This is you. This is me. This is us.

Reflections

January is the start of a new year and for many, the start of a new you.

We take the holidays as a time to reflect on the things we have, the people we love, and what it is that makes us happy. We also remember those who are no longer with us, and those who are less fortunate than ourselves. The holidays are one of the few times of year in which we think about others and try to resettle our energies and remember to take a moment and be present in what we have and who we are.

Photo Credit: Stephan Fehlmann

January is a perfect time for reinvention, setting goals and refocusing on the little tasks that may have slipped whilst December had temporarily dominated our lives. Now that the holidays have come to an end for most of us, we can re-centre our energies and try to find out what truly makes us happy.

January is about self-love; hence Veganuary & Dry January. These are all crazes that detoxify the body and hit the refresh button. We are going to take this example and look at ourselves face on and explore the topic of self-portraits. As we are already looking into how we can improve ourselves, and what impact we have on others, why not look into ourselves a little deeper and take a moment of gratitude for the person we see in the mirror. This is you. This is me. This is us. We each are unique and individual and no two faces are the same. This month, we will explore the meaning and purpose of a self-portrait through Art and I will demonstrate on my own aging mug. As a month of looking within ourselves, we will explore what it feels like to draw ourselves. If you think you know your reflection, you will quickly learn more than you ever thought.

ArtistAnd Resolution

Here at ArtistAnd, the goal is to use Art in order to solve problems. The key focus on this model is solving creative problems without companies, but also to reach out and extend the invitation to members of teams or individuals to join in the fun and creatively solve problems of their own!

New Years Resolutions

As a part of my own goal setting and planning, I pledge to create monthly tasks and talks on topics within the Arts to get people involved! You don’t have to be an Artist to enjoy Art and I want to make it my goal to prove that. From portraiture and life drawing, to line drawing and cross hatching. Any topic and style is up for grabs.

Each week, a topic will be explored and studied and you will be asked to try out your own version. Together, we will explore how Art can become therapy and how therapy through Art can be a regular mindful exercise.

Keeping up with a regular practise helps to clear my mind. When I draw, I find my element, I am submerged into a trance that takes my mind away from any regular stresses or worries and it keeps me grounded and focused on the task in hand. For me, my task is to recreate nature to the best of my ability and paint/draw in a realistic style. For you, the element in drawing could be; how can I create a character with a comical expression? There is no right or wrong answer to this but my practise is realism, and so I will be focusing on exploring Art through traditional methods.

You may be fed up of hearing this by now but here were go, #newyearnewme. Or should we we say #thisisyouthisismethisisus – I may have to work on this hashtag, its pretty long.

#mindfulpractise #meditation #drawing #learningtodraw #art #selfportrait #artistand