Find your Joy: Drawing Trees

Visual Inspiration - David Byrne's Arboretum

I have fallen in love with drawing trees.  There is a Doodle & Flow practice in the Find Your Joy miniCourse that asks you to draw trees. 

Most of the time when I draw trees, I show what the world sees above ground and what they don't see below ground.  As an introvert, I have a rich interior life that other people don't see... some of them intuitively sense it, but it really isn't visible.  Oftentimes my inner world isn't even visible to me until I draw it.  Other times, I draw what brings joy and happiness to my life (above ground) and what I must do to nourish and sustain those things (below ground).  Here's a sample:

My inspiration for drawing trees comes from singer / songwriter / creative human David Byrne's book Arborteum.  I found the book years ago while browsing the shelves of Powell's Books in Portland.  I was teaching experiential education at the time and was doing a lot of doodling and journaling to cope with the intensely social experience of living and working with other people 24/7 for 100 days in a row. 

The brief glimpse at Byrne's book - drawing what we see above ground and what lurks beneath - was a strong metaphor for my experience of being constantly around people but also feeling lonely and disconnected from them at the same time.  My role as a professor on the field semester I was teaching had me constantly answering student questions, guiding them in their learning, and facilitating conversations, but couldn't connect with them as peers.  So I felt lonely. 

After leaving the bookstore, I was sad that I hadn't bought the book, but my life moved on so I couldn't return to get it.  Several years ago I learned that the book was reprinted and I quickly ordered a copy.  It has become a favorite source of inspiration... not only does Byrne let his mind wander throughout his sketchbook but he invites us to look at what grows there - above and below ground.

A few pages from Arboretum: