After doing a substantial amount of podcast listening on mindfulness and its integration into therapeutic practice, I couldn’t help but wonder, doesn’t art making bring us into the present moment and help us pay attention to the details of the world that surroundings as well as out inner world?
In regards to paying attention to the world and its surroundings, I remember taking a course where I was taught how to draw from life — models and such. It was a painful process for me, training myself to see all the details of shadow and light on a body or a piece of fabric. After months of everyday practice, drawing for at least 15 min to 1 hour per day (similar to a daily formal meditation schedule) my perspective of the world changed. I noticed that I saw color, pattern, form, light, and movement differently. I saw these details and took notice, rather than merely looking at them as I had done before. Upon reflecting on what exactly was different, I believe it was that I was finally able to take notice of my surroundings in a way that was present and in the moment.
I have struggled to come up with ideas for art therapy group directives that would be relevant to the clients I work with. Directives that they can participate in and take something from, which can potentially be generalized in their everyday lives. Perhaps still life drawing is the directive I have been looking to experiment with.