Ana Victoria Calderon - Creative Drawing: Symbols and Sacred Geometry: A Beginners Step-by-Step Guide to Drawing and Painting Inspired Motifs

As artists, our personal life experiences are directly related to our creative evolution. A few years back, I found myself in need of spiritual growth; my mind was scrambled, and I was desperately longing for inner peace. I began exploring, going to regular acupuncture sessions, learning about Ayurveda, journaling, and practicing an ancient form of mantra-based meditation. As I went deeper into my inner world, my mind began to heal, and a new form of curiosity began to bloom that fueled my creative practice.

I cant recall the exact moment I became captivated with the magical theme of perfect shapes and forms; they simply began to appear in my consciousness. The words sacred geometry kept coming up in my writing exercises. At the time, I didnt even know what that meant, but somehow this concept had been waiting for me, buried deep in my psyche. I had no idea what kind of creative exploration was about to follow; all I knew was that it was extremely charming.

Follow the charm, my meditation teacher would say.

But where to start? When my fascination with sacred geometry began, I embarked on a long and sometimes bewildering journey of investigation. I purchased multiple books, watched hundreds of videos, took any course I could find, and started drawing these shapes on my own. Sacred geometry is such a broad concept that it was hard to even figure out where to begin, but once I got started, I simply couldnt stop drawing these shapes. During my quest of discovery on this topic, to say I became overwhelmed with the amount of available material is an understatement.

Mighty is geometryjoined with art, resistless.

EURIPIDES

While there is endless information to discover, in all my research I never found a practical guide that would explain the basic concepts behind these shapes in simple terms or how they worked as a system. It was even more difficult as an artist in a sea of complex mathematical textbooks, psychology papers, and, frankly, quite a few eccentric spiritual interpretations. I was not looking for this. I wanted my journey with sacred geometry to be a personal one, a pure one, where I could experience the beauty of drawing these shapes and discover meanings I found in them through the process.

I did end up figuring it out, and with that came a delightful creative experience.

Geometry = Truth = Beauty = Goodness

As more and more of my students became curious about these shapes and my fascination with sacred geometry, they came to me with daily questions, wanting to know more about this topic and specifically whether there were any books I could recommend to learn how to draw these timeless formations. I honestly had no books to suggest because I had not found one that explained this subject matter in simple terms. In order for me to suggest anything at all, I would have had to send them a complex document with at least one hundred resources and wish them luck.

This is how the idea to put together a simple guide for artists came forth. This book is more than an instructive manual; its the beginning of a journey of creative discovery.

There was one other aspect that led me to write a book on this topic. While I am not opposed to sharing this information online, I knew this knowledge had to be protected somehow. Sacred geometry is an entire drawing system, with much meaning and room for personal interpretation. The only other format I have shared my learnings in has been during intensive painting retreats where my students are in a contained space, learning, meditating, and drawing together. With this book, I felt the need to put out a proper guide for beginners who are curious about the topic and wish to get an overview of the beautiful universe of sacred geometry without being overwhelmed. My goal is to simplify this topic, make it easy to follow, and share the basic concepts of drawing sacred geometry through the artists perspective.

Geometry is knowledge of the eternally existent.

PYTHAGORAS

After you have read this book, you may find yourself engaged in this subject and wanting to know more. I will be clear: There is much more to learn beyond what is shared here, including technical information, history, and theoretical knowledge. Take it as a mere starting point with an entire universe to discover ahead. This book will keep the topic of sacred geometry and symbols simple while sharing fun ways to interact with them artistically using my favorite painting and drawing techniques.

It is no wonder that sacred geometry is so attractive to us as humans, and it is common to find ourselves mysteriously drawn to this topic before we even hear the term or know what the symbols represent. That is because sacred geometry is an intrinsic part of our inner and outer world. When we begin to discover the world of sacred geometry, it becomes more apparent that these symbols are a part of absolutely everything that makes us us. While sacred geometry does not correspond to one specific culture, it is adopted by many, just as nature does not belong to us because we are a part of nature itself.

Sacred geometry can be found in a variety of topics and interpretations, including:

• Alchemy
• All forms of art throughout the ages, including painting, drawing, architecture, and music
• Ancient civilizations
• Astronomy
• Chemistry
• Diverse religions
• Human conception and anatomy
• Mathematical calculations
• Mysticism and symbolism
• Numerology
• Patterns in nature
• Philosophy
• Sacred temples
• Shrines
• Spiritual practice

Geometry will draw the soul toward truth and create the spirit of philosophy.

PLATO

Sacred geometry is even encoded in usand in our worldat a biological level. So, what is our relationship to geometry? Without exception, everything in the universe is geometrical, including all internal structures. Every single geometric shape that exists is part of a growing formation that begins with the most primal shape, the circle, and builds on that. To understand why these shapes are so powerful, I will explain the basics of geometric shapes along with metaphors to accompany each. Some of these shapes we see every day; others are not so obvious. See the opposite page for just a few examples.

What makes this even more interesting is the process the artist goes through while discovering these shapes. It is said that it is not enough to simply observe sacred geometry; you must create these shapes on your own for a complete experience.