For their 5th Slow Art Day, the Georgia Museum of Art in Athens, Georgia, combined two meditative art techniques by artist Anna Bogatin Ott: Slow Looking and Slow Drawing.
Slow Looking
For the slow looking activity, participants were invited to look closely at the painting Aurora by Anna Bogatin Ott, and were guided by prompts via a PDF file, such as:
- “How do the repetitive marks guide your gaze around the painting?”
- “Imagine the painting so far away it becomes a speck, then zoom in so close that it’s touching your nose.”
Since Ott’s art is inspired by nature, participants were also encouraged to reflect on similarities between the colors of the painting and nature.
“I engage all my senses, dissolve into surrounding sounds, become immersed in the nature’s logic of being, and then, from memory, I recreate my experiences in drawings and paintings.”
Anna Bogatin Ott
Slow Drawing
For the slow drawing part of the event, participants were encouraged to draw horizontal lines while trying to stay in touch with their physical sensations — focusing attention on the sound of their breath, the feel of the texture of the paper, and the visual effect of negative and positive space between the lines. The activity became a mindful way of remaining present through a multi-sensory art experience.
Pre-event Virtual Jigsaw Puzzle
Leading up to the main event, the museum shared a virtual interactive jigsaw puzzle of their featured painting to their Facebook page. Several participants completed the jigsaw, and the post reached 647 readers.
Without being formally promoted, their event was a social media success with over 2000 Instagram impressions and 185 Facebook interactions.
The Slow Art Day HQ team has loved participating in these mindful activities. They made us feel centered and at peace, which is a big part of what Slow Art Day is all about.
We look forward to seeing more of The Georgia Museum of Art’s immersive events – hopefully for Slow Art Day 2021.
-Johanna and Ashley