Smudging

In my 50s, during a contemplative retreat, I brought a few objects from my past to burn in a ritual. Afterward, as I cleaned out the fireplace in my cabin, I placed a sheet of paper on the floor to catch the charcoal dust. When a few pieces fell and I brushed them aside, the ashes smeared into a swirling, watercolor-like image. The items I had burned had transformed into something unexpectedly beautiful.

Instead of discarding the coals, I brought them home and continued creating daily smudgings, meditating on the symbols that emerged. Eventually, I longed for color. I found broken chalk pastels I had saved and began selecting a few pieces at random each morning, tapping them over the paper and smudging the dust with my hands and arms. The practice grounded me—a mind, body, and spirit ritual that gave each day a sense of purpose.

Over time, these morning smudgings became an artistic journal, spanning years of quiet reflection and creation.

Dr.Mary Pilat working on smudging process
Process:
  1. Grab some paper and anything that will make a mark when you play with it on the paper. I used charcoal and chalk, but you can use anything that will smear or smudge, like pencil shavings, makeup, even dirt. 

  2. Randomly sprinkle your art medium on the paper.

  3. Use your fingers, hands, and arms to swirl the powders around. Do what feels right to you. Be delicate or bold. Be tidy or make a mess!
Contemplate:
  • When you feel done, look at your smudging. Do images present themselves to you? They may, or may not. What do they remind you of?

  • Do you have a name for your smudging?