CalmLines. You may have seen me share them, talk about them and you may have even purchased a piece that features one of them. But what’s the “deal” with them? Sure, they are nice to look at but I’m here to tell you why they are so much more than that.
The Beginning
I drew my first ever CalmLines illustration in November of 2020. I had recently attended a virtual conference called Adobe Max (woot woot!) and to say I was feeling inspired would be an understatement. I was ON FIRE. I wanted to create anything and everything. I wanted to try things I’d never ventured to try before. I was up in the middle of the night taking pictures of my backyard and turning them into photo compilations I’d never taken a risk making before.
I was illustrating my family by using blocks of colors and simple lines.
Perfection was out the door and creativity was spilling all over the place.
It was then that I drew and illustrated what would be the OG of CalmLines - Lavender. After I finished, it felt like something special, but I’ll be honest with you, that night, everything felt like something special. I was finally firing out of a deep, creative space - and I felt alive. It wasn’t until I shared my illustration with my friend at work (hey Em!) that I realized that it might be something special.
Emily challenged me to make “it” my passion project. But “what” was the passion around? A cool type of illustration? Sure, maybe. But for me, and how I'm wired, I needed it to be more than that. I decided to put a pin in the idea, and some back to it. Little did I know, I’d be coming back to it in less than a days time.
The Spark
The next morning, my daughter wandered down the hall and into my office. I pulled her up on my lap and asked her, through her sleepy eyes, if she wanted to see something new I had made. I pulled it up on screen and it was met with silence. Then I said, “Did you know, you can draw this whole thing with only ONE LINE!?”
That perked her up. Soon she was pointing at the screen, following the line to see if I was right. As she did, I noticed something amazing. My normally bouncy and energetic little girl was sitting still, focusing and breathing deeply. That’s when it hit me. The purpose behind this passion project could be “cultivating calm”. Using a simple illustration to invite someone into a safe space, for a brief moment, where they could take a break from their life, focus on a singular line, make a pretty picture and then jump back into life. Sa.Weet.
CalmLines
So that’s what CalmLines are. They are continuous line illustrations that when used as such, can be a tool to help you cultivate a micro-moment of calm. You can place a Calm Card on the table and trace the line with your finger, while you focus on your breathing. You can focus your attention on a CalmLines Print and trace the image with your eyes. Using it as an anchor to look back at when you find yourself in a spiral of stress, anxiety, sadness, or when you feel overwhelmed throughout your day. You can touch it on an Essential Oil Diffuser Necklace as you close your eyes and breathe in the sweet scent of your oils. You can share it with a loved one, on a handmade, one-of-a-kind note card. There are so many ways I envision us using CalmLines - we’ve only just begun, friends!
I am constantly thinking about, and creating new tools to utilize the power of CalmLines so that I might be able to meet you where you are. I want to help you cultivate calm in an easy, attainable and enjoyable way. My hope is that these tools can help you tap into your inner peace so that one day, we find ourselves surrounded by people that have peace within and know how to bring it, everywhere they go. That’s the vision.
Peace friends.
Carrianne Nackers
Artist/Founder of The Happy Apricot
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