Hi there! I’m Emily Porter, artist and soon-to-be art educator. It’s been ten years since I moved to the city from Florida, and as much as I feel like a New Yorker, I still love the beach, palm trees, and lots of sunshine. I’m learning how to sail on the Hudson river and hope to sail up and down the coast some day. This is my last semester of graduate course work which includes my thesis project on mindfulness in NYC schools.
Currently, I work as a coordinator for a CUNY access program. Part of my job includes introducing mindfulness practices to higher ed students and leading meditations throughout the school year as a stress management tool. I’m able to see and hear about the positive effects of this practice on the participants. For my thesis project, I’m interested in learning how mindfulness is being implemented in K-12 schools, whether it’s by teachers, administrators, counselors, etc. I’m curious what these practices look like and what the outcomes are for students and teachers. I’ve sent out a survey to the Art Ed community (maybe you’ve seen it!) that will help me gather this information to find out what’s happening and how it’s working. I will also conduct interviews to understand why educators might be motivated to incorporate mindfulness practices in schools.
In my research, I’ve discovered some incredible practices that integrate art making and mindfulness. Two prominent practitioners are Jane Dalton (The Mindful Studio) who presented at NAEA this year, and Gala Narezo, who is featured on this blog in the March 29th post. They are both working with mindfulness in the way I hope to do when I begin teaching art. Check out their work to see some ways to introduce mindful practices into your classrooms and school communities.
Part of my thesis project involves creating a shift in my own art making practice that looks like slowing down and allowing things to be what they are, which are elements of mindfulness. I notice that I often create in haste with the aim of just getting it done, so working with layers of ink and watercolor is my current study of slowing down and developing patience and care with my art. The image below is one of several studies in this process.
Check out the mindfulness in schools survey and feel free to pass it along to anyone you think would be interested. Thanks for reading my post!
-Emily
