Mindfulness In Painting: Creating Art From The Soul
It’s a mental state that’s achieved by focusing your awareness on the present moment, while calmly acknowledging and accepting your feelings, thoughts, and bodily sensations. Mindfulness is widely-used as a helpful and successful therapeutic technique.
Art is all about being able to express yourself through your art. You are able to give a visual definition of who you are and what you were feeling when you created a specific piece and that’s really powerful.
“Art is a natural way to practice mindfulness. The colors, textures and sounds of creating, pull us into the moment. You don’t need any previous training to meditate through art, just a willingness to draw like a child, with freedom and a sense of curiosity.” — Amy Maricle, an artist, art therapist and founder of Mindful Art Studio
https://mind...artstudio.com
Working meditation is when you’re able to get into a meditative state (or at least a mindset of deep relaxation and feeling at peace within your mind), while you’re doing more than just sitting there. As with traditional meditation, you’re supposed o get comfortable and stay seated withy our eyes closed, no sound being made or heard, and let all of your thoughts, go. While there’s decades of proof that traditional meditation does work in a myriad of ways, its not for everyone; The concept of ‘Working Meditation’, however, is something that anyone can achieve, no matter your skill level, artistic abilities, or history of mediative or artistic practices.
When practicing 'working meditation', we stay mindful of our breathing and the activity that we are doing. We can practice stopping, calming, and refreshing ourselves with our conscious breathing. We can relax and smile and look outside the window and pace ourselves to maintain a light and serene state of being. Only stopping to speak when necessary (and only about the work at hand), while maintaining a light and easy feeling as we work, is a great part of the overall achievement An environment that is quiet can make the work more pleasant and enjoyable. Painting, after all, is relaxing, calming, and soothing!
Whether you’re a first time painter or a seasoned professional, approach your art with a beginner’s mind: Focus on the process of creating, rather than the outcome on the page.
A great way is to start by drawing or painting something you see every day, such as your coffee mug, or try doodling a repetitive shape, like circles or triangles.
*Don’t worry about making it perfect, just try and settle into the process.
As you get comfortable with this practice, you can work for longer periods of time, but as with any 'meditation-like' practice, short bursts will feel more comfortable at first.
Pay attention to the experience of drawing or painting through your senses. Take note of what the pen, pencil or brush feels like in your hand. Does the item feel cool or warm, smooth or rough, heavy or light? Does it glide easily across the page, or require a bit more pressure to move it?
As you observe your artwork, be sure to look at it closely.
Think about: What is the nature of the lines or brush strokes on your page? Are they smooth or bumpy? Light or dark?
Instead of judging it as good or bad, approach the process of creating art with curiosity and acceptance.
You can't beat mindful drawing for calming the mind, relaxation, self-care and inner peace - which are all things we tend to need in BIG doses after the whirlwind of the holiday season. The meditative and soothing power of making art is the best thing to help you escape from the hectic days that come our way, much of the time in real life; You can take some time to immerse yourself in your artwork, allowing you to mentally "check out" for a while (something we could all use a little more of).
A painting and wine class at our studio is a great place to start… especially if you’re new to painting and interested in learning more about it! We’re a great place for artist of any skill level to come in and use our space and supplies, all for one, low price! If you’re looking for a canvas, studio, and paint supplies to use to make your own artwork, our ‘Open Studio’ classes would work well for you! If you’re a first-time painter and worried about not being able to paint, don’t worry; We have a professional instructor will with walk you through the painting, step-by-step, assisting you and encouraging you the whole way through. You can come in and relax, have some wine, and immerse yourself in your artwork as you create something that beautiful and satisfying. You’ll be proud of the masterpiece you’ve made at the end of the class and have a sense of accomplishment, knowing that YOU made a stunning work of art to take home and treasure forever!
Always remember that no one else can do it exactly as you do whatever you do. That's what makes it art! We, too often, see our customers get carried away with the details of their painting, comparing it to others around them and stressing over making everything just right. This is were the importance of ‘Mindfulness in Painting’ comes into play, allowing you to let go of those perfectionist ways and give in to your art and the process of creating it. You painting will look different from the one beside you, and that person’s will look different than the customer, across the room’s painting; All of the painters int he class will have a painting that is different from the instructor’s painting, too! That’s ok! That’s what’s so great about artwork is that it's SUPPOSED to look different from other artist’s work, as it was your hand, creating it and your mind, designing it. Embrace the uniqueness and individuality of yourself and your artwork and proudly show off your masterpiece at the end of the class!
Keep an eye out for our ‘Family Day’ classes, too! Bring all of your loved ones in to paint and spend time together, making art and bonding over a unique, creative experience! You’ll marvel at the children’s natural talent for making art; It’s one of the best things about our job: Watching young artists ‘seize the day’ and jump right in to their creation, never giving too much thought or stressing over their masterpiece, which is something that we, as adults, are guilty of a lot of the time.
We can learn from our children how to be in the moment, enjoy the process and just be and allowing vs being in our grown up critical mindset. :)
-- Our paintings AND our gift certificated make a great gift this holiday season if you have any last-minute, belated gifts to get for friends and family! Have fun making a lovely work of art to give to your loved ones and watch their faces light up as you hand them a gift they'll treasure forever!
(*Our calendar can be viewed on the link at the bottom of the page)
-- Grab some certificates while you’re in the studio for a class or purchase them online and have them sent to you to give out to your loved ones (or sent to them, wherever they may live); We have over 150+ studio across the US so friends and family can stop into a studio near them and utilize their gift certificate!
*Purchase a gift certificate: https://www....-certificates
*Pinot’s Palette locations: https://www....com/locations
Remember to take some time this hectic season and relax... give some mindful painting (or other creative outlet) a try and see what a difference it can make! Even think about making it a part of your New Year's Resolutions!
From our family here at Pinot's Palette, Naperville, we hope you have a wonderful holiday season and a Very Merry New Year!
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