Art and Mindfulness

I teach Painting I and II in a high school setting. This year our class is 100% virtual. I hope to document our journey along the way. So far, we have explored our identity and stories through objects. Students were asked to create realistic still life paintings of chosen objects that represent themselves.

To continue the idea of identity, we focused on the connection between art and mindfulness. Specifically as it relates to visually expressive characteristics. We explored using color and mark-making to define our thoughts and promote feelings of being present in the moment. Subject matter was not important but many students used the self-portrait as a starting point. The mandala was another popular format used as an activity to promote mindfulness.