Dooley'sVisualArtBlog: Mindfulness Art Challenge as STEAM and Professional Development, January 2021

"Mountains," painting by Mary Ann Guerin
Science Educator, Joseph L. McCourt Middle School, Cumberland, RI

"Lines" using Procreate by Kerri Marshall

Art Educator, Garvin Elementary School, Cumberland, RI

"Mountains" watercolor by Anna
North Cumberland Middle School, Cumberland, RI

This past December, 2020 our school completed the Mindfulness Art Challenge. This effort was led by the McCourt Chapter of the National Junior Art Honor Society and the McCourt Art Club. The October 2020 InkTober challenge and November Doodlewash 2020 drawing challenges inspired us to make our own list. Why? Because the prompts became so challenging that, what should have been a relaxing sketching session, became stressful. Our December challenge included students, staff, and other schools in our district and state.

Why would drawing become a stressor? That is the last thing that we need during COVID19. Perhaps it is because creating art is hard but we are much harder on ourselves. Perhaps the discipline of drawing everyday was pressure, perhaps the colors or perspective were not correct, or perhaps we just don't feel like being told what to do in our free time. Our National Junior Art Honor Society and the Art Club created the prompts based on one thing: what brings you peace? We felt this would bring a less stressful list of daily prompt so that we could calm the spirit during the holiday quarantine. The images were posted on a shared slide show and social media. What we discovered is the response from people, such as, "I look forward to seeing your sketches everyday." Another discovery was seeing the variety of people who took on the challenge, we had Visual Art teachers at different levels and different districts, but also, Science teachers and Social Workers. One of our teachers even went as far as taking art lessons. What I learned is that people look to art as a stress reliever, but sometimes art doesn't deliver as a stress reliever.

Drawing circles and repetitive patterns has a meditative quality and is a stress reliever. Tibetan Buddhist Monks create mandalas as a form of spiritualism and meditation. A study reported by the National Institute of Health researched the effects of positive psychology.

Mandala drawing especially cooperative mandala drawing has a positive effect on spirituality and subjective well-being, which may provide individuals with a simple and easy method to improve their happiness.

As you may expect, we all made our circles in different ways using a variety of media that included digital and hand drawn. Some of us used the prompts to learn a new medium or just to play. The outcome our art sketches varied greatly. This surprise had us all looking forward to what everyone had done. It was a collaborative spirit that drove us. We learned from one another. This collaborative spirit in consistent with STEAM.

We found that we tend to be critical we are of ourselves and we need to remember that it is okay to take a break. Taking a break, but not quitting, is what we teach our students. If we power through our art, when we do not need to, it no longer becomes enjoyable. Sharing art is like sharing your diary. We feel vulnerable when we put ourselves out there. We need to continue to share and celebrate artistic growth.

I am amazed at the dedication of our challengers to persist and become better at something during a challenging period. Several of our amazing NJAHS students emerged as leaders to create an larger collection of work to share with first responders. These student leaders identified what brings them peace and it is our hope that the frontline workers of the pandemic and their patients achieve just a little peace while viewing this labor of love.

Art Challenges as Professional Development

As a result of these challenges, the discipline and learning about different media is a form a Professional Development. Documentation of time and reflection of our methods are a form of a "lab book." Through this daily practice of keeping a sketchbook journal, we are modeling growth, documenting improvement, as well as failures, learning new media, enhancing our skills in observation, honing our imagination, and loosing old habits. Whether the media is classical studio art media or digital design and illustration, we learn something every time we create and reflect.

Additional resources for drawing challenges are:

The Draw and Cook: https://www.theydrawandcook.com/

They Draw and Travel: https://www.theydrawandtravel.com/

Cooperative and Individual Mandala Drawing Have Different ... www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.564430/full.

Liu, Chao, et al. “Cooperative and Individual Mandala Drawing Have Different Effects on Mindfulness, Spirituality, and Subjective Well-Being.” Frontiers in Psychology, Frontiers Media S.A., 9 Oct. 2020, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7581735/.