Nagomi

Hello there, my dear ever-supportive Adbhut family. This is yet another of my artistic attempts I am about to share with you all.

Some time back, one of my friends introduced me to this delightful art form called Nagomi art. The art freak I am, I simply grabbed the opportunity and created a few pieces I have shared here.

As you can see, the art pieces are done in soft translucent pastels that have soothing and calming hues. Some unique features of this Japanese art form are the minimal use of art paraphernalia, like elaborate pencils and pen sets, brushes, and paints. All one needs is paper, pastel pigment powder (from crayon sticks), and a few stencils. Here the powder is lifted from the crayon with fingertips and directly applied to the paper. One gently dusts, dabs, smudges, and blends the powder to get the desired form and tone using fingers.

As you see, one uses bare hands to apply the color powder. And as we know, we are more sensitive on our fingertips than the wrist or, say, the elbow. Neuroscience studies have shown that each fingertip has more than 3,000 touch receptors, many of which respond primarily to pressure. These are packed under the skin’s surface, where each reports events in overlapping fields about one-tenth of an inch across. So simply put, the more neurons under a particular skin surface, the more signals are sent to the brain, directly enhancing brain functioning.

All that neuroscience jargon apart, one has to experience the soothing impact this superb art form has on the artist. No wonder this tactile art creates art pieces with a process that reinforces muscle memory, boosts morale, and incites feelings of peace and positivity. It’s an excellent creative option to consider for relaxing and de-stressing in these fast-paced, stressed-filled days. It gives a certain amount of mindfulness and takes you to a Zen-like space while dabbling with forms and colors amidst the subtle mixing and blending of tones. Bringing different smaller parts to make the whole picture in the gentlest process. This therapeutic craft is used in old age homes, nursing homes, and dementia patients because of its soft yet reinforcing effects on the practitioner. I would say it’s creative therapy at its best.

Nagomi art has its origins in Japan. As with any Asian word, giving one English meaning to the Japanese word Nagomi is tough. Nagomi means balance, comfort, and calm in the heart and mind. It also means peace and harmony. Because of its powerful positive meaning, many restaurants, nursing homes, green tea brands, ice cream flavors, hot springs, wedding planning companies, shinrin-yoku (forest bathing) services, a spa in a luxury hotel, an orchestra, and a computer font are named after Nagomi.

It is also one of the best ways to make personalized greeting cards, bookmarks, and name cards on bouquets and gift packs.

So delighted to have found this tranquilizing art and super excited to share my little happiness with you all. Hope you all like it.

Have a Nagomi Sunday evening, my dear Adbhut friends.

Kalyani Sreedhar Kakade

Scientific Information courtesy: https://pages.jh.edu/jhumag/495web/touch.html