Facing the Empty Space: Practicing Mindfulness Through Art

Beloved Wonderful, Creative You:

Since last fall, I've been participating in a practice called accurate movement. Information technology'south a movement-based mindfulness practice and active imagination process. I've been inspired by all of the parallels between the movement practice, and my art practice, and I wanted to share with you about ane of them today.

Just and then you lot understand, I'll give yous the basic layout. Nosotros exercise in a light-filled renovated barn – a big open infinite. There is a facilitator who is the witness, and there are movers. Each of the participants moves with her optics closed for near 45 minutes. The idea is to tune into what your torso wants to practice, and to follow the impulse equally closely as you can. So if your hand wants to brand a fist, yous exercise that. If your feet enjoy sliding on the woods floors, do that. (I do that oft.) But it's not a planned movement or a performance of any kind.It's nearly being mindfully, non-judgmentally present to your body and what it wants and needs in the moment.

When the movement is over, the witness reflects back something she saw and what it made her feel and experience. Her job is to help you feel that yous were non-judgmentally seen, not interpreted. It'due south a very cute exercise, and I find it more accessible than regular meditation practise. There'southward something really powerful about beingness seen non-judgmentally, both past yourself and by another.

Before we begin, we stand at the periphery of the room and make eye contact to honor each other, and then we exercise something interesting – we look at the open space to honor it besides. We do this again at the end. At kickoff I wasn't quite certain what this meant, but recently, my teacher offered a little nugget of wisdom that actually struck me. She said:

"In the beginning, there is zero. In the end, there is zippo."

It'south the same with fine art. In the beginning, there is naught, and in the end, there is nothing once again. You begin a piece in the empty space, fill it with your marks, complete it, put information technology away, and render to the emptiness. We face up the possibility, the marvel, and the anxiety of not knowing.

Then much of what scares us about art practice stems from facing this empty space. Then much of what excites u.s.a. about the art process stems from the emptiness besides. What helps me to face the possibilities and the anxieties is knowing that I am not lonely. I face the unknown in customs.

Fluid Art Workshop:

We've been talking a lot in my Diving Deep grade about how important community is in building our backbone as artists. I want to help y'all build your art courage also. I'm inviting yous to a free workshop tomorrow, Th, June 21st at 12pm EST. There'due south yet time to register, and you'll become an astonishing PDF with all the goodies from the workshop. There'll be a 48-hour replay likewise. I'm thrilled to tell you that I'll be announcing an Amazing freebie at the end, so stick around for that. Click here to register at present.

Creatively Yours,

Amy

gilbertsonoweig1954.blogspot.com

Source: https://mindfulartstudio.com/practicing-mindfulness-through-art/