Beauty is everywhere and in everyone, and we can feel and see that very clearly when genuinely practicing yoga. Yet, there is something about art and artists that makes them so proximal to the quest of beauty, even without yoga… Or as another way of doing yoga. This is why, in preparation for the retreat on Finding Beauty, Leaving Beauty, I have reached out to the artists practicing yoga in our classes, to ask them about their connection to beauty, and peek into their work, providing some additioanl inspiration for us, to merge with beauty ourselves.
We happened to have quite a few artists in our little yoga tribe, and in time this page may have a few more contributions. For now, please meet Fiona Clasen and Helen Cooper!
Fiona Clasen
Fiona Clasen is a pastel artist, based in Stirlingshire, Scotland. This is what Fiona said about beauty in her work:
“I spend a lot of time just looking. Even if I stay at home all day, or walk the same path every morning, there is always something new to discover. It is these small glimpses that I respond to. I find beauty in the simplest shapes, in how the light falls on a single object, or on a tree, on a cloud, or on water. To convey something of what I have seen, and to make it into something meaningful, is not easy, and not always successful. But when I achieve my aim, to capture a little of the spirit of that beauty, then there is a silent calm at the centre of the chaos of life.”
You can find more about Fiona Clasen’s art at her web, Facebook and Instagram pages.
https://www.facebook.com/fionaclasenartist/
https://www.instagram.com/fionaclasen/
Helen Cooper
Helen Cooper is a textile artist, based in Cheshire, England. Yes, with Zoom, Helen can take part in our yoga classes in Scotland!
This is what Helen said about beauty in her work:
“External and inner beauty to me are the synergistic combination of the mind and the body. In my artistic work, I aim to achieve this combination, to challenge the mind through my world of threads and fabrics. This, to me, captures creativity as a form of meditation, producing beauty for both the creator and the observer.”
You can find more about Helen Cooper’s art at her Instagram page: https://www.instagram.com/helencoopertextileartist/
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Regardless of whether you take part in the forthcoming or some future retreats crafted by Yoga with Mairi, and inspired by beautiful souls and bodies reaching and stretching towards the core of being, I hope that work and words of Fiona Clasen and Helen Cooper may inspire you to seek and see the beauty, in and out.
© 2020 Yoga with Mairi, by Marija Kovandzic
Yoga with Mairi 