THE BLOG

Dear Wonderful, Creative You:

Welcome to MINDFUL ART STUDIO®. I am Amy and I’m here to show you how to paint from your heart and soul and play with art again.

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Join a community of encouraging artists who want to find calm and connection through art.

Trusting Your Ideas

Dear Wonderful Creative You, One of the most important questions you can ask yourself is why...

Fine Line Flower Tutorial

Dear Wonderful, Creative You: Over the last six years, presenting roughly 40 different patterns...

Developing Your Artistic Voice

Dear Wonderful, Creative You: This quarter in The Gathering, we are focused on developing your...

Portable Art Kit: A Stamped Pouch Tutorial – And Giveaway!

Jun 4, 2015 | Art Tutorials, Creative Self-Care

By: Amy Maricle Hello Wonderful, Creative You! Do you have a portable art kit yet? I love them, especially when I have decorated the pouch with fun patterns, designs, and colors. Portable art kits facilitate art for busy people. For more on portable art kits, click...

Art Journaling Backgrounds: Messy Is Good

May 29, 2015 | Art Tutorials

Dear Wonderful, Creative You: Lately I have been learning about the value of letting go. Art has a way of teaching you lessons if you are willing to listen. Watching very young children make art is instructive. They have no concern with whether or not they are...

Can You Meditate Through Art? Part 2

May 23, 2015 | Art Tutorials, Mindfulness

Dear Wonderful, Creative You: A few months ago I did a post called Can You Meditate Through Art? where I shared a tutorial on mandalas using art as a way to meditate. So many of you told me how inspiring it was, I'd like to talk more in depth about...

How to Create a Self-Care Strategy That Actually Works

May 14, 2015 | Creative Self-Care

Hello Wonderful, Creative You: Today I'd like to change the way you think about self-care. Chances are that when you hear "self-care," what comes to mind might be a series of activities - getting enough sleep, meditation, taking vacations, exercising, etc....

The Mindful Art Studio

May 6, 2015 | Creative Self-Care

(Note: 5/27/15: I have changed my site name to www.mindfulartstudio.com in order to separate my art therapy practice from my online art business and to avoid any confusion about what services I am providing. Mindful Art Studio and its blog will now focus solely on...

How Perfectionism Is Killing Your Creativity

May 1, 2015 | Creative Self-Care

Perfectionism and Procrastination As I was researching this post, I came across an article by Maria Popova at Brain Pickings about writer Anne Lamott and how she feels perfectionism stunts creativity. Popova summarizes Lamott this way: "At the heart of...

Interview with an Art Therapist: How Art Therapy Works

Apr 23, 2015 | Creative Self-Care

By: Amy Maricle Hello Wonderful, Creative You: You may recall my podcast interview with art therapist, Sara Roizen of Art Therapy Spot a few weeks ago. She talked about the ache she feels to create, how it heals her, and how she became an art therapist. She...

Natural Anxiety Relief: Make Art from Nature

Apr 16, 2015 | Art Tutorials, Wellness

By: Amy Maricle Why is Making Art from Natural Materials Grounding? Nature is evocative, intoxicating, invigorating, fascinating. Experiencing the varied textures, scents, colors, and sounds of natural materials helps us to slow down our bodies, minds, and breathing....