Meditative Drawing: Creative Drawing as a Way of Thinking

In Alexandria University, art education research team has been met weekly for trance-media conceptual art-making sessions through the last two years (2009, 2010). This research paper reports how this conceptual art-making practice has influenced the creativity of the team, based on designed games and techniques with four participant groups and one observer of the art-making group, these techniques were created by the researcher inspired by his own art experience, he applied on his own works of art, and the study of some chosen artists works. Several key themes arose from the investigation, including the exploration of the meaning of drawings and symbols, the value of symmetric shapes, extended interaction amongst participants, the sense of meditative art-making, and the importance of drawing sessions in bringing the sense of contemporary form of aesthetics through improvising techniques. These principles and techniques resonate strongly with the academic literature and experimental work with background of psychology, creativity, and non-formal adult learning.