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Tag Archives: light

Light, Everlasting

Your words flying through the air,
Poisoned darts that
Pierce right through the most tender,
The most vulnerable parts of my heart.Continue reading→

Hello!

I'm Shinjini, an artist, Tarot card reader, journal keeper & seeker of soul. I share my passions and discoveries along the path to inspire you to create a more artful, soul-centered life. Ready to experience the magic? Let’s do it together!

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Subjects close to my heart

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The Gallery

Fresh from Instagram

Most people think making art means: drawing perfec

Most people think making art means:
drawing perfectly
taking a ton of art classes
or having “natural talent.”

But there is a whole world of low-pressure, beginner-friendly creativity
that very few people explore.

Here’s what that can look like:

• Making messy pages in a journal
• Using scraps, old paper, and simple materials
• Painting without a plan
• Combining words + color + texture

These approaches exist because
creativity is about more than just skill, it’s about engaging the imagination.

The difference is not talent. It’s how you approach the page.

Once I understood:

• I don’t need to be “good” to begin
• I can learn by experimenting
• My style will form naturally over time

Everything changed.

Art stopped feeling intimidating. It started feeling like something I could return to anytime.

And I knew that if I, who couldn’t draw a stick figure to save her life, could do it, you could too!

That’s why I share my process on YouTube, write about art and creativity on my blog, and teach art courses.

If you’re looking for a simple beginner-friendly course that you can finish in a weekend, comment “LOTUS” and I’ll send you the details.

When you plan something for months and then it cul

When you plan something for months and then it culminates in the blink of an eye. That’s what it felt like at the very first Makers Collective event in Nainital.

I’ve been a fly on the wall on the discussions around this event right from the start. A vision that was first conceptualised and shaped by Abid - @abid.woodworker Abhimanyu - @mistri_labs & Pankaj sir -@spbwoodworx that expanded to include teachers and makers from across India.

The energy and enthusiasm of the participants to make cool shit was unparalleled! Everywhere you looked, people were busy making, learning new things, laughing, talking.

New friendships were forged. New skills learnt. New hobbies picked up.

To say it surpassed my wildest expectations would be an understatement!

A big thank you to Abhimanyu for being an amazing host! And to all the teachers for their incredible passion and patience. Special shout outs to:

Minati - @sugarimp.productions for not giving up on my constantly cracking enamel pieces.

Jaskiran - @art_unleashed211 for her immense patience with my very clumsy attempts at leather working.

Nisha - @nisha_rautela98 for helping me understand the basics of sketchy watercolors, even though we were supposed to work more realistically. Thank you for letting me go completely off script!

Overthinking your art affects more than you think.

Overthinking your art affects more than you think.

It impacts how often you show up,
how much you enjoy the process,
and whether you stick with it long enough to grow.

So if your goal is to feel more creative, consistent, and confident, this is where you start.

Here is a simple 4-step way to stop overthinking and actually enjoy making art:

Step 1: Lower the stakes
Stop trying to make “good art.”
Use cheap paper and craft paint.
This works because your brain relaxes when there’s nothing to prove.

Step 2: Start before you feel ready
No planning or overthinking allowed!
Just pick 2–3 colors and begin.
Action reduces hesitation faster than thinking ever will.

Step 3: Follow what feels interesting (not correct)
That random line? Follow it.
That color you’re unsure about? Try it.
This builds trust in your own decisions instead of external rules.

Step 4: Stop early (yes, really)
Don’t overwork the page. Leave it while you still like it.
This keeps the process light and makes you want to come back for more.

The goal is not perfection. It’s creating a space where you actually want to return.

Start simple. Stay curious. Let it be messy.

Save this so you can come back to it the next time you feel stuck.

And follow @moderngypsy.in for more art journaling inspo!

This is where my hands, brain, and heart combine.

This is where my hands, brain, and heart combine. In my sketchbook. Painting. Playing. Experimenting. And always learning.

Here’s a little peek at my art journaling process; part of my #100dayproject2026 — 100 days of play.

It’s all about practice, patience, and letting you

It’s all about practice, patience, and letting your art journal pages evolve slowly, over time.

We often rush to complete things. To keep up with some arbitrary productivity metrics.

But what if your art was never meant to be about productivity. Or goals. Or streaks.

What if your art was meant to be gentle. Flowing. A space to show up, pause, breathe, and just be…

Radical, isn’t it?

An art teacher once noticed a pattern. Adults wal

An art teacher once noticed a pattern.

Adults walked into class already convinced of one thing:

“I’m not artistic.”

It’s not that they lacked imagination or curiosity. But because somewhere along the way, they learned to think of Art with a capital A.

Gallery art.
Perfect drawings.
Talent you’re either born with or not.

So the teacher created a simple method to help adults reconnect with creativity.

Step 1: Start with play, not skill.
Instead of learning perspective or anatomy, students began with color, marks, and collage.

Step 2: Remove the idea of “good.”
No judging the page.
No trying to impress anyone.

Step 3: Work in small bursts.
Short creative sessions instead of long, intimidating projects made it relatively easier to silence the inner critic.

Step 4: Follow curiosity.
“What happens if I add this?”
“What happens if I cover that?”

Step 5: Let the page guide you.
Instead of controlling the artwork, respond to what appears on the page.

Something interesting happened when adults started using this method.

The moment people stopped trying to make Art, they started making art. And their creativity came back surprisingly quickly.

Because the truth is: Art isn’t a talent that some people have and others don’t. We’ve all created art as children; we simply stopped practicing it as we grew older.

When you approach art with curiosity and playfulness, it becomes surprisingly easy to begin.

