Zen Art, Mugs, Dice, and an Iron Pot!

 We had Christmas with hubby's family last Saturday, and one of my gifts was this zen art/ meditation/stress relieving way of painting. Pictured is the mini travel version, but I also got a larger (maybe 10 x 10) version with a water tub easel and brush. The mini version requires a separate little container of water. No colors! Just plain water!

Flipping the bottom under makes an easel for the substrate. I didn't include it in the photo, but I had a bit of clear water in a 3 oz dixie cup to dip the brush in. It's kind of amazing!

You wet the brush and draw/doodle on the substrate. The more water you use the longer it takes to dry, but you don't saturate it. The drawing turns black as you brush on the water and looks like ink. As the water drys, which is pretty quickly, the drawing disappears, and you can draw something else. You can repeat as many times as you want.

My feeble first attempt at learning and getting the feel of things. In a couple of minutes I had a clean surface again.

My second attempt went better, but I had a bit too much water on the brush, which ran down the surface, creating a bit of weirdness, but in a couple of minutes it dried and the surface was clean again. Magic!

I haven't tried the larger one yet. This one could sit on my recliner arm. I can definitely see where it could relieve stress. It's kind of mesmerizing, brushing the water on, watching it dry and disappear, then repeating with another doodle. I think it would be great to practice Sumi painting!

Our niece came up with this gift, along with an art mug to drink my coffee from, and some artistic dice to roll for ideas and inspiration (haven't tried those yet). Our nephew and his wife gave me fleece pajamas to wear while I paint, roll dice, and drink coffee from my mug!

Hubby was the recipient of a cast iron pot and two bags of beans, which he tried out as soon as he could. Problem was, he put the beans in the pot and went to the mailbox. He was gone longer than he meant to be. I was engrossed in whatever I was doing and didn't notice the kitchen filling up with smoke or the scorched smell. He opened the door to burning beans and a very smoky kitchen. Of course, it was all my fault! 😕  

It was a good evening with good food and great people! We are blessed to be family!

Try to take time out to be present and enjoy your family/friends during this busy, hectic,  stressful, and often sad time of the year. It could be yours, or their, last holiday season.