Sit Spot Watercolors

by Sophie Benfield

For my Growth Rings Project, I knew I wanted to do something visual, preferably with watercolors because it’s been years since I’ve played around with them. I was putting a lot of pressure on myself to come up with the perfect idea that I became a bit paralyzed. I decided to just start with a simple inkblot watercolor each week, using colors I was extra drawn to in Nature that week.

During our Mindfulness week, and then the weeks that followed, I began thinking more than usual about the role of breath in our lives. I started to play around with different breathing patterns and had the idea to kind of breathe out my stronger breaths over the wet watercolor blotches, morphing them into different shapes. I went back to the blotches once they dried to highlight different movements in the paint that I found interesting, or to add in more colors from Nature/my sit spot from the week. I had so so much fun with this project and I’m really excited to keep going with it!

Sit Spot Watercolors is the Growth Rings Project created by Sophie Benfield, FTS Certified Forest Therapy Guide, July 2023 cohort.