If you have always felt that you weren't an artist or perhaps you consider you are an artist, but you would like to be better, then I have a class to share with you.
Art as Meditation will not only enhance your artistic abilities but will also allow you to connect with yourself on a deeper level.
One of Amy's beautifully delicate artworks that you may create in a class
At this point, due to lockdown (or recent lockdown) in Melbourne, all of Amy's classes are being done online via Zoom classes. Even with lockdown released, I like this because I can just allocate the one hour as required and then relax or do whatever I like at home afterwards.
I was invited to join Amy and a class, to get a feel for what goes on in these sorts of events and how it's all run. Whilst I would consider myself an artist in some mediums, drawing and painting are not an area that I have ever dabbled in, so I was feeling considerably nervous.
Knowing that I would possibly have to share my artwork with WeekendNotes readers, I was really wondering if anything I would produce would be nice enough to share.
So how does it all work:It's actually pretty simple - you just go to Amy's website, click on
Art as Meditation Online Workshops and select a class that you feel might suit you for both the style or perhaps the time of the event.
You can choose to book for an individual class or if you think this is something you would really love, take advantage of the discount and book week-by-week or the whole term.
Once you have booked in, you will get a small list of supplies that you can go to any stationery store and purchase, or you can order them directly through Amy's website (if you have enough time to get them sent to you).
I just popped into Officeworks and collected everything I needed.
Getting set up and ready for my online class
At the allocated time ,you log into your zoom class. I was pleasantly surprised with the beautiful meditation music and the sense of peace and acceptance that Amy exuded.
My concerns of not being a fabulous artist were slowly disappearing. Amy guided us into the right mindset of being an artist, purely for the purpose of exploring an extension of one's self, regardless of what ended up on the paper.
The starting point of the freeing up exercise and the beginning of a flower
A couple of exercises to get ourselves loosened up and into the right brain space for our own personal experience of art and we were creating. With the right equipment, a little bit of gentle guidance, some very simple skills got us absolutely in the right place for creating art.
Before you knew it, images that didn't actually look like they were created in a kindergarten, began to form on the page. Within the hour, we had learnt some very easy and effective skills to create our art. We all had a different and very unique piece of art, yet all of them were very beautiful.
Something I wasn't quite expecting was the sense of peace that had been created through the process. By the end of the hour, I really felt like I'd done a full meditation session. I was left with a sense of peacefulness and satisfaction as to what I created, not to mention a lovely little art piece.
I couldn't help reflecting on how peaceful it would be to do one of these every week and I really saw the benefit in a weekly booking. I have never used watercolours or pen drawings before and the finished product, well, I thought it was pretty cute.
This is the piece which I personally drew, (please be gentle), it is definitely a beginners piece, but it was a lovely thing to create.
Here is a few of the other artworks that you could create in Amy's classes:
Which one is your favourite, which class would you most like to do?
Click
here to go to Amy's website orhttps://www.amylewisartist.com. Classes are currently available right up to Christmas, plenty of time to find a date that suits you and perhaps join in with some of your friends.
From Amy's website:
No experience necessary, the sessions suit all skill levels – completion of previous workshops is not required.
Guided classes – no experience necessary
Strictly limited numbers – small classes
Live streamed via Zoom
Interactive classes – chat and ask questions
Optional art kits delivered free to the Bayside area!
What's included
Opening mantra/quote
Warm up exercise
Introduction to the weekly technique/idea
PDF Handout showing step by step instructions for the weekly technique
Time to create
Ideas for extension
Question time
Access to a private Facebook group for workshop participants
Would you like to do one of these classes or have you already done one and would like to share with us how you found it? Please use the comments box in this article to share with us.
