Category: Art Therapy

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Art Therapy Mindfulness

Mindfulness and Art

Mindfulness is the practice of bringing one’s attention to the present moment and being fully present in the experience. It is a form of meditation that can be practiced in many different ways, including through art.

You can bring this mindfulness to any task. I enjoy reminding myself of it when I have to do the dishes or fold laundry. Being present in the moment and really being aware of the now.

Art can be a powerful tool for mindfulness because it allows us to slow down and focus on the present moment. When we create art, we are fully present in the process of creating, whether we are drawing, painting, sculpting, or engaging in any other form of artistic expression. This focus on the present moment can help to calm the mind and bring a sense of peace and clarity.

Benefits of Mindfulness

In addition to the benefits of mindfulness, art can also be therapeutic. It allows us to express our emotions and experiences in a way that words may not be able to. It can be a way to process and make sense of difficult experiences, as well as a way to celebrate and appreciate the beauty in our lives.

Mindfulness


There are many different ways to incorporate mindfulness and art into your life. One simple way is to set aside a dedicated time each day for art-making. You can start with just a few minutes and gradually increase the amount of time as you become more comfortable with the practice. You can also try incorporating mindfulness into your art-making by focusing on your breath and the present moment as you create.

Another way to incorporate mindfulness and art is to find a local art class or workshop that focuses on mindfulness. These classes can be a great way to learn new techniques and connect with other people who are interested in mindfulness and art.

Mindful Moments in 2023

In 2023 I will be hosting more Healing Hands workshops, as well as Artist Open Studio nights. Excited about all that 2023 has to offer, and receiving all that is mine by divine right, in perfect ways under grace.

Healing Hands

Incorporating mindfulness and art into your life can have numerous benefits, including reduced stress and anxiety, improved focus and concentration, and increased self-awareness and self-expression. So why not give it a try? Find a form of art that resonates with you and start exploring the wonderful world of mindfulness and creativity.

Use the new year energy to begin including art into your daily rituals. Consider doing a neurographic drawing during your morning coffee, or prayers. Or finish out your day by drawing out all of the energy from the experiences you had, onto paper. No end result in mind, just simply allowing the energy to flow through you and the art materials into the paper. Releasing it.

Here are a few links of different activities you can try:

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Art Therapy SEL

Social Emotional Learning – How to manage Life’s Lessons

Social emotional learning (SEL) is a relatively new area of study in education that focuses on teaching students the skills they need to understand and manage their own emotions, as well as to interact with others in a positive and effective way. Many believe that SEL is just as important as academic subjects like math, science, and reading, and that it is crucial for students to develop these skills in order to succeed in school and in life.

SEL is not just about teaching students how to be happy and well-adjusted – it is also about helping them to develop the skills they need to manage stress and difficult emotions, to communicate effectively with others, to make responsible decisions, and to solve problems. By teaching students these skills, we can help them to build strong, healthy relationships, and to align with and achieve their goals.

Relationships

One of the key components of SEL is the emphasis on building strong relationships. This means teaching students how to communicate effectively, how to listen to others, and how to work together in a positive and respectful way. This can be particularly important in today’s world, where students are increasingly isolated and disconnected from one another, and where they are often exposed to negative influences on social media and other online platforms. By teaching students how to build and maintain healthy relationships, we can help them to develop the resilience and support they need to overcome challenges and to thrive. Working with community to critically think and find solutions.

Emotions

Another important aspect of social emotional learning is the emphasis on helping students to understand and manage their own emotions. This means teaching them how to recognize their own feelings, how to understand the reasons behind those feelings, and how to manage them in a healthy and effective way. This can be particularly challenging for some students, who may struggle with anxiety, anger, or other difficult emotions. By teaching students how to recognize and manage their emotions, we can help them to develop the self-awareness and self-regulation they need to be successful in school and in life.

Social emotional learning (SEL) is an important aspect of education that focuses on helping students develop the skills they need to understand and manage their own emotions, as well as interact with others in a positive and healthy way. SEL has been shown to have a number of benefits for students, including improved academic performance, better mental health, and greater overall well-being.

Imagine what social emotional learning for adults would do to the world. This is such a powerful opportunity to help our children become aware of their power.

