Workshop 1
Introduction to Meditation and Mindfulness based Art Therapy practices.
Meditation, breathing techniques and image making will be explored together in this workshop. Inner artistry will be accessed and consequent experiences created and committed to shape, form, colour and texture. The art making process and Meditation are both solitary undertakings and often operate in the context of silence. In the quiet inner space the world of one's thoughts, feelings and experiences can be witnessed, organized,created and externalized. In both practices we cultivate witnessing awareness - being grounded and open to the fruits of Mindfulness, Meditation, contemplative and creative practices.
Meditation is a mental discipline, an effort to train the mind through the cultivation of mindful awareness and attention to the present moment. Meditation is intended to still and purify the mind. It cleanses the thought processes of what can be called psychic irritants, e.g. Anger, hatred, greed, jealousy things that keep you snarled up in emotional bondage. It brings the mind to a state of tranquility and awareness, a state of concentration bringing clarity and insight.
Throughout this workshop the process of creating an art image becomes the focus and the anchor concentrating and cleansing the mind. Restrictions and barriers may fall away as you open and enter new doorways to your essence where there is flow and creativity.
"Art is the set of wings to carry you out of your own entanglement". "The creative act is not hanging on, but yielding to new creative movement".
Joseph Campbell