ART & MINDFULNESS. Achieve Your Inner Peace Through Ink and Meditation.

I am pleased to introduce to you the third issue of this newsletter! I publish it on a weekly basis. Today, I am sharing its English version, and next week, I’ll release the Spanish version (of this same newsletter). This alternating pattern will continue in its weekly publication. I hope you find it valuable and beneficial for you and your community!

Welcome to ART & MINDFULNESS FOR BUSINESS GROUPS. VIRTUAL PROGRAM FOR CREATIVITY AND WELL-BEING (https://veronica.mx/artprogram) (1).

I am Veronica Huacuja (pronounced wu-a-koo-ha), a professional mixed artist (painter, sculptor), and an art educator. I serve, too, as the founder and CEO of Multimedios Integrales, an educational and Social Responsibility consulting firm, where I have developed this program that I offer to businesses (2).

The program's aims:

The primary aim of this program for businesses is to enhance the well-being of their employees. By aligning with your organization’s internal Social Responsibility Program, it addresses the realm of human standards. It fosters the growth of both personal and professional aspects among your staff, leading to enhanced performance and overall results for the company.

The goal of this program for employees. Through my educational guide, participants approach a transformative journey, equipping them with tools to enhance their lives by enriching their intra and interpersonal experiences through the joys of artistic engagement and mindfulness meditation. Likewise, the program promotes a learning environment of mutual support among the group.

Before immersing ourselves in this experience, let’s get to know its goals and requirements:

PART 1. OUR MINDFULNESS MEDITATION. Let’s Achieve Inner Peace.

·??5 minutes of our time.

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PART 2. OUR ART EXERCISE.?Drawing a Female Face and?Body with Ink on Paper. Practicing the Gesture.

·?80 minutes.

Material we’ll use in the art exercise.

?·?????1 BIC Round Grip Black Ballpoint Pen, Medium Point.?

·?????1 pocketbook.

·?????The following single-sheet exercise I made for you to download and print it: https://veronica.mx/art-mindfulness-course1.jpg.

PART 1. OUR MINDFULNESS MEDITATION. Let’s Achieve Inner Peace Through Ink and Meditation.

Previous words.

According to Jon Kabat-Zinn (1944, U.S.) (3), mindfulness is “the awareness that emerges through paying attention on purpose, in the present moment, and nonjudgmental to the unfolding of experience moment by moment” (4).

Let’s break down these components:

• Awareness. Mindfulness involves being aware to what is happening in our present moment and surroundings. It’s about being attentive to our experiences as they occur.
• Paying Attention on Purpose. Mindfulness involves intentional focus, letting go of distractions from the past or future. Instead of letting our mind wander, we focus our attention on a specific aspect, such as our breath or sensations.
• In the Present Moment. Mindfulness emphasizes being present in the “now.” It’s about letting go of regrets about the past and worries about the future and instead anchoring our attention to what’s happening right here and now.
• Nonjudgmental. This element of mindfulness emphasizes observing our experiences without judgment. It refers to not categorize our experiences as right or wrong, but acknowledging them as they are without attaching our emotional reactions.
• Unfolding of Experience Moment by Moment. It’s about observing the flow of our thoughts, feelings, sensations, and the environment as they unfold from one moment to the next. Mindfulness involves recognizing that our experiences constantly change.

These components often occur simultaneously, and are interconnected.

By practicing mindfulness meditation we aim to develop greater clarity, focus, and a more balanced relationship with our thoughts and emotions. It helps to attain an inner balance, and it improves the way we live our lives in an intra and interpersonal level.

BEFORE OUR PRACTICE.

Posing your body, focusing on your breath.

· Pose your body in a dignified and cozy posture, whether you’re seated in a chair or lying down on a mat.

· In either case, ensure your back remains comfortably straight without straining it, and gently lower your shoulders.

· Place your feet slightly apart to sense a balanced stance.

· If you’re seated, keep the soles of your feet on the ground to prevent pressure on the back of your thighs.

MAKING OUR PRACTICE.

· Close your eyes or semi-close them, if you prefer.

· Breathe with your natural breathing. Do not force it or manipulate it.?As you engage in your breathing, maintain awareness of any tension in your body and mind. With every exhalation, release any tension, permitting yourself to enter a state of calmness.

