Practicing Meditarte
FIRESIDE CHAT WITH ELENA CECCHINATO
MULTI-DISCIPLINARY ARTIST ON THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ART, MEDITATION AND CREATION AT LARGE.
ELENA, IN OUR WORKSHOP MEDITARTE WE BLEND ART AND MEDITATION PRACTICES TOGETHER: HOW DO YOU SEE THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ART AND MEDITATION?
Elena: I believe that art and meditation are deeply connected. In fact, art can often be a form of meditation. When I create, I experience presence, concentration, and flow—a "becoming" where everything is possible. Both art and meditation can lead to greater self-knowledge, facilitating connections: between the body and mind, the eye and hand, the heart and breath, the unconscious and conscious, until the individual parts and the whole merge and emerge.
LET’S REFLECT ON THE ACT OF NOTICING AND THE ACT OF CREATING: HOW CAN WE MOVE FROM WHAT IS KNOWN TO SOMETHING UNEXPECTED AND CREATED?
Elena: Both art and meditation allow us to awaken dormant parts of our senses through the act of noticing. Paying attention and noticing details with all our senses is essential in art.
Like meditation, art can be experienced as an act of observation. They both involve the senses and perception—whether we're looking at a painting or experiencing a live performance—and they are catalysts for expanded concentration, attention, and focus. When we draw something new from life, we observe the forms, the signs, the colors, the light, and so on.
Both art and meditation allow us to push the narratives of the ego aside. They facilitate true expression and help us embrace the beauty of imperfections. In this sense, art teaches us to accept and work with mistakes. In creation, errors are magical because they allow us to recalibrate, to discover the unknown, and to build resilience.
Errors lead us to the "unimaginable" and the "unexpected" (chance, synchronicity, synchrodestiny, etc.). They are magical because they can bring innovation, unepredictable change, or even discoveries—just as new continents were once found.
IN MEDITATION, WE TALK ABOUT "THE ART OF LETTING GO OF THINGS," EXPECTATIONS, AND ALL THAT IS NOT USEFUL TO US RIGHT NOW. IS THAT SIMILAR IN ART TOO?
Elena: Absolutely! This is a crucial point in creativity, at least in my experience. Of course, other artists may operate differently. Art focuses on the process, not the final destination. It's the journey -the traveling, the process- that is important, not the outcome.
The more open we are to whatever happens, the better artists we become. The less fixated we are on the end result, the more we flow with creation in the "becoming."
We must free ourselves from absolute control and immerse ourselves in the flow. Most importantly, we need to trust the process. Both art and meditation are acts of liberation, emergency, and flow. By emptying the mind of preconceptions or judgments, we avoid limiting our creativity. Too many thoughts create conflict between the mind and body, obstructing creation. That’s where meditation benefits the creative process.
FINALLY, ELENA—YOU'VE BEEN PRACTICING MEDITATION FOR A WHILE NOW. WHAT BENEFITS HAVE YOU FOUND TRANSLATED INTO YOUR ARTWORK?
Elena: First, meditation has helped me accept and live with doubts. It has supported me during artistic blocks and moments of being "stuck." When I meditate, I find internal peace, and I can connect with my heart and the dominant feeling of the moment that needs expression. Often, I receive an image or idea during these moments.
Meditation has also helped me manage my relationships with others and the external world. I no longer feel as dependent on or affected by other people's feelings or states of mind. That inner peace, experienced during and after meditation, creates a calm foundation from which I approach life.
Through meditation, I’ve become more serene, and it has sharpened my senses—especially since I practice a form of meditation similar to what we did together in the workshop.
WITH THANKS TO ELENA, AND ARRIVEDERCI TO OUR NEXT MEDITARTE WORKSHOP!