#creative reflection

[mysterious-merchant-of-ink]

⏳ Ever wish you could rewind time? Just a little bit?

Yeah… me too.

Lately, I’ve been reflecting a lot on the years I studied art and animation — school, college, uni — and how many golden opportunities I let slip by.

I had some amazing teachers. People who genuinely cared. They explained things clearly, guided me with patience, gave their time and effort to help me grow. And what did I do?

…I winged it.

I thought “It’ll all work out.”

Spoiler: it didn’t.

I coasted through, relying on raw interest instead of real discipline. I skipped the fundamentals, didn’t put in the hours, and worst of all — I ignored the help that was right there in front of me. When you look back and realise you were the one who didn’t listen, that hits hard.

You can’t change the past no matter how much you wish you could. Sometimes you have to step back to move forward — focus on the basics, practice with purpose, and build something real.

🎨 I’ve gone back to the basics — straight lines, circles, ovals, shapes, form — and I’m rebuilding everything from the ground up.

✍️ Not just to someday turn this into a career — designing characters, building a webtoon, maybe even animating a series…

But because I owe it to myself to finally give this my full effort.

And you know what? It feels good.

It feels real.

💭 Ever wish you could’ve taken things more seriously back then?

👥 Was there someone who tried to help — but you just weren’t ready to hear it?

Let me know. I’d love to hear your story too.

Especially if you’re learning art the long way, the honest way — one line at a time.

[thecomfortingpage]

Writing Every Day Doesn’t Mean You’re Making a Connection

Why I’d rather write less and reach deep than post constantly and say nothing There are bloggers out there who write every single day. And that’s not a bad thing—if it’s real. If it’s intentional. If it connects. But somewhere along the way, writing turned into a numbers game. “Post daily.” “Push content.” “Stay consistent.” And while consistency has its place, I’ve seen far too many…

[mehreenmurtaza]

“My Lord! Reveal Yourself to me so I may see You.”

Surah Al-A’raf  7:143

The invocation to begin the process of creation itself is an invocation to return; a return to one self by remembering the very essence of being – to be breathed life within once more.

Like a fever dream, drawing in altered states whilst receiving symbols unbeknownst prior, a breathing, living archive of signifiers began to develop over the course of five years since 2019. Each drawing marked a moment, where moment by moment; from one image to the next, a path continued to unravel, bearing inner secrets. In search of these mysteries and their connections, I began the process of self-discovery where a confrontation with the self was sought at numerous stages.

My practice evolved with the on-going research at Mantiq of the Mantis, a creative research space co-founded with Sabeen Jamil in Lahore, Pakistan since 2016. The research focuses on ‘the revelatory nature of knowledge, and the potential or action of the creative soul to create impressions of images it receives from the archetypal realm.’ Imagination plays a fundamental role in reaching the Truth. The seeker goes through a process of individuation to reach the ultimate level of knowledge through her/his intuitive faculty. This is when and where the individual receives ‘calls’ in the form of creative or divine inspiration (Ilham) or occurrence/visitation (Wārid) from an eternal source, or the collective unconscious and in consequence the imagination is ‘pulled’ upward, beyond forms of material things.’

With the unwavering support of friends and mentors, Sabeen Jamil and Mirela Peerzada who have facilitated this practice through various methodologies, the studio space transmuted into an alchemist’s laboratory where images act as gateways: passages and transitory movements between realms; abstractions acting upon the artist.  The drawings are portals in themselves, inviting the viewer to look beyond the veil and into an Imaginal realm [1]

[1] “Ibn al-'Arabi ‘s remarkable discussions and conceptions of the "Imagination" (al-khayâl) are metaphysical ruminations that do not render conceptual and logical and rational forms of understanding the Imagination. James W. Morris explains, “the Arabic expression al-khayâl, refers most often, in ordinary contexts, to what we would ordinarily call an "image" or "object of imagination," and ultimately to the actual underlying reality of all the "imaginal" (not "imaginary") objects of our perception in virtually all forms and domains.

James W. Morris. This is an unrevised, pre-publication version of an article or translation which has subsequently been published, with revisions and corrections, as Spiritual Imagination and the "Liminal" World: Ibn 'Arabi on the Barzakh, in POSTDATA (Madrid), vol.15, no. 2 (1995), pp. 42-49 and 104-109 (Spanish).

Blueprints of the Soul

These blue prints are part of Mantiq of the Mantis’ growing research on revelatory knowledge received from the soul’s faculty of imagination, Mantiq Under The Willow Tree: The Crimson Intellect (2019 and on-going).

“The impulse to draw was irrepressible. As I picked up a pastel and placed my hand on the paper, I felt possessed! It was a moment of true surrender where my rational mind had no control over what was to come and a primordial force had taken over. I was guided to mark the empty sheet with different motions in varying rhythms. I observed as the hand directed what was being drawn and shown to me. Every stroke arrived with certainty. With each passing mark, a new meaning unraveled. And as each mark mapped its terrain across the large expanse, a story upon a story upon a story revealed itself until the image was complete. The profundity of this moment felt like a cornucopia opus had arrived; a tapestry of colors and form transcending space-time, carrying the seed of the Orphic Egg.

