There’s nothing more liberating than tearing a drawing in half, sticking it back together in a new way, and being forced to work with what’s already there.

Sometimes the only way I can break free and discover something new is to intentionally try to make something I think I won’t like but in a way that I really enjoy (drawing without looking at the page, scribbling furiously with a weird colour and my “wrong” hand) and every time I start liking it, intentionally breaking it again, and remaking it again in a new way.

“Life is a Carnival” close up, vibrant mixed media figure drawing on A2 paper, by Rose Wintergreen, 2021

It’s not a new idea, I learned this from Joseph Fonti and Nic Plowman.

It’s so easy to get caught up in trying to be “good” or make something “nice”, but doing the same thing over and over again is not living, it’s surviving.

I’m so grateful for learning about this weirdo art technique “breaking the page”, and that I had the courage to use it this time.

And it reminds me, every time, to keep stepping up and getting brave in other areas of my life.

It’s scary sh*t, but I know if I want to keep cultivating a juicy life, I need to keep doing this as an ongoing practice in all the ways: having the tricky conversations, setting and maintaining boundaries, remixing my inner narratives…

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🌱I’m curious, what’s something in your life that helps you break your usual patterns and remix your inner narrative? Comment below (or email, if you prefer).🌱

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