The Power of Doodling

Those of us who like to doodle to pass the time often downplay this good habit, probably because we were chastised as kids for "not paying attention."

Research suggests that doodling actually helps to lock memories in place.  Whatever you were listening to while you created that little artwork stays with you better than if you hadn't been drawing. Here's a Harvard Health article about research into the benefits of doodling.

But that's not the power of doodles that I'm talking about today.  

When you follow that sparkly idea to create something you're curious about, you build your drawing skills, but you also develop creative ideas that can grow.

Here's a sketch I made of a friend's crow photo. You can find the photo on my blog here.

That sketch became a drawing, which I transferred to a rubber block. I carved it to create a stamp.

I've enjoyed making stationary by stamping vintage office papers with this stamp.

I photocopied one of these pieces of stationary, enlarging it to 200% so I could transfer it to a recent painting.  The little sketch of my friend's crow photo became the focal point of a larger painting.

I reversed the image by making a transparency of it and copying the flipped transparency.  When you transfer an image this way, you "print" a reversed image.

Now I've ordered greeting cards from that large painting, and I can't wait to receive them in the mail. That's the power of doodling.  It's a way to experiment and play, and a pathway to larger artworks.

Please doodle! 

Experiment with designs and ideas. 

Play with little sketches.  

Allow them to grow & roam to become larger ideas.  

That's how creativity works!

Copyright Betsy Bangley 2024.  All rights reserved.