This is the approach I teach inside my beginner-friendly art journaling course, Atomic Lotus.

If you’ve been wanting to start but don’t know where to begin, comment “LOTUS” and I’ll send you the details.

Follow @moderngypsy.in if you want gentle ways to reconnect with creativity through art journaling and intuitive painting.

Someone recently told me: “You seem less stressed

Someone recently told me: “You seem less stressed these days.”

Honestly?

It’s down to a few small shifts in how I spend my evenings.

Nothing dramatic; just a few simple habits that slowly changed how my brain winds down after a long day.

Here are the 4 things that helped the most:

1. Replacing scrolling with making

Instead of reaching for my phone at night, I open my art journal.

A bit of paint.
A few messy lines.
Sometimes a collage scrap.

Making something by hand gives my mind a way to process the day instead of consuming more input.

2. Letting art be imperfect

When art stops being about “good results,” it becomes surprisingly relaxing.

Ditch the pressure, embrace curiosity.

3. Creating small analogue rituals

Lighting a lamp.
Choosing a few colors.
Putting on some music.

These small signals tell my brain: we’re slowing down now.

4. Letting creativity absorb the noise

Some days the page looks chaotic.

But that’s often exactly what I need.

Art journaling became a place where all the mental clutter could land.

None of this is complicated.

But spending some time with paper, paints, and colour pencils regularly does something that doomscrolling never does:

It helps the mind settle.

That’s one of the reasons I love art journaling so much — it gives your thoughts somewhere to go instead of letting them swirl around in your head.

If you’ve been wanting a gentle way to start art journaling, but don’t know where to start, comment LOTUS and I’ll send you the details of my beginner-friendly art journaling course.

Save this for the next evening when your brain feels fried and you’re still doomscrolling.

It looks correct on paper. Watching tutorials hel

It looks correct on paper.

Watching tutorials helps you learn techniques. It feels productive… like growth.

But your creativity does not run on information alone. It runs on doing.

When you replace creating with consuming, you interfere with:

• Creative confidence (you never build decision-making muscle)
• Visual memory (you observe, but you don’t embody)
• Intuitive trust (you learn to follow steps instead of your impulses)

For example:

When you watch three tutorials back to back, you stimulate ideas, but you don’t integrate them.

This affects:

• Your ability to start without guidance
• Your tolerance for imperfection
• Your sense of having a “style”

Your creative voice develops through repetition, not observation.

Instead of watching back-to-back art tutorials, try:

Watch 1 tutorial
Spend some time actually making

This supports supports:

• Skill retention
• Confidence
• Personal style development

If you want structured support that helps you move from simply watching to actually creating, comment LOTUS and I’ll share details about my beginner-friendly Atomic Lotus course.

You don’t have to delete Instagram. You don’t have

You don’t have to delete Instagram.
You don’t have to throw your phone away.
You don’t have to become a forest-dwelling hermit (unless you want to).

But if your brain is fried and you’re still scrolling Instagram long past your bedtime, try this 15-minute analogue swap.

Here‘s how it works:

Open your art journal or sketchbook + choose a few of your favourite colors.
Paint a background.
Make some messy lines with a pencil.
Glue some collage scraps — old book pages, Amazon receipts, even torn strips of masking tape.
Add some more paint - preferably in a neutral color - to integrate the scraps onto the page.
Glue down a focal image.
Write some messy thoughts or add a favourite quote.
Once you’re done, sit for a moment + notice how your body feels.

And between us friends? It doesn’t have to be exactly 15 minutes. It could take you more than 15 minutes, or less than 15 minutes. You may split these steps over two painting sessions on two different days. That’s not the point. The point is what changes.

When you scroll at 10pm, your body is tired, but your brain stays switched on.

You watch a reel. Another one starts. And suddenly it’s 11:07 pm.

When you open your journal instead, your hands are engaged in doing something slow and simple, and your mind can wander.

You aren’t bombarded with other peoples opinions, the latest outrageous news, or the highlights of someone else’s life.

And something about that — the quiet, the tactile nature or paint on paper, of simple scribbly lines and repetition — tells your brain it can soften.

You don’t need to quit social media to feel less tired, you just need something that feels completely different from the endless scroll.

Try it tonight, and then tell me, did you fall asleep a little easier?

Save this so you can come back to this practice the next time your brain feels fried at 10pm. And for more art journaling and creative practice inspiration, follow me @moderngypsy.in

I lied. Art journaling is actually a cheat code —

I lied.

Art journaling is actually a cheat code — and I’ve been doing it for years.

Here’s why you should never start…
unless you want these permanent side effects:

1. The Emotional Outlet
You stop bottling things up. Feelings that used to swirl in your head finally have a safe place to land.

2. The Confidence Boost
You make “ugly” pages… and survive. Over time, you stop being scared of not being “creative or artistic enough”.

3. The Quiet Evenings
Instead of scrolling until your brain feels fried, you end your day making something with your hands.

4. The Creative Identity Shift
You stop saying “I’m not artistic.” You start thinking, “Actually… I kind of am.”

5. The Clarity
When you write and paint together, patterns in your thoughts become visible. That’s powerful.

6. The Style That Sneaks Up On You Without trying to “find your style,” it slowly forms through repetition and play.

Once you experience having a soft place to land on paper, there is no going back.

If you’ve been curious about starting an art journal, this might be your sign.

And if you don’t know where to start, my beginner-friendly Atomic Lotus course was made for you. Comment LOTUS and I’ll send you the details 🌸

Don’t forget to follow @moderngypsy.in for art journaling practices that are soulful, simple, and beginner-friendly.

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