Meditate & Create
Why meditate before making art?
Through my own personal meditation practice, I have experienced first hand how my art making shifts from self judgment to self acceptance which in turn helps me create my OWN authentic art expression. So often we feel that we are emulating someone else’s creation. After meditating, we can access our deeper self which emerges during our guided meditative mixed media project.
I bring whoever works with me into the present moment through a short guided mindful meditation and then a longer process oriented art experience. I have found that my participants become so involved with the mixed media process, that they forget about the end product (and their stressful lives) while feeling the relief that comes with just immersing themselves in the creative act. The healing aspect of art is about the experience of creating and not the end result.
There was an Experience Life Study that was done that I found not at all surprising. To measure cortisol levels (an indicator of stress), researchers collected saliva samples from participants before and after creative work. The results, published in Art Therapy: Journal of the American Art Therapy Association, titled “Reduction of Cortisol Levels and Participants’ Responses Following Art Making,” found that 45 minutes of creative activity significantly lessens stress in the body, regardless of artistic experience or talent.
REGARDLESS OF ARTISTIC EXPERIENCE OR TALENT!!!!! Did you hear that? Reaction to stress within the body may increase your heart-rate and elevate blood pressure. When people participate in art they have related feelings of relaxation and a sense of liberation, not unlike the effects of meditation. This experience is across the board from those who are just starting out to those with more art experience.
In a US National Institutes of Health, library of Medicine article investigated the link between engagement in the arts and holistic health, I came across this paragraph:
Chronic diseases are associated with psychosocial difficulties such as depression and chronic stress, contributing to negative cardiovascular outcomes. “Engagement with creative activities has the potential to contribute toward reducing stress and depression and can serve as a vehicle for alleviating the burden of chronic disease.”
I wrote a previous BLOG and fascinating link to a documentary on creativity and mental illness that you can access HERE. There is enormous stress in the world at the moment….what with the corona virus, climate change, political and economic uncertainty….Whew!
When we quieten the mind, we can access our deep well of creativity. You can read my other blog on “The Healing Power of Art” where you can read about one woman’s struggle with mental illness and how art saved her.
“I like your way of teaching- slow mindful process just to quote you. Since retiring, I was looking for something new to try and mixed media sounded interesting. There aren’t any classes for this where I live. These videos are good for a beginner like myself.”