Depicting the human body has both amazed and inspired me since my teens when I had the opportunity to freely draw at a local college with a nude model. I didn’t have any lessons in this type of drawing at the time, but the practice helped me to make a representation of the image I saw before me. Then, when in college undergrad, I took a drawing class that had a 3-day drawing nude model exercise, the other activities were still-life, etc.

In essence, it’s been years since I’ve attempted anything like this. I doubt that I can “pick up where I left off.” By the same token, I am surprised that I was able to do this at all, and with very little training. What really mattered to me was the state of mind that drawing put me in. It was so comfortably silent. I have to wonder if my openness at the time led to these drawings. Believe me, I know the opposite: frustration. However, frustration is limited. It cannot last. What does last, is the mark on the page. Even then, it will disappear in time.

This is the last article in my Reflections series for the Mercury retrograde transit in Taurus. Starting tomorrow, I will be engaging in a weeklong silent retreat, and will be offline completely for at least a week. Following that I have some blog posts planned about my recent travels. Still, you know how inspiration is, it has its own timeline. We’ll see what happens after the retreat. Many of my days did not go as planned, but I’ve learned in life not to plan, while still, to plan.

May you all have sweet, blessed days filled with all the amazing developments of your own growth and the bliss of life. May all your creations bring you the joy of that curious openness, an openness accepting of mystery, and while relishing in the unfoldment and enlightenment that each day brings.  ❤   aloha, ka