This workshop project invites three forms of practice: meditation on the breath, drawing and reflective writing. Concretely, no prior knowledge of these three fields of practice is necessary. Basic instruction on breath meditation will be given from day one and creative exercises will be guided at every step. Drawing exercises carried out in solo and in pairs, followed by writing exercises, will be offered to participants. The workshop will be very practical, focused on creativity in action, on introspection and on exchange. The work in drawing will be related to the presence to oneself, to the other as well as to phenomena, while the work in the practice diary will engage the participants in a reflective writing. The series of exercises and modes of exchange, alternating with a meditation practice, will allow participants to contact their state of mind, to become familiar with their ways and habits, to relate to them or not, and to see how put it to good use in the practice of creation.

Sylvie Cotton is a professional artist. Her artistic work in performance, art d’action, installation and drawing has been presented since 1995 in Quebec and in a dozen European countries as well as in Japan and Mexico. Since 2011, she has been directing, mainly for professional artists, courses, workshops, residencies and retreats in meditation and creation (UQAC, RAIQ, RAAV, CRCQ or independently). In 2013, she founded Les Assises, a monthly practice and study group on art and meditation. She completed training as a meditation instructor, certified by the Shambhala Center in Montreal, where she has been teaching since 2012. As a professional artist, she is invited each year to meet students from the Faculty of Arts at UQAM and other Quebec universities or CEGEPs to talk about her approach and her artistic research.

This activity has been made possible thanks to the support of the Conseil des arts de Montréal as part of the DémART-Mtl program.