And there have been dry periods of intensive reflection and research, interspersed with impatience and anxiety yet most importantly, a diligent and persistent practice to tame this unbridled force. It is a practice to sharpen the mind, strengthen the body and maintain an undulating rhythm so as not to miss the subtle moments of comprehension that dawn after the completion of every cycle of release. As one continues, the mind and body expands its threshold as a container of the knowledge pouring in. Each drawing is a meditation where repetition evolves into an act of remembrance: what is apprehended in a moment can just as easily be swept back into the recesses. It is in search of these moments of intimacy where I the journey begins every night, starting exactly where I first began. The first point is marked as the zero-sum, a forgetting of all that was before. Bismillah Ar-Rahman Ar-Raheem. The first point collapses unto itself. The silent sound of graphite echoes across the paper; an invitation to meet myself mid-point, crossing an imaginary threshold until my synesthetic synapses slip into the center of the universal grid of potentialities. To navigate this space is recognition of myself as the observer and the observed. From there on, every mark made feels like a gradual submerging into depths unknown. An assimilation occurs where every fragment received, laced on top of the other, enmeshed as light lattices - merging and emerging as beacons point to both old and new pathways. An aspect of the grander blueprint receives itself,  sometimes re-visiting the same pathways whilst revealing different vantage points. Each mark, a reminder to stay present. Every echo, a sonar search for murmuring secrets. Each time, pockets of experiences ebb and flow, teaching me how to swim with the current, learn to submerge despite the recoil to a fear of the unknown. This back and forth trying to hold myself steady. Until a point of poise emerges, and the felt sensation of a flow-state is guided by the waters, true surrender to the spirit of creation.

By the first ray of every dawn, an opening to the self makes itself known. “

Excerpt edited from ‘The Creative Life Force’ by Mehreen Murtaza 27/11/23

Qalb

unfolding –enfolding-unfolding: activated geometry on loop

2019 and on-going

During the first year of Covid in 2019, a series of archaic geometric symbols were revealed through a series of meditative practices. I then began to observe how each symbol unfolded its meaning. The meaning (and function) is revealed through an inward and outward observation of each movement.

Here, the geometric space is transmuted into an inward journey with conscious engagement - pivoted around how the creative process of engaging with geometry can precipitate personal insight and individual healing. 

Qalb, is a journey of the artist embodying knowledge through the inner senses in the quest to liberate the heart. Qalb evolved through a series of transmissions of knowledge and hopes to continue this chain of transmission. It is a reminder of our relationship to the self and therefore to the whole, a blueprint embedded in the sacred foundation of all things created. To experience the video, contact: murtaza.mehreen2@gmail.com or mantiqofthemantis@gmail.com

“Hu”

Audio on loop

This resonating affirmation of the divine unity is a remembrance in the belief of the oneness of God (Tawhid).

Nocturne curated by Uma Ray 9th Jan - 8th Feb 2025 Birla Academy of Art & Culture, Kolkatta

The light of the day overshadows stories that often come alive only in the darkest hours of night. Lives that have thrived in the depths, lurked in the shadows only to come out ushering in a magical confluence of light, sound and happenings.In the chasmic silence of the night a different world emerges from deep slumber, shedding its inhibitions. They may be overlooked, misrepresented or misunderstood as creatures of the underworld, shrouded in mystery that fascinates us, titillates our imagination but no more. These nocturnal creatures unbeknownst to us, will follow their cyclical and habitual movements as altered beings. They will emerge silently to participate in the ongoing process of procreation and regeneration. Nature has its peculiar ways to play out its magic.

Truth can take up many forms - they may be esoteric, obscured from view or existent and palpable. This exhibition aims to bear all lights upon the hidden through the seminal works by artists who explore the world of the unknown.

Uma Ray Curator

[bookwyrminspiration]

sometimes a theme recurs in your work without your permission. and sometimes it reaches a threshold where you're like. well now i think this is saying something about me against my will. don't know what though

[cindycintn]

In a world that moves so fast, I’ve found that creativity—whether I’m knitting, writing, or simply sitting still—has become a kind of prayer. A way to be present. A way to listen. This week on the blog, I’m exploring how creativity can be a spiritual practice... whether you knit or not.

[visualh]

Find your peaceful space with Blooming Serenity, a unique floral coloring book that invites you to pause, reflect, and express yourself through art. 🌿💛 This page from the book offers a delicate bouquet of flowers with guided journaling prompts to inspire mindfulness and creativity. Perfect for those quiet moments when you need to reconnect with your inner self and unwind. 🌸📖 Embrace the beauty of nature, start your reflective journey, and create something special today. 🖍️✨

[mimok]

Embracing the Now: Finding Peace in Presence

Today, I was so busy that I forgot about time, and that was a good day. Time only exists when I stop to think about it, when my mind drifts to places it has not yet arrived. But if I don’t look for it, if I am completely immersed in the flow of doing, time ceases to be something separate. The future, that distant and elusive thing we constantly chase, is nothing more than a thought—an idea…

[nameko-nick]

So I’ve been playing Dandy’s World here and there~ I really like the game and the characters! >:D But as you can guess…I have found a ship I quiet enjoy

[4am-reflections]

love for me has always had teeth, it bites and tears and leaves scars long after it’s over.

but with him love is the caress of a summer breeze, gentle and refreshing and healing from the harsh cold of the winter nights.

love isn’t supposed to hurt. it’s supposed to heal.

[n4rval]

BUT YES.

family history.

[amazingdeadfish]

The Killing Kind Animatic

After three months, it is finally done! I hope you all enjoy the final product and, forgive me while I go into a mini hibernation because of burnout XDDD.

Screenshots I used as reference and/or traced

[araneapeixes]

I've been so bad at posting commissions recently but I really need to show off this character ref sheet commission from a couple months ago

[acqua-marine]

[klance-daydreams]

don’t go wasting your emotions, lay all your love on me!!

[eric-the-bmo]

I think more people should take the time to personify/design their vampire's Beast. There's so many things you can do with that