The thinking (with head and heart) and preparing is done. The class is full. The first Mindful Mosaics class is in full flow. And… …loving it! It’s been a long time in gestation, but oh so worth it. Read more...
The art of noticing
There is a connection between art making and the development of our capacity to be aware, awake to detail and present in our everyday lives. This capacity for ‘awakeness’ is one way of understanding mindfulness. For me, mindfulness and the benefits that can flow from adopting a mindful stance in daily life are pretty much […] Read more...
What’s in a year?
Friends, A whole year has passed – one whole lap around the sun – since I last wrote. In 14 years since I began writing and publishing my blog, the only other time that so long elapsed between blogs was after the birth of my children – but I guess the process of learning at […] Read more...
Mosaic & mindfulness nuggets (1)
Regular readers of this blog will be aware of my journey in bringing together art, mosaics and mindfulness as tools for well being and recovery… Read more here and here. Next week, I start my postgraduate studies at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience at Kings College London – my next step in this […] Read more...
Returning to study…what about you?
August is in full swing and soon… …the new academic term will be with us. This threshold was always one I savoured as a child and I relished getting my new stationary and books together, their clean pages a symbol of the possibility that a fresh school year held. Right now I find myself rather […] Read more...
Newness…
A new month…and I love April! Yesterday at our allotment, we were greeted by fruit trees in blossom. We bought home some branches from our damson trees and made our Easter tree this morning… It has been a season of teaching mosaic art – the most I have ever done and loving it! I have […] Read more...
Therapuetic mosaics – an invitation to you…
I have mused for years about why mosaic making is so therapeutic an art form. Having recently undertaken the process of applying for a Masters in the Neuroscience of Mindfulness (with research on the role of creative making), I took some time to organise my thoughts on the subject. The reasons are likely to be […] Read more...
News…on mosaics, art, mindfulness and neuroscience…(phew!)
Hi folks Excuse the little blog silence – half-term holidays kicked in and those quiet moments for blog writing have been filled with the sound of squeaky recorders, giggling (yes, a little fighting), singing, funny shows (yesterday was Spoon Man meets Rolling Pin Man!) and some trips into the center of London. We even managed […] Read more...
Mosaics, art and the brain…my journey so far.
Ok folks…look above and you will see that there are two new tabs on the main menu of Glittering Shards. Firstly, “Art & the Brain” will be the place where my evolving research on the connection between art/making with your hands and neuroscience will sit (see more below). Secondly, the “Online Resources“ will, over the […] Read more...