· Focus your attention on your breath entering and leaving your body.

·?While we do the latter, if your mind wanders, as it does, remembering pending tasks, memories, among others, make them fade away by mentally pronouncing: “No words, not images. Focus back on your breath.” This statement guides and redirects your attention during our meditation practice.

One more thing, just as you finish pronouncing this anchor-sentence make it fade away and concentrate back on your breath, on your present moment, on yourself.?

· Breathe in silence during the upcoming 5 minutes.

·?Experimenting gratefulness. After the 5-minute meditation, with no pressure, place your right hand on your chest and your left hand on your upper belly. Let’s be grateful for delving into our own selves, into our inner lives, nourishing it with love, generosity, tenderness, and comprehending the relevance of residing in the present moment.

?· Our meditation practice comes to an end. Begin opening your eyes and wiggling your fingers and toes, one at the time. Move your arms and legs with a sense of kindness, allowing them to regain their flexibility. With care, rotate your head, moving it from one shoulder to the other, from front to back, and from right to left.

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AFTER OUR PRACTICE.

An important assignment and its individual advantages.

Carry out this practice daily for the upcoming 15 days. Plan to extend your meditation duration gradually. For instance, meditate 5 minutes every day during the initial week. In the following week, you could extend it to 10 minutes, for instance.

Despite being the same dynamic, each experience will be new, fresh.

You will perceive the benefits of mindfulness meditation from the first day, and they will escalate over the following weeks. Your ability for observation, reflection, concentration, and introspection will expand, among other enhancements. You will also obtain a more extensive and well-balanced outlook on life, as I cited, featuring novel interpretations and constructive approaches.

As with any routine, consistency is the key. Practice every day.

After we accomplished emotional, intellectual, and physical balance, we are ready to begin our artistic practice and unfold the rest of the day with renewed clarity and mindfulness. In other words, transpose this peaceful and balanced sense you just attained into your daily routine.

Thank you for sharing with me this practice.

PART 2: OUR ART EXERCISE.

Drawing A Female Face and?Body with Ink on Paper. Practicing Gesture.

BEFORE OUR PRACTICE.

Foreword.

I’m delighted to present to you this art exercise. I warmly invite you to craft your own artwork under my guidance. Let’s embark together on this journey of creativity, specifically after obtaining inner peace through our meditation.

This artistic venture we’re about to undertake provides us with a pathway for self-expression and self-exploration. Engaging with art at a personal level has the potential to stir up a range of emotions, trigger introspection and contemplation, leading to personal development and a deeper self-awareness. Give yourself the opportunity to live in full this experience.

Within a group framework, art transcends individual boundaries and extends into the realm of interpersonal connections. It is a potent tool for nurturing social ties and fostering meaningful dialogues.

Some art concepts before our practice: Let’s talk about gesture.

In visual arts, gesture refers to the dynamic and expressive movements made by an art practitioner with the use of a brush, or some other tool with which he or she paints on a canvas, paper, or other artistic surface. It encompasses the sweeping, flowing, dripping, and deliberate marks that art producers create to communicate their emotions, energy, and intention within their artwork.

Gesture serves as a bridge between the art practitioner’s creativity inviting the viewer to engage with the raw energy, spontaneity, and personal expression that he or she imbues into their work.

The following images are examples of painters in which their work gesture conveys with great or subtle strength. Let’s have an art experience by permitting our gaze to travel along each painting. Let’s sense the lines, spaces, colors, granting us to feel emotions, imagining, reflect, feel wonder, make connections between the artwork and our personal experiences, among other inner activities.?

Title: Mahoning

Artist: Franz Kline (1910–1962, USA)

Medium: Collage, oil on canvas

Size: 203.2 x 254 cm

Year: 1956

Collection: Whitney Museum of American Art, New York City, NY, US

Title: Mountains and Sea

Artist: Helen Frankenthaler (1928-2011, USA)

Medium: Oil and charcoal on canvas

Size: 220?cm ×?297.8?cm?

Year: 1952

Collection: Collection Helen Frankenthaler Foundation, Inc.

