Zen and the art of Kung Fu Panda.

I watched Kung Fu Panda with my nephews today, and in the last fight Po was trying to retrieve the Dragon Scroll off the edge of a statue high on a building before Tai Lung grabbed it.   It seemed impossible, until Po imagined it to be an almond cookie.   It was then that getting the scroll was achievable, because Po could steal snacks from anywhere without realizing that some of his methods were next to impossible to do.

I realized that we all have to find our almond cookie, that one thing that makes us see an impossible task as something we can really do without thinking.   This is especially true for artists who doubt their skills - and I think we all do that.  I am a master at underestimating my own talent.  

I've had years of practice in drawing and painting, I've gone to school, and I've sold work.  Yet, when I pick up a pencil I immediately imagine that blank page as something that will defeat me, instead of something that I have filled with good things countless times before.  This holds me back and keeps me from practicing, which keeps me from getting better at what I can do.  So today, I tried something different.  I sat down to draw, and concentrated on how I felt.  I pushed away all my insecurities and imagined that I was working on something that I don't question and that I have fun with, like crochet, or my cooking;  something I have never been graded on or had to rely on for a sale.

In short, I saw a dragon scroll, and imagined an almond cookie.  

The result was the sherlock doodle.  it's just a quick sketch that took a few minutes, but broke a months long dry spell, and I had fun for the first time in ages.  

Thank you Kung Fu Panda for teaching me something new today.  ^_^