Creative Mindfulness: Nurturing Mindfulness through Art-Making
by: Rebecca Rubin, LCAT, MHC
What is Mindfulness?
Mindfulness is building one’s awareness and tolerance for feelings, thoughts, and sensations in the body and mind. It can be done both formally and informally. Formal practice is most like how we traditionally think of mindfulness meditation. It is taking time out to intentionally focus on our breathing and notice what we are experiencing inside. Informal practice can be done at any time and involves bringing breathing and mindful awareness to day-to-day moments and activities. Informal mindfulness can occur as you sit at a work meeting or even walk your kids to school. You do not need to be silent or still to breathe and invite mindfulness.
Mindfulness fosters awareness and presence with what it is you are carrying within. Our bodies and minds are like cups with varying levels of thoughts, feelings, and sensations inside. By breathing and going into the body we build awareness of what’s within so that we can process and digest our experiences. In mindfulness, we practice looking at our cup objectively. Instead of looking at the glass as half full or half empty we see it for what it truly is without our judgment, projected beliefs, or valuations.
In this day and age, it is easy to numb, distract, or overconsume to avoid noticing what’s alive in our cups. This is understandable considering all that is going on in our lives and world right now! We all need a break sometimes! However, when we detach too much our cups fill up, until suddenly we find them overflowing. Oftentimes we become cognizant of this overflow once it has become an inconvenience or hindrance to our day-to-day functioning or relationships. In mindfulness practice the goal is not to get rid of the thoughts or feelings that are creating the overflow. Instead, we learn to breathe, notice, tolerate, and process through them more constructively in order to make space.
How can art-making and creativity nurture mindfulness?
Art-making and creativity are natural companions to mindfulness practice. The creative arts offer the gift of presence along with the additional opportunity to express, release, and transform thoughts and feelings in satisfying ways. I encourage you to open your mind to the possibility that even if you have never seen yourself as a creator or artist that we all have the capacity to enjoy and create meaningful art that can enrich our lives and spur wellbeing. Here are some mindfulness concepts that you can practice while being creative.
Creative Mindfulness Practices
Trust: Focusing on the artistic process, one can practice trust in creative instincts and decision-making. We begin to see that even when we make mistakes there is an opportunity for creative problem-solving, insight, and transformation. Many of us lose our trust in ourselves or in others due to past losses or perceived failures. As we create we learn to trust our ability to sense what feels right and resonates with the core of who we are.
Self-Observation: Self-observation entails witnessing one’s thoughts, feelings, and behaviors with curiosity. In artmaking, one has an opportunity to externalize their inner world using color, line, metaphor, and materials. Materials we are drawn to may be thick, inflexible, flexible, boundaried, open, light, heavy, etc. Through self-observing what and how we are drawn to create, we discover more about our functioning in the world and what we might need to experiment with or explore a bit more in order to grow.
Non/Judgment & Compassion: One of the most difficult aspects of self-observation are the judgments that arise when we begin to notice what’s inside. It can be difficult to have compassion for the undesirable parts of our thoughts and feelings. Creative practice supports us in gaining perspective which supports a deeper understanding of the pieces of ourselves that we reject. It teaches us how to hold those parts a bit more gently; or perhaps to discover something new about them which helps us to understand why they are here.
Beginner’s Mind: Beginner’s Mind is defined as approaching tasks with humility and the permission to not know. Over access to technology can make us feel anxious and pressured to know it all. Approaching our creative practice with a Beginner’s Mind means we are open to learning and growing. Through mindful art making we approach creative experiences as novices; perhaps undoing some of the expert opinions we have about ourselves that are no longer accurate or serving our well-being.
Letting Be: Letting Be means being with whatever arises; whether or not our experience is preferred. For some it is difficult to be with feelings of sadness, shame, or anger. For others being with joy and calm can be unfamiliar and uncomfortable experiences. In the creative process, difficult feelings can arise. We might get frustrated that what we are creating does not look the way we imagined it to be. We might dislike the mess it makes. Letting Be means allowing that mess of feelings to be there; without rationalizing them away or going straight to relieving the discomfort. Letting Be involves an acceptance of what is.
Focus on Process: In creative mindfulness we focus attention on the here-and-now of the process. While artists sometimes have an end point in mind, being present and moving with the process gives us the chance to experience taking steps towards our vision; it also allows our art and aesthetic experiences to show us other possibilities. Focusing on the process in art-making means that the product need-not be kept or even liked to be worthwhile. In our different roles in life, we can often get stuck in how we think things are supposed to look or feel. When we loosen these expectations we make room for unanticipated surprises; some of which make the picture of our lives more fulfilling, interesting, or unique.
Suggested Home Practice
Take a walk through an art store. If you are curious about a certain material pick it up and see if you can learn more about it. Trust your instincts. If finances allow purchase a few things that you are interested in trying at home. If you have experience with art try a new material or a modality that you would like to approach with newness. If you don’t know how to use the material you are drawn to ask the store clerk for suggestions.
Engage with your art modalities of choice for 5 minutes or more daily or a few times a week. Try to bring your attention to your breathing as you do this. Notice thoughts and feelings that arise through the art-making process. Perhaps some joy comes in using paint or some frustration comes with not getting the sketch to look like the original image. Just notice what you are feeling as you create and any thoughts that come in and out. Notice any judgement that comes and practice letting it be.
Take some time to look at your piece curiously. In mindful art-making we practice being with whatever is in the art piece. First observing what is there concretely and physically in the present moment; and then bringing our attention to the metaphors, symbols, and meanings that we see. We are practicing taking a moment to observe what we see objectively. Then we use our imagination to identify stories that we notice. We explore how the art might inform us about how we are feeling; and what it might communicate about our present moment so we can gain perspective on what we need right now or in the path ahead.
Do some writing about what you created. Use “I am” statements to describe what you see. Start with what you physically observe. For example, I am red, I am swirly, I am a straight line leading to a circle…Then move to the metaphors and symbols you see in the piece. For example, I am burning, I am like fire, a tornado, a tunnel… Write until you feel you have exhausted all possibilities of what you notice or associate to the piece. Take a moment to read through what you wrote. What insight do you think the piece has to offer?
Create a Title for your Piece or Experience. If you feel compelled give your piece or creative experience a title to represent what it is you are seeing or feeling in front of you versus what you tried or expected to create.
Save your art in a folder or visual journal. Or you can dispose or recycle it. Paint over your canvas and start again. It is ok to let the piece go if you are ready or need to make some space. Take a picture as a memory if you wish.
Happy Mindful Art-Making!
