Hello!
Hope you had a great weekend! The weather was gorgeous, so it couldn’t have been any better than that. But what happened today? Woke up and we were in a shaken snow globe all over again!
Today I’ve been thinking about doodles and doodling. I’m taking a class in at the School of Visual Arts once a week, and I find myself doodling quite a bit while I listen. It’s something I’ve done many times at meetings, and definitely used to do in school. So I went through my current sketchbook, some older notebooks, and other scraps of paper that I seem to have everywhere, and created this little collection of “unfocused drawings made while a person’s attention is otherwise occupied” (from wikipedia). I find it interesting that the definitions of doodle include words such as “killing time” and “to scribble idly” or “to draw aimlessly.” Even though it pretty much is that, it’s great how some great ideas can develop from those aimless drawings! And I guess it is all about the freedom that doodling gives you. No pressure. Draw whatever you want. No one will judge it, not even yourself.
I can’t say that all the doodles below have sparked genius ideas, however, just by looking back on them today, it has sparked ideas I had forgotten I had had. I love that doodling is something most everyone does. There’s even a book about Presidential Doodles titled Presidential Doodles: Two Centuries of Scribbles, Scratches, Squiggles, and Scrawls from the Oval Office. Here are a few links to interesting articles about doodling and what they may reveal.
The History of White House Doodles (abc News)
Study: Doodling Helps You Pay Attention (TIME)
Bored? Try Doodling To Keep The Brain On Task (NPR)
doodle of kids' drawings floating in space by carolina pedraza
I really like the way this turned out…Must have been a long meeting. I do remember that picking out the kids’ drawings from work I had pinned on the wall was great fun!
collection of doodles done at different times by carolina pedraza
I just love the look on that bouncing dog…
doodles made a while back during work meetings by carolina pedraza
The doodle on the right started with the bee. And the man with the mustache was doodled from a portrait of Mr. Larry Aldrich, who founded The Aldrich Museum.
more doodles made during a work meeting by carolina pedraza
For some odd reason, I like to make things in space, and I like cartoon spaceships. I find them funny. It might be all about the “floating” thing! Not exactly sure what got me started on the one below…fun, nonetheless.
under the sea doodle (made above sea level) by carolina pedraza
My doodles usually start with a circle or with an object that is within my line of sight. As you can see, I usually end up with some kind of cartoon character.
Do you find that you doodle in meetings or while on the phone? What do you doodle about? Are they things you know, are they shapes and all types of lines? Share your thoughts on your doodle habit (a habit that in my opinion, you should never try to kick!) with the Hamster Wheel!
A few more things on doodling:
Doodlebug: A Novel in Doodles by Karen Romano Young
Doodlers Anonymous: The permanent home for spontaneous doodle art
The Doodle Daily
Enjoy your Monday! And may you have many meetings, just so you can doodle some more!
