One of the wonderful things about being a craft hoarder and book collector is having a stash of materials to draw upon. I can't remember when I bought this drawing book but I'm so glad I did. Funnily enough I was actually looking for a different book on tangled drawing and having no idea I own two, started reading this one and then got really excited.

The book is divided into sections and, wait for it, each section starts with a tutorial on how to make a sketch book to store the drawings you are about too create. Oh, be still my beating heart. Books to bind so you can be organised? It's my idea of craft heaven.

There's something so calming about inking random pen lines onto a previously blank piece of paper and turning abstract doodles into symbols. I'm not sure if they're meaningful at all but they're fun to draw and pretty to look at. It's also very therapeutic to sit and draw with no final destination or idea in mind. Just follow the random lines and see where you end up.

The picture is of my first ever tangled drawing. As you can imagine there is quite an art and process to it. I noticed myself getting frustrated with my lack of ability and expertise - why is it so hard to be a beginner and just accept what your'e doing one you're an adult? When I finished the drawing I was unhappy with it because it wasn't as pretty as the ones in the book (of course it wasn't as pretty, they've been doing it for twenty years but my impatience wants to be perfect right away). Now that I've had time to do other things and come back to it, I love it and can't imagine it any other way. Often the difference between bad and good is just time to walk away and come back with fresh eyes.

I'm enjoying the process so much I've started doodling in my poetry journal. I like the way the drawings adorn my journals and break up all the lines of words marching across the page. It's wonderful to have lots of slow time in which to make art.