12 artists who meditate: Deep down, silence becomes creative!

Art and meditation are no strangers.

Deep, transcending silence has stirred into existence some astonishingly beautiful works of painting, sculpture, and photography. How do these works of art look like? And what can the artists reveal about their creative and meditative methods? We decided to find out.

What artists DO with art and meditation

The collection of works on this page is a small fraction of the treasures which could be exhibited in the prospective Museum of Meditation Art. All the various artists are regular practitioners of the Transcendental Meditation technique. We tried to pick as diverse a sample of styles and media as possible.

meditation art meditating artists meditate robins — “that was the night i was on T.V.,” acrylic on wood. Jim Robbins

photographers meditation art meditating artists meditate — “In Wisconsin it is illegal to serve apple pie in public restaurants without cheese,” photograph. Olivia Locher

meditation art meditating artists meditate painting todd voss — “Horse Pasture in Winter,” oil. Todd Voss

meditation art artists meditate kito mbiango painting — “Kiss Me Hard before You Go,” mixed media. Kito Mbiango

meditation art artists who meditate ingvild.waerhaug — “Moment of Awakening – Moment of Understanding – Moment of Joy,” watercolor. Ingvild Waerhaug

meditation art meditating artists meditate mindy weisel — “Of Wonder,” fused glass. Mindy Weisel

meditation art artists meditate michalopoulus — “Louis Armstrong,” oil. Micalopoulus

meditation art meditating sculptors meditate — “Relief 8,” mixed media. Kim Matthews

meditation art artists meditating kanoa_zimmerman_05 — “Divers,” photograph. Kanoa Zimmerman

meditating artists meditation painters meditate — “Hamsa Devi / Shamanic Swan,” watercolor, gouache and 23K gold leaf on paper. Miriam Hospodar

meditation art artists meditate gad tik — “Yellow Flowers,” oil. Gad Tik

meditation art - close to the flame - josh podoll — “Close to the Flame,” oil. Josh Podoll

What artists SAY about art and meditation

Diving within enables access to new concepts and images, no matter what the artist’s preferred medium, academic background or area of expertise. Meditation simply purifies the inspiration by clearing the vision and turning the gaze in unexpected directions.

meditation art meditating artists meditate david lynch — “Self-portrait,” photograph. David Lynch

DAVID LYNCH, artist and movie director:

“I came from painting. And a painter has none of those worries. A painter paints a painting. No one comes in and says, “You’ve got to change that blue.”

“When you do dive within and experience this pure self — atma, pure consciousness — it’s the home of all the laws of nature. You get more in tune with those and the nature starts supporting you.

“So you have that feeling, even if they’re breathing down your neck, and there’s pressure here and pressure here, it doesn’t matter… I say, “Every day is like a Saturday morning” — you got a great feeling, and it grows and grows and grows.” – see full article

KIM MATTHEWS, sculptor:

OLIVIA LOCHER, photographer:

“To find the best ideas you have to go deep within yourself. To do this I practice Transcendental Meditation twice a day, every day. I believe it keeps the ideas coming.” – see full article

BERNIE PINTAR, painter and clay artist:

_{Video by Julie Sokolow}