Benefits

One of the key benefits of SEL is that it helps students develop the skills they need to manage their own emotions and behaviors. This is important because students who are able to regulate their emotions and impulses are better able to focus on learning and achieve their academic goals. SEL also helps students develop empathy and understanding of others, which can foster positive relationships and a sense of community within the classroom.

Another benefit of social emotional learning is that it can improve students’ mental health and overall well-being. SEL programs can help students learn coping skills that can reduce stress and anxiety, and can also provide a safe and supportive environment for students to talk about their feelings and experiences. This can be especially important for students who may be struggling with mental health issues or other challenges.

Holistic Learning

Social Emotional Learning

Social emotional learning is increasingly being recognized as an important part of education, and many schools are incorporating SEL programs into their curriculum. If you’re a teacher or parent, there are many resources available to help you incorporate SEL into your classroom or home. And if you’re a student, remember that developing your social and emotional skills can have a big impact on your overall success and happiness.

Learning about your social emotional intelligence only enhances your ability to learn intellectually. Tapping into both sides of the brain for a true holistic living experience.

Practices

From mindfulness to meditation, creating and reflecting… Art really lends itself well to addressing our self awareness, social awareness, responsible decision making, self management and relationship skills.

My classroom is full of opportunities to practice social emotional learning. Keeping an eye on not only the artmaking process but also their self awareness and social awareness. How students are interacting with each other, and how they are presenting themselves in their work.

Students are able to reflect on their emotions through mood journals, and neurographic exercises. Students also have moments to come back to the present and focus on their breathing, during our mindfulness moments. We also reflect on our work together as a group, learning how to share and receive respectfully.

To me SEL is all about creating brave spaces. Really spending time experiencing life and figuring ourselves out.

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Art Therapy Mindfulness

Mindful Observing in a Busy World

Observe means to look at carefully and attentively.

Mindfulness is the ability to be focused yet relaxed at the same time. The ability to be present comes from attentive focus on your breath. Focusing on your breathing takes your mind off of your mind, and allows your mind to rest as your breathing takes over for a little while.

To mindfully observe means you are in the state of mindfulness while you are looking at something.

Noticing

It is beneficial to “notice” as an activity to develop focus in mindfulness. One activity you can try is noticing the room around you.

Take a moment to center in with a few deep breaths. Set your intention for the activity to notice your environment. Notice the objects in the room, their colors, shapes, textures. Notice the tiniest details that you may have never noticed before. Spend about 5 minutes just noticing. Then come back to center with a few deep breaths.

This activity helps to train your brain to slow down and notice the present moment.

observing

Observing

Another activity you can do to help strengthen your mind is to do mindful observing.

For this activity students were shown a video of multiple bubbles, different colors and sizes. Then students were prompted to only observe certain bubbles, all while all the bubbles were moving around the screen.

Spending time observing while other things are going on is a master skill that will have benefits way into the future. Being able to focus in even when there are distracts around is super important, especially in a world where digital realities consume our time, and attention.

Consider spending at least 5 mins a day doing some type of mindfulness activity, and share this with your children! We all benefit when we are mindful.

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Art Therapy Divine I Am SEL

Mindful Lines

Mindful

How can Lines be Mindful?

Being mindful is the ability to be in the present moment, acknowledging your thoughts and feelings but not identifying with them. Meaning do not hold on to the thought and become consumed by it and the way it makes you feel.

I teach my students about what it means to be mindful, and how important of a skill it is to be able to step back from thoughts and give your brain a break for at least 10 minutes a day.

So the idea of mindful lines simply means being present with the line. Allowing the line to move as it will and be in the moment with it.

A lot of our life is spent processing experiences, but its not usually in the moment. I shared the analogy of playing a sport. When you are playing and in the moment, you are not processing how you’re feeling and what you’re thinking about. You are simply in the moment. It is not until after the moment is over that your thoughts and emotions begin to catch up.

When you create a mindful line, you want to go slow enough that your body is processing your marking making in real time… the present.

Creating mindful lines is a process oriented activity that allows a person to take 10 mins out of their day to separate their awareness from their thoughts and be present in the moment.

Power of Presence

Giving our brain time to slow down and not be inundated by processing thoughts and feelings, allows your body and mind recovery time so to speak.

I tell my students, your brain isn’t going to shut itself off for you. It isn’t going to just say, “I’m on overload, I need to shut off for a while to recover.” They understand how that would make us robots, and how important it is for each person to take control of their minds wellbeing. Self care is just as important as self actualization.

