Divine Flow
In this lesson, I celebrate Saraswati, the Hindu goddess of wisdom, creativity, and the arts, through a layered watercolor monotype. At the heart of the piece is a portrait of Saraswati’s head, surrounded by delicate botanical impressions and inspired textures. I’ve woven in symbolic elements—like the lotus, flowing water/hair, and a subtle mandala motif—alongside Devanagari script spelling her name.
As we are all creative souls here, and given my deep interest in Hindu culture, I felt moved to unite these rich symbols with the gentle, meditative process of monotype printing. This piece is both a tribute and an invitation to reflect on the creative energy within each of us.
The four sessions that follow also reflect my Attentive Making Steps process—Notice, Gather, Print, Layer, and Reflect—guiding the artwork from first observation and composition, through the collection of visual elements and layered development, to the final integration and contemplation of the finished piece.
In this first session, we transfer and develop the portrait drawing from a prepared sketch while composing the surrounding botanical elements. We then begin building the watercolor monotype through the first transparent watercolor layers, transparent pigment layers, and initial color relationships that will guide the following stages of the artwork.