Free ZINE Download available!

Creates Illustrations & Books

Meet elinap

Deeply touched by the going-ons in the world, puzzled by the whys and the hows, Elina Puohiniemi aka elinap is mesmerized by all of it and does her best to capture the beauty, simplicity and wisdom it holds with her pen.

Elina lives in Finland, goes to nature walks daily in the nearby forest (Well, Finland is mostly forest, so they are near everywhere) enjoys her slow and minimalistic lifestyle as a mom of two boys and a wife of one awesome husband. But even though her life is simple outside, the world inside her head and heart are filled with imagination and thoughts, thoughts, thoughts and that’s mostly not simple at all. So she draws to gain clarity.

She easily forgets to take care of her body and basic needs when in creative flow, so sometimes there’s more to love in her (or around her belly actually) but one thing she never forgets is the guidance of her heart when big decisions are to be made. That’s when she has always relentlessly followed her heart and has found out that that is the path to happiness for her. 

She is an educated artist and certified life coach with decades of experience with childcare that happens in a forest. But let us now begin this monologue that we here call an interview…

Okay so here we go, Elina, what would you like to write about yourself here?

elinap - Elina PuohiniemiHaha! Yeah, the first thing I want to say is that I really love to play this game where I can interview different parts of myself and bring my Mira(cle)Doodles characters more into life with it. Talking to myself here feels a bit awkward, but I’ll get over it. Oh and let’s not forget YOU – the part of our oneness that isn’t writing, but reading this – Thank you for being here with me, witnessing this game and maybe even enjoying it – Feel free to contact, comment and ask me more than what appears in this interview, I’d love to connect with you too! So let’s move on with this interview!

You already told some stuff about yourself in the intro, so we can dive right in, after all we are here to get to know Mira(cle)Doodles on  a deeper level – How would you describe the five characters shortly?

elinap - Elina PuohiniemiMira is the light in my life, at most times she appears as a one foot tall girl who dances around me and encourages me to jump in frozen puddles with her.

Sandy as her best friend is someone who makes Mira less alone and shows her how to interact with others more lovingly.

Ego the Lizard, ah, he is sometimes the cutest and the best but also the worst slap in my face when I realize how he *again* is up to no good what comes to my higher purpose in life. But I must say that without him there wouldn’t be as many juicy doodles… (I can see that there were juicier ones in the beginning when he was out there more, explaining my ego to me.)

Miracles are something I often forget to pay attention to and ask for, but whenever I sing my unique song they start to appear behind the next corner and that is the sweetest thing.

Heart and soul – I know those two can be two different concepts, but I like it when it’s simple and they too are one. That said, sometimes our heart aches because our ego creates illusions for her. Illusions that our soul would consider only as something we needed to experience on our soul path anyway. So I try to refer to the soul more with my heart doodles, but sometimes she can be more under the influence of the ego – And so she brings a different message with her at those times. When her message comes purely from the deep well of creativity it brings a feeling of relief with it. And those other times I guess it provokes other emotions that touches your heart in other ways.

What about your other characters?

elinap - Elina PuohiniemiOh yes, there are many others… Here, let me explain them in a nutshell…
The Universe – I think that is a hard one to interview as it is the place where life occurs, the ultimate life force and the reason behind this all. Mike Dooley does a great job at tut.com and I love his Notes from the Universe.

The grey horse represents our mind and it is but a vehicle for our heart and ego, so I think our mind doesn’t have a mind of its own, so that can’t be interviewed in Mira(cle)Doodles..

Birds represent emotions in some of my doodles and I let them sing their song, but didn’t start interviewing each emotion separately, that would be very interesting though.. How would your Happiness answer to you if you asked your Happiness questions?

Lily is someone who has appeared just a couple of times representing forgiveness and pure light as a person who has mastered those.

Mira’s mom has been there a couple of times and I have written some stories of Mira’s life from her earlier days for my own entertainment (they are not published).

Then there are two boys and even a man appearing sometimes and most of the times they are helping Mira to express something what families, mothers and couples experience.

One of my characters is Facebook’s letter F and that I’ve needed to have in my doodles a couple of times when I’ve been puzzled by my feelings toward social media.

What else… I looove rainbows! For me those represent a path to happiness, something that is lit up by hope for the future and tell us how change is possible as well as miracles.

What purpose have your doodles served in your life?

elinap - Elina PuohiniemiThey have helped me overcome some overwhelm and “untie a knot from my arm” that prevented me to express myself with art. They have helped me to see how light life can also be and that there’s no need to go that deep and that depressed as much as I naturally tend to go – Although almost anything is deep when you look at life that way.

This healing path is a curvy one or should I say mountainous one with deep gorges in between, so sometimes I am feeling very light and sometimes I doodle from the darkness. I have posted some of my shadow doodles on my website.

What inspires you?

elinap - Elina PuohiniemiI’m inspired by nature and other people. The most inspired I am when people react to the doodles I share, all the comments I get make me do a little dance and I’m overjoyed and that always makes me want to share more and even create for You, not just me. At this moment I’m going through a quieter phase what comes to comments from others, so I draw inspiration from walking and moving my body. That always stirs my creative juices and that’s when my pen spills out something new.

