WEEK 20
Hey there, thanks for joining us for Week 20 of HOMwork 2020!
This week, we have the talented Meera Lee Patel as a guest teacher!
Meera Lee Patel is an artist and writer who creates work that inspires others to connect with themselves, each other, and the world around them.
She is the author of several best-selling books that help explain who we are, including My Friend Fear: Finding Magic in the Unknown, a meditation on fear and how it can help us become who we really are—if we let it. Her forthcoming book, Create Your Own Calm: A Journal for Quieting Anxiety will be released by TarcherPerigee (an imprint of Penguin Random House) in September 2020.
She likes sleeping, smiling, and using her art to guide people through self-exploration. Her Skillshare class, Drawing for Personal Growth, is for anyone interested in moving past their own fears and obstacles in order to unlock their creativity.
From Meera:
Anxiety is a difficult emotion to grapple with. Like fear (one of anxiety’s biggest sources of fuel), it changes how it looks or feels depending on where you are and the situation you’re in. During quarantine, it’s been hard for many of us to manage our stress and anxiety in the ways we’re used to: exercising at the gym or park, finding comfort in the company of friends, or going to therapy.
One of the biggest triggers of anxiety is a feeling of helplessness, or lack of control. When I feel anxious, I try to stop focusing on what I don’t have control over (what I see in the news, how other people are behaving or saying) and focus on what I do have control over: my own thoughts and actions. I implement a variety of practices, from meditation to walking, to help re-center myself and maintain a healthy perspective.
Your assignment: Letter or illustrate a phrase or action that helps temper your anxiety and bring you back to a place of balanced perspective.
I chose to letter and illustrate “I am responsible for my own happiness,” which reminds me that how I feel is up to me — no one else can poison my happiness or well-being unless I choose to let them. This mindset shift immediately puts me back in control and eases any creeping anxiety starting to settle in.
Don’t forget to use the hashtag #HOMwork2020 and tag @meeraleepatel and @homsweethom when you post your work on Instagram. We’ll be sharing our favorites in our Stories all week!
x Meera and Lauren
P.S. If you've been in a creative rut lately, check out Meera's Skillshare course, Drawing for Personal Growth, where she guides you through excercises to reconnect with yourself through art.
P.P.S. Catch the replay of my Instagram Live Q&A in the Creative Resource Library (password is homburger)! I answered over TWENTY FOUR questions in 80 minutes.
