Practical Activity: Drawing with Dots
Otherwise known as ‘Entopic Graphomania’
Yes, it sounds hard, but no, it’s super easy!
What even is Entopic Graphomania?
It’s a game created by an artist called Dolfi Trost 1945. He was part of the surrealist artists’ group and they regularly used this activity before starting a work or when they were stuck for ideas.
What’s so special about ‘Entopic Graphomania’?
The idea is that the actual piece of paper decides where you doodle. Then it keeps you concentrating just enough to not get distracted by other thoughts yet keep your mind free to do some deeper level thinking.
I personally love this activity because it makes mistakes and imperfections the starting point and hero of the drawing.
Let’s get started!
MATERIALS
Something to draw on - a piece of paper
Something to draw with - pen/pencil/texta
Optional
A page from a newspaper or magazine
Yep that’s it!
TIME:
Approx 2 minutes
STEP 1
Grab your paper and pen
Optional: Or a page with written words, i.e. page from a magazine or newspaper as your page.
STEP 2
Look at your blank paper, really look closely and when an imperfection or mark appears or something catches your eye, put a dot on it.
Optional: On a page that contains written words, pick something that repeats at least 20 times, such as a '.' and put a small circle around it.
STEP 3
Now start connecting the dots in whatever manner or style you feel like.
Straight, wavy or dotted lines; zig zags, scribbly lines… anything goes!
“Be as creative as you like There’s no wrong way!”
Click below to see a video of the activity
