Are you looking for ways to feel calmer, happier? Why not try out some mindful art techniques at home? 

This relaxing and meditative activity is inspired by the work of the artist Hayley Tompkins; her work formed part of the 2013 Everyday exhibition in GoMA’s gallery 1 space. Tompkins finds beauty within everyday objects by taking them out of context and painting with bright, bold and vivid colours.

To get materials for the activity, go around your house and find an everyday object that you no longer use. This could be a wooden spoon, a wooden chopping board, an old mobile phone or even cut off a sleeve from an old unworn shirt! The aim is to refresh and recreate this object into a meditative work of art.

As you are working from home, also try and gather together as many art materials as you can: emulsion paint, crayons, pens, watercolour paint even nail varnish or food colouring. Try to choose a range of colours that you love and that work well together.

We suggest to begin with a short meditation, followed by the activity itself. Find a tranquil spot in your home or garden and get your materials ready. There are several free short meditations online, but we suggest this simple one:

There are also some useful tips on the Glasgow Club website: https://myglasgow.club/customer/index.php/mind

Now set the scene for your mindful art session put on some relaxing music:

Now all you need to do is to paint your chosen object. Paint all sides of it and build up layers of paint to give it interesting textures.

Take your time to do this task. The aim here is to find a range of colours that work well together and to calmly transform the everyday object into something else – something that looks colourful and artistic.

Once it is dry, find somewhere in your house to display your colourful object and every time you look at it you will be reminded of how calm and tranquil you were when creating it!