Mindful Art - Simple Circles
Creating simple circles is a very therapeutic form of art that helps with mindfulness.
Circles have always featured heavily in works of art, symbolising a wide variety of themes, such as unity, eternity or perfection.
Circles are also famous for being central to the work of the artist Wassily Kandinsky, but you don’t have to be a professional artist to benefit from creating art using circles.
In this blog post I set out how to create simple circles to bring mindful benefits to adults, young people and children alike.
Table of Contents
What are simple circles in Mindful art?
What are the benefits of simple circles?
What are simple circles in Mindful art?
The act of drawing circles over and over is an exercise that enables someone to slow down and explore their emotions. By focusing on the process of drawing the circles, not the outcome, it’s possible to bring yourself to the present moment, which has many mindful benefits.
What are the benefits of simple circles?
The mindful benefits of simple circles include:
A quick creative break that doesn’t require much preparation or equipment
It is relaxing
It can relieve stress and anxiety
Equipment needed to make simple circles
All you will need to create simple circles is:
Paper
Pen or pencil
Optional extra - Different coloured pens or pencils
How to create simple circles
Activity duration: 10 minutes - 1 hour
Find a comfortable and pleasant place to sit
You may find it helpful to put a timer on for a minimum of 10 minutes, then remain focused on the task for the duration of the timer
Begin by slowly drawing a small circle on the page, making sure to complete the circle.
Use your senses to watch your pen as it moves and listen to the sound of the pen on the paper.
Make sure you keep breathing and try to relax any muscles you may be tensing.
Follow the same process over and over, drawing the circles either adjacent or overlapping each other. The key point is to make sure to take it slowly and each circle ends where it began.
If your attention drifts and your circles start to become less accurate, do not worry, just refocus and try again.
Explore drawing circles as you want to - larger, smaller, circles inside other circles or spirals.
A key point is not to pay attention to the final outcome, do not judge yourself if you do not like the look of your circles. Focus fully on the process, allowing any thoughts and feelings to come up, but push them away to refocus your attention purely on drawing the circles.
When your timer goes off or you have covered your paper, congratulate yourself for completing the task!
Optional Extra
If you have a bit more time, it is absolutely fine to use a variety of colours for your circles and connect the circles with lines and patterns. The key point to remember is to take it slowly and concentrate on joining up your circles and lines with mindful attention.
I hope you have found this blog post helpful and find creating simple circles as beneficial as I do. If you would like more ideas of mindful activities, please see my ‘Beginners Guide to Art Therapy’ blog post or if you have any simple circle ideas you think I should include, you can email me at [email protected], I would love to hear your thoughts.
Details in this blog do not constitute professional Art Therapy advice. All Art Therapy techniques should be used by qualified therapists according to their education and training.
