Welcome to Week 11 of Mindful Arts and Creative Expression, a reflective space where you can connect with yourself and express your feelings in a creative way.

Each week we will offer a theme or creative suggestion and will talk you through ways to feel centred and connected. We will be including a variety of art forms, for example drawing, painting, sculpture, poetry and rhythm/music. 

THIS WEEK WE HAVE THE PLEASURE TO HOST AN ACTIVITY BY  SHARON MEHTA! Sharon has been a picture framer for more than 20 years and her connections with education and young people have shown her how precious and important free spirited creativity is. Over the past few years, she has been exploring the wonder of nature through the camera lens: “Wow, there is so much to see and so much to discover”. You can find out more about her work on Take a walk in Ham lands and bird song.

Remember, you do not need to have any previous experience or having taken part in any of the previous weekly activities so… turn on your audio, watch your video and start to mindfully create!

When you have finished, we invite you to share your responses as seeing others’ interpretations can create a sense of togetherness in these changing times. If you choose to do so, you can share your creative reflections with others on our INSTAGRAM @MindfulArtsCreativeExpression. Guidance on how to upload can be found HERE.

Enjoy the experience and we look forward to seeing the mindful creative outputs shared in our INSTAGRAM gallery!

See you next week, at the same time at the same place! To make this a reliable weekly routine and receive a reminder with a link to next session, please join the mailing list/follow this blog.

Be well and stay safe,

Jude & Erminia

If you are unable to access the audio, here is a brief summary:

Week 11-The wonder of the natural world

• With a human world that is full of uncertainty, give yourself permission for a little while to let go of the emotions those uncertainties may  bring and use your senses to discover a little more of the view out of your window, or the colours in your garden, or what is occurring in green spaces close to you.
• Spend a little time just feeling your feet connected to the ground, breath in to a count to 4, hold your breath to a count of 5, and then breath out to a count of  6.
• Be in the space you want to explore. If you are outside, listen to the sounds, could be bird song, could be a buzzing bee, could be the sound of footsteps passing by.  If it has been raining you may be able to smell the scent of moist soil.
• The sky is every changing, the clouds, the sunshine, the moonshine and the changing direction, intensity and hue of the light from dawn to dusk and right through the night. Spend time watching the sky. There are so many shades of white, so many shades of blue, so many shades of grey and so many shades of dark.  You may see faces or creatures or objects in the patterns of the clouds, but only for a short time will they be there and then transform into something else. Remember not to look directly into the sun though.
• Take time to look at how the colours and the light from the sky changes the colours of the space around you. The shades of green in the leaves may change, the vibrance of colour in flowers may change you may see reflection, you and may see shadows.  You can discover the changes in a space enjoy on different days and different times of day.
• Enjoy the sky and if you feel like sharing your creative reflections with others, please share a picture and/or your words on our Instagram gallery. Guidance on how to upload can be found HERE.