Clouds in a Teacup:
A Mindful Journey and Coloring Book
2015
PROJECT PARTNER:
An invitation into creative and contemplative reflection with Brett Cook and Thich Nhat Hanh
These original drawings are from Clouds in a Teacup: A Mindful Journey and Coloring Book created with global spiritual leader Thich Nhat Hanh. Each drawing is conceptualized as an offering of tactile, interactive opportunities to explore creativity and promote ease. Composed of contemplative images for the centering process of coloring, each drawing is a prompt to reflect on the present moment.
Many of the drawings in the book feature moments of mindfulness from socially engaged public projects. Other images weave found photographs and public sources to construct meditative visual stories. The pages incorporate polycultural concepts and imagery to document narratives of interconnectedness, aesthetics, and perception.
Cloulds in a Teacup is available for purchase from Parallax Press: PURCHASE HERE
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Excerpts from Clouds in a Teacup
Community and Healing
This image was made through a series of dialogical creative exercises in partnership with the San Francisco State University Department of Health Education and Health Equity Institute, and residents, program staff, and city staff from HOPE SF. Conceptualized and featuring the participants, the drawing models inherently transformative ideas about what the practice of art can be, its societal benefits, and how it can be a force for personal discovery and mutual understanding. The sunflower is an inspirational symbol for faith; during the course of the day its bright blossom turns to follow the sun across the sky, seeking the light. The border is inspired by traditional Samoan textile patterns called siapo or tapa.
Flowers of Life
This image of two friends is from a project called Identity of Interbeing: Recognizing Difference and Seeing Ourselves, which took place at Packer Collegiate Academy, Brooklyn, New York in 2006. The roses and gems complement the image of two good friends. Tiger’s eye is a stone of vitality and energy. Quartz is a power stone, versatile and multidimensional in its uses. Rose quartz is a stone of the heart and of love. Ruby represents passion, protection, and prosperity.
Healing Hands
Aloe vera (aloe barbadensis) is popular for its medicinal powers, but for treating burns it is particularly miraculous. The drawing of two hands offering water comes from the Issues of Hip-Hop (Society) Project that featured eight Bedford-Stuyvesant residents’ work in participatory diptych installations across Brooklyn, New York in 2000. Xicalcoliuhqui, “greca” in Spanish, is a common step and spiral motif in traditional Mesoamerican art. It is still used today, and Pre-Columbian examples may be found in all sorts of arts and crafts as well as in architecture.
RELATED PROJECTS AND EXHIBITIONS
PROJECT
HOPE SF Arts and Healing Assessment