When I was in grad school learning how to be an art therapist, Kabat-Zinn’s mediation methods were introduced to me. As someone who identifies as non-spiritual, I liked that it made meditation more approachable. His methods made a connection with the breathing and thought exercises I was introduced to when I was very young. I knew they worked but something about it all felt a bit off. Anyway, a few years back I read McMindfulness and it basically slammed the idea of stripping the spirituality and ethics out of meditation to make it palatable to a Western market.
I could write a lot about McMindfulness and how it unlocked my brain for questioning a lot of the marketed mindfulness and how that related to art and art therapy.
This post is not about that. Instead, I want to focus on how en plein air, observational art, and other art forms are a form of mediation.
I have found as I make my little postcard sized en plein air images that I can’t be mentally anywhere but where I am. When I am observing and mixing paint and moving paint on those images, I am right there. My mind isn’t wandering around and thinking about work stuff. I’m looking and mixing and recording.
The more I practice these short sessions of art making the more quickly I find myself getting into flow state and the 30 minutes have flown by. Often when I realize I’m done with the image I look at the clock and almost 30 minutes have passed but it doesn’t feel like it.
The other times I feel like this are when I’m on my bike. When I ride my bike time disappears and I can’t be anywhere but on my bike and fully immersed in the moment.
Between art and cycling I’ve found that I can really see where my life is out of alignment with my ethics and values, both have helped me to set firm boundaries- no I will not work a weekend- unless there is a deal set for me getting time back in a way that directly benefits me.
When I make art (and exercise) I can directly feel my brain getting into alignment. Stress is reduced but not only because I’m doing “self care” but because I am aligning myself with my art, which I have previously identified as a serious and VERY deep value for me. Through making art I’m learning more about myself and the world around myself.
My general plan for my art practice is that I make art on most days, but not all, because life must have balance. I use the walk and art making as a source of further art making on days when I cannot be outside due to weather or work. The practice is balanced because I cannot do everything. I have to make time for some things but I also must listen to my body.
I have learned that I do not like to rush in the morning. I sip a pour over coffee every morning, 10 ounces of damn fine coffee. I usually have my art kits ready to go in a tote. But some mornings I have slept well and I find it hard to get my shit together than get out the door in time to get a session in. On those days I just don’t. I sit down, maybe have another cup of coffee. But I don’t rush. Rushing undermines the practice.
One days when I get to the park and realize I’m running late, I set the timer for 20 minutes, or park closer to where I want to make art.
The goal is to make art not stress.
Anyway, about a month and a half into this reinvigoration of my art practice I’m seeing progress not only in my art but in mental health- specifically my stress is being reduced and I feel more connected to the world.
A further exploration here might be to look at how direct observation of the world can lead to feelings of connection with that world/place.
Anyway. I’ve made more videos of myself painting at the park.
*Part of the McMindfulness book is about how to truly get mindful, you have to consider the ethics of a situation. You can’t be at peace if your ethics (values) are out of whack. To get truly mindful and out of stress you have to address the ethical sources of your stress- and how when you are behaving and doing things that are out of line with your personal ethics and values you can’t really reduce your stress with just mindfulness exercises alone. You can’t reduce your suffering without addressing the source. <– Mindblowing