Title: Sunflower VI

Artist: Joan Mitchell

Medium: Oil on canvas

Size: 259.715 x 160.02 cm

Year: 1969

Collection: Joan Mitchell Foundation

After contemplating the exquisite works by these painters, I stimulate my students to share their impressions, feelings, or thoughts among each other.

MAKING OUR PRACTICE.

Drawing a female face and body with ink on paper. Practicing gesture.

To have a clear overview of the work's process and its final results, I am presenting the solved exercise.

Preparation. Feel the materials with which we will be working the gesture of a woman’s face and body. Let’s use the letter size printed exercise you downloaded from the link I provided. We’ll draw with the ink pen, as mentioned.

The execution involves two main activities:

A. Filling the boxes on the right, with a focus on highlighting the shadows.

B. Executing the ink drawing on the outlined figure to define the three-dimensional forms.

Let's examine the printed exercise featuring a set of boxes in the right area. Each box contains a written percentage ranging from 0 to 100%. The task is to use ink to draw the saturation indicated in each box. We'll begin by drawing on the box labeled 10%.

A. Filling the boxes. To achieve the darker tones, draw many times on the paper. Do it gently. In this way, you prevent the paper from warping and the ink from shining in the light.

When we finish, let’s notice we achieved a gradient made by all the values in the boxes.

B. Executing the ink drawing on the outlined figure. Now, relate the percentage of the ink that we’ve drawn on the boxes with each percentage I marked on the figure. Begin by drawing the marked area with the 100% percentage of ink. That being said, let’s draw the face, specifically, the eye area. Continue drawing the other areas making the same relation.

Forget about drawing without going outside the line. Do it, it helps to achieve the gesture we're looking for on the work. Feel free to experiment the material we’re working with.

AFTER OUR PRACTICE.

Encouraging my students to present their artwork to the group is a regular practice I do. This aims to prompt contemplation on their overall experience. I ask, too, about how our meditation influences our creative process, stimulating a collaborative discussion about both activities: meditation and art creation.

Furthermore, I motivate my students to share their experiences with their families, including spouses and children. The goal is to enhance their well-being within their family context and to extend the contents of this session to their loved ones, if that’s their interest. I also propose to them to frame their work and proudly display it in their homes or offices.

As the session concludes, we express gratitude to ourselves for dedicating this nurturing time to our artistic exploration. We also extend our thanks to fellow group members for sharing these moments and experiences.

Significant homework.

• I recommend using the pocketbook during the week following this session, making daily pen sketches. This routine carries many personal benefits that impact our lives, such as stress reduction, relaxation, increased self-esteem, enhanced self-expression, self-knowledge, improved memory, and sharpened observation.
• Another journal activity involves jotting down thoughts and experiences from your daily meditation practice.

Engaging in these daily activities for some minutes is a delightful way to explore and push personal boundaries.

Thank you for your time and attention.

To know the characteristics of?ART & MINDFULNESS for Business Groups. Virtual Program for Creativity and Well-being,?head over to:?https://veronica.mx/artprogram

If you have comments, questions, feedback that you want to share with me, please feel free to use my LinkedIn account?https://www.dhirubhai.net/in/veronica-huacuja-59860322b/ or my email:?[email protected]

Thank you for reading.

Endnotes.

1. Regarding to the practice of mindfulness meditation, I founded this program based on the method designed by Jon Kabat-Zinn, Ph.D., who is an American medicine professor and the creator of the ‘Stress Reduction Clinic’ and the ‘Center for Mindfulness in Medicine, Health Care, and Society’ at the University of Massachusetts Medical School.

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2. To know my academic training and professional experience, head over to https://multimediosintegrales.com, ?https://veronica.mx/resume-ENG.pdf

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3. Wikipedia (n.d.). “Jon Kabat-Zinn”. Retrieved on August 16,2023 from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jon_Kabat-Zinn

4. Mindful. Healthy Mind, Healthy Life. (n.d.). “Jon Kabat-Zinn: Defining Mindfulness”. Retrieved on November 30, 2023 from https://www.mindful.org/jon-kabat-zinn-defining-mindfulness/??????

Bibliography.

Kabat-Zinn, Jon (2006). “Mindfulness-Based Interventions in Context: Past, Present, and Future”. Retrieved on August 14th, 2023, from https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1093/clipsy.bpg016

All rights reserved. Veronica Huacuja. 2023.

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