
to have a purpose / focus other than cancer
to raise awareness of Ovarian Cancer
to help other people (and myself), see light when the days are dark
to make more art and to celebrate joy in the process
to use art as a therapeutic tool in combination with other treatments
as a way to tell Cancer; “Back Off! I’m not done yet!”
But the main reason I want to do this is to HAVE FUN!
Zoom Drawing Sessions
Drawing Joy is a Visual Journaling, live, recorded Zoom Drawing Session where you can either draw from the references images provided (set to a timer), or draw from your own joyful reference photos gathered throughout the week / month (start taking your own photos of things you notice that make you feel good. You don’t have to have a theme, or a narrative, or even a colour palette - just notice the things you like and that make you happy).
The references images I provide are photos I have taken myself, of moments and things of joy I have noticed and experienced throughout my Cancer treatment / journey.
The photos, and each Drawing Joy zoom session, are directly related to the Diary of Delight entries, as well as the weekly blog posts from The Cancer Chronicles.
You can find out more about the Drawing Joy Zoom sessions by reading this post:
Please keep checking the CHAT to find the Luma invite to join a live, Zoom Drawing Joy session.
Drawing Joy | Visual Journaling Sessions 1 - 6:
Replays from our practice sessions.
You can find links to the Luma / Zoom invites, and post photos of the art you made in the sessions (live or replays) in the private, subscriber only chat:
To join the chat, you will need to be a subscriber to the ‘Studio Diaries’.
Diary of Delight
Each week, since the beginning of my Cancer treatment, I have been taking photos of anything and everything that makes me feel happy. This has been an incredible healing mechanism and has truly given me reasons to look for the positive.
I have no set theme, other than; ‘What do I notice that brings me delight?’. It makes me look at things I may not have noticed before.
I have taken photos of food, nature, light and shadow, flowers, candles, patterns, movie stills and of course many photos of my darling Cedar.
And now I am trying to play catchup, and, using the photos, paint a double page sketchbook for each week of my treatment.
6 Diary entries you may have missed:
Diary of Delight | No. 7
I wonder if the practice of seeking the positive, the joy in all of the small moments, looking for magic in the everyday mundane, will stand us in good stead for when the days are truly dark?
Diary of Delight | No. 8
“Dance, when you’re broken open. Dance, even if you’ve torn the bandage off. Dance in the middle of fighting. Dance in your blood. Dance when you’re perfectly free.” Rumi
DONATE
Ovarian Cancer Australia You can Donate HERE
Cancer Council Australia You can Donate HERE
Ovarian Cancer Research Foundation You can Donate HERE
Until next time,
Hug the people you love, Celebrate the good things in your life, Exercise and make the art that makes you happy.
All my love,
Other places we can connect:
Disclaimer
By participating in a Zoom Drawing Session you are agreeing to be recorded and to let me use any content created (i.e. Zoom Recording) to advertise on various social media channels (such as my Instagram, You tube, Pinterest & Facebook etc.).
I have a lot of catching up to do! All the drawing session replays and zooming in on all your sketchbook spreads!
I send you hugs and love Sam ❤️
Take good care 😘