Okay then the most frequently asked question here – how do you create the doodles?

elinap - Elina PuohiniemiAt first in spring 2014 I doodled Mira in my journal while I studied, but then I started doodling them digitally with my Samsung Note (it has this awesome s-pen to draw with). That was my first touch with digital drawing. In October 2017 I’ve began to draw the doodles on paper with inks of different color. My favorite way to draw is on paper with ink. I love to teach my hand and head connection to channel my heart on paper. That also teaches me patience, because a lot of practice is needed to master drawing.

So you’re a professional artist, can you explain why Mira’s looks change so much from picture to picture?

elinap - Elina PuohiniemiOh yes, basically that’s because her looks carry messages for me too. I just draw her intuitively and then see how she appears to look like this time and then draw conclusions from her looks and determine whether it is an important message for me or not. For example her shorter legs may indicate that it is be time to concentrate more on my legs, movement and strengthening them. That can be also viewed as a spiritual message of needing to ground myself more, at least if her head is huge in that picture too. Lol! I’m quite fond of not trying to push her into a mold and just letting her be free.

How did it feel to read all the other character interviews?

elinap - Elina PuohiniemiIt taught me a lot about myself and I saw all the different sides of me in a new light. I started to think about the characters through the enneagram theory for the first time on a deeper level and understood how Mira is a bit like a type 7, but still has a lot from type 4 in her actions and reactions, but there’s the need for more and more in what she does and so she also balances with doing less and finding the way to see enoughness in her life and her being. Sandy acts a lot like the type 2 nurturer. And this all made me wonder what my own inner child, the one I dealt with in my childhood and affects my life to this day and forward too, would look like. Then I had a little conversation with her and you can find some doodles of her below. My own inner child is this little introverted rebel who sees life as black & white as long as it is outside her. But her inner life is filled with rainbows and color, adventure and infinite imagination. I haven’t yet figured out how to really keep her happy, because she really avoids contact with the outer world a lot, but I’ll keep talking with her and see where this goes!

Ooh, that sounds like a huge adventure is unfolding for you to get to know her better. But so far who’s your favorite character?

elinap - Elina PuohiniemiNo comments. Lol, well, I love to draw Mira, but I also love drawing her heart, because you never know what she comes up with. The star is something I love when it pops out of my pen.

What character frustrates you the most?

elinap - Elina PuohiniemiNo surprises here… I think I must say the Ego. And that is because he is the reason I many times start drawing (I want to understand something and ask help from my pen). So I draw Mira with him. But when the heart joins the picture I have to erase the ego away. So that is frustrating. Then Mira’s facial expression needs to be changed too – The relief she feels when her heart appears is such a big joy for her that her frown melts away.

What are your plans for the future?

elinap - Elina PuohiniemiAhhh. I’m a person who easily dwells in the past so this is not something I feel easy to answer to. I get hunches about my future though. I also Know things when they are meant to be. But right now I’m in the crossroads. I feel like the old is wrapping up and something new is about to begin. I have been letting go of many things and thoughts lately. Only time will tell. I do have a dream that my stories would become books one day, but I’ve been struggling with how to fund them as I haven’t got large enough following for Mira so that I could publish the books and the stories I store in my drawer. So they may stay there and keep entertaining me and the people I meet and share them verbally with. But let’s say that the drawer isn’t going anywhere if things get busier with Mira(cle)Doodles someday.

And last but not least.. What’s your advice for adults who would like to connect more with their inner children and be more creative?

elinap - Elina PuohiniemiBaby steps. Sneak change in with very small steps and you’ll be connected with your true self again. An inner child is the playmate of your soul, so you can look back and remind yourself of what you loved to do as a child and what brought you joy. Start experimenting taking action with those activities again.

And as you have noticed above I have three inner children: Mira, Sandy and Elwira. One is for my core enneagram type, the other is for my wing when she’s stressed out and then one is for the type I go to when I’m the most stressed out. It’s easier to observe them as separate children – And I do love to hang out with little people, so that makes sense even more!

Ha! And one more – Tell us your motto

elinap - Elina Puohiniemi“Love the way you live.”

SPEED QUESTIONS

Fill in with what comes to mind first.

The purpose of life is… To live and learn. (And teach the Universe)
What brings me the most joy is… Looking my loved ones deep in their eyes and smile.
What sucks the most… Being stuck with the same challenges for years.
Favorite color is… Rainbow.
Favorite animal is… Dogs.

If you are new to Mira(cle)Doodles go to Mira(cle)Doodles page for more information and read the Story of Mira & Me!

Feel free to comment below – I’d love to hear from you!

0 Comments

Mira(cle)Doodles by elinap Mira(cle)Doodles by elinap  elinap - Elina Puohiniemi 

New Doodles in

© 2019 elinap – Elina Puohiniemi

 

Site Designed by elinap