Day 4’s shape  for the Five Day Challenge is the hexagon. A six sided figure, the hexagon is found in nature from bees to bubbles.  In man made items such as nuts and bolts to tessellated tiles it is used.  Snowflakes are based on the hexagon and perhaps the most easily recognizable group of hexagons are to be found on soccer balls.

Even items we use on a daily basis are constructed using the hexagon.  Most pencils will have six sides…. go ahead and count if you doubt me! Modern use of the hexagon can be found with mobile phone towers constructed  in a hexagonal grid – hence the term “cell phone”.

Today’s shape took a while to come together

I dusted off my compass and protractor and set about to construct a hexagon.  After a couple of tries and much rubbing out of pencil lines, I eventually got the shape right. Then to fill the shape….. pleased with the pattern that emerged, I then allowed my conscious mind to take over. Big mistake. I thought that I would “improve” the pattern by colouring in using the chakra colours.  From simple to dreadfully contrived in just a few minutes.

Take two…. now that I had the hang of constructing the hexagon, it was much easier to stay with a black line marker and see what transpired. With the addition of some compass work and very simple lines and shapes the following emerged.  Perhaps I could add colour, but it was relaxing not to have to think about which to choose.  It would be interesting to construct a series of hexagons and see what evolved from that.

From an Art Therapy point of view the benefits of “doodling” are that there are no preconceived ideas as to what the finished product will look like. It is a free form of expression and the shapes emerge from deep within the one’s psyche.

As it is a non verbal form of expression, the doodle literally can help you to “connect the dots”. It allows you to engage in sustained attention to a task without needing to create perfection or a recognisable image and is a useful tool for stress reduction. This is helpful in using art therapy as a means of unconscious expression.