This exercise explores spontaneous scribbling with your non-dominant hand, guided by music. It encourages letting go of control, embracing imperfection, and focusing on the process.
Scribbling is a natural and free way to make marks, with loose lines that don’t follow any specific plan.
It’s one of the first ways we learn to express ourselves visually, especially as children when we start exploring creativity and movement. Scribbling doesn’t have to look like anything, which makes it a pure and honest form of expression. In art, it’s a great way to experiment with movement, energy, and emotion—whether as an automatic drawing exercise or the foundation for a larger project. Because it’s unstructured, scribbling allows you to tap into your creativity without worrying about perfection.
Using your non-dominant hand for drawing is a great way to break out of habits and approach creativity from a fresh perspective.
It forces you to slow down, embrace imperfections, and focus on the process rather than the result. This can lead to unexpected, expressive marks and help you explore new ways of seeing and creating.
Gather Materials:
- An artist’s journal, unlined notebook, or piece of paper
- A pencil of your choice
- A 5-minute long song
Today’s Exercise
Scribbling with My Non-dominant Hand
- Choose a comfortable place to sit with your materials in front of you.
- Play your chosen song and relax, letting the music set the tone.
- Adopt an automatic drawing approach: clear your mind and put yourself in a receptive, open state.
- Take your pencil in your non-dominant hand and make a mark on the page without overthinking.
- Respond to the first mark instinctively, allowing your hand to move freely across the paper. Avoid trying to control or plan the image—let it flow naturally.
- This exercise helps you explore spontaneity, develop expressive lines, and embrace the unexpected. Let the music and your non-dominant hand guide you!
Reflections on the Exercise
- Music helps make the exercise automatic, as I just move and respond to the tempo of the song.
- My left hand feels stiff, and I have little control.
- There are a lot of continuous lines—this shows I was flowing with the music.
- It’s hard to let go of the outcome when I know I’ll post this and others may see it.