There is value in rest.

Mindful Art Process

Get a pen and paper… now take a few deep breaths to center yourself to this present moment.

Now slowly allow the pen to create a line. Without rushing, be present with whichever way the pen moves. Each line unfolding as you let go of thoughts and focus on allowing. Take deep breaths as you move the pen across the paper. Allow yourself to flow and be surprised with the outcome of each mark.

Now listen to yourself… Do you want to add color? Do you want to make lines thicker? Are you complete?

You know when your line is complete. Its in the way you feel.

Doing mindfulness activities at any age can greatly affect our ability to focus and regulate our emotions. Each time you do a mindfulness activity, you are training and strengthening the neuropathways in your brain. You are literally reprograming how you respond to situations. This is aligned with the SEL competencies: Self awareness, Self Management, Social Awareness, and Responsible Decision Making. And all it takes is 10 mins a day.

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Art Therapy

Art Heals

heal

When we heal our emotional body we heal our physical body. When our mindset is balanced so is our body. It’s listening and responding to what it’s told.

“Grandma, how do you deal with pain?”
“With your hands, dear. When you do it with your mind, the pain hardens even more.”
“With your hands, grandma?”
“Yes, yes. Our hands are the antennas of our Soul. When you move them by sewing, cooking, painting, touching the earth or sinking them into the earth, they send signals of caring to the deepest part of you and your Soul calms down. This way she doesn’t have to send pain anymore to show it.
“Are hands really that important?”
“Yes my girl. Think of babies: they get to know the world thanks to their touch.
When you look at the hands of older people, they tell more about their lives than any other part of the body.
Everything that is made by hand, so it is said, is made with the heart because it really is like this: hands and heart are connected.
Think of lovers: When their hands touch, they love each other in the most sublime way.”
“My hands grandma… how long since I used them like that!”
“Move them my love, start creating with them and everything in you will move.
The pain will not pass away. But it will be the best masterpiece. And it won’t hurt as much anymore, because you managed to embroider your Essence.”

~Elena Barnabé

What does it mean to embroider our Essence? To add details to our essence that make it more interesting. Taking the darkness we all go through, and bringing life and light to it through creating with our hands. Darkness is necessary for there to be light, it’s all about what we do with the energy that determines how we live.

Healing through Art

This workshop is based around using our hands to heal and move through grief. We connect with our inner creator and bring about manifestations that move us to heal and reform that energy into how we desire to feel.

The power is within us… and is expressed through our hands. We build our lives with our hands. We comfort one another with our hands. We give and receive with our hands. They are powerful tools. ❤

Through art exploration and experimentation, we can learn how to transform our minds and hearts with our hands.

This is diving into ourselves and bring forth our inner being with the use of our hands and art materials as tools.

We each create a piece of art using our hands as the focus for channeling energy through them. Creating works that really dive into our essence, rather than representational painting, this experience is more about creating rather than focusing on having a final painting that looks a certain way.

We create meaningful pieces, that we will love because it comes from who we are. Creating art that resonates an energy you have chosen with intent, at this moment in your life, is a very powerful tool for manifesting.

Heal with Art

Art Heals.

Categories
Art Therapy

Healing Hands

Recently I facilitated a workshop that used art for healing.

When we create art, we are generating energy. We are putting our intentions and energy into each mark.

During the workshop we focused on body awareness, while moving both our hands with art materials.

We closed our eyes so we could really get into the feeling of our energetic aura. To the places in our bodies that felt stiff or tense, areas that were tight or sore. We worked those spots out in our minds eye, while moving the art materials in both hands as if we were actually massaging out all of the tension.

Healing Hands

Healing Through Art Making

Each stroke of the oil or chalk pastel was a release of stored energy that no longer served us. Each mark presented letting go of things we no longer needed. Releasing it into the paper.

After releasing we went right into creating. We first visualized what our bodies felt like after we’ve received that which we desire. How did we feel in our bodies when we have that what we wish to receive. Then we used that energy to create another image on top of the old marks.

We listened to a meditative playlist… with two major songs: I Release Control, and I Am Loving Awareness. Such great mantras for opening up to all that is yours by divine right.

The artwork came out fantastically, and really embodied each person’s energy. Such a powerful process for making changes in our lives.

Thank you everyone who attended. This was such a wonderful workshop, I look forward to doing more!