Monday, June 18, 2012

THE MANY SHADES OF MY HEART

Have you ever thought about drawing an image of your heart? Not the biology of your heart, but the emotions it holds, the energy it produces, the feelings it has? For instance, how does your heart feel today? Is it feeling light and free-spirited, or is there something else going on? Does it feel heavy with grief? Confused? Frustrated? Angry?

If you had to choose a color to represent how your heart feels today, what color would you choose? Is the image soft-edged or, jagged? Does it feel small and maybe frightened? or open and alive with joy?


The above image is one I did some years back. It is mixed media including collage and pastels.  I was feeling a variety of emotions,  and my heart felt contained and whole. This was a relaxing project, because I worked within the image of my heart. It was fun and provided me an outlet to express how I was feeling that particular day.

Exercise:
Pick a medium you would like to work with such as colored pencils, pastels, markers or anything that you are drawn to today.
Close your eyes and begin to tap into your feelings.
Bring your attention to your heart.
Breathe in and out.
Does a color come to mind?
Does a a size emerge?
Once you have identified a color and size, open your eyes and draw an image of a heart on a piece of paper. You can also do this if you have not identified a color or size and begin filling in the heart with whatever color you are drawn to.
Begin filling in the heart image with the color or colors that came to mind.

I suggest doing this exercise in your journal and create a heart image daily to track your feelings. You will begin to learn the many shades your heart reveals.
Most of all, have fun and allow your heart to speak!