click image to enlarge
The Sky's the Limit
Artwork Title: Bay Sky
Artist: Joel Meyerowitz
1989, chromogenic print on paper. UMMA, Gift of Thomas Wilson '79 and Jill Garling '80, 2012/2.118
Among other benefits, spending time looking at art can be an excellent source of calmness and relaxation. We recently checked in with UMMA docent Laura Seligman, who is also a mindfulness and meditation teacher. She said "Practicing mindfulness with art invites a fresh, direct and spacious interaction with one single work and increases our enjoyment."

To aid with your own mindfulness practice this week, Laura shared a series of prompts you can use to guide your thinking while you look at the work above and others from UMMA's collection. Follow along with this practice to bring a little more calm to your day.

Reflection Prompts:
  • Take a few deep, long, luxurious breaths. For a few moments, simply rest your attention on this image. Sit quietly for a few minutes. What do you notice as you simply gaze at the image?
  • Do you feel calm, spacious or something else? Where do you sense this in your body? Does the mind get quieter or louder? (There are no right answers!) 
  • How does the simplicity of slow looking, without engaging in analysis or judgement, shape your experience of being present with this work of art? Can you use these lessons elsewhere in your life? 
Breathe. Pause. Spend Just 20 Minutes Looking at This Art and You'll Feel Better

Click below to look through more UMMA art and spend time taking it in with the help of guided reflection prompts.

"Most people look at a work of art for approximately 30-60 seconds. Much of that time is spent reading the label. Slowing down to experience a work of art can be a surprising act of discovery. A more contemplative approach interrupts this deeply ingrained, fast-paced way of looking and allows something very different to emerge." –– Laura Seligman
Donald Sultan, Smoke Rings June 14, 2001, 2001, spackle and tar on tile over masonite. UMMA, Museum purchase made possible by the W. Hawkins Ferry Fund and the Friends of the Museum of Art, 2006/1.159A-D
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