From Musings to Paper: Mindfulness and Mind Wandering among Expressive Artists

Abstract

Mindfulness and mind wandering (MW)- deliberate and spontaneous were explored in the context of the work of visual artists and creative writers. The artists were categorized as professional or amateur. 33 visual artists and 33 creative writers were given three self-report indices- creative activities and achievement, MW and mindfulness. Results showed a significant positive correlation between creative achievement and years of experience, MW deliberate and experience; and a negative correlation between number of hours spent in the activities related to the creative field and spontaneous mind wandering. A significant mean difference in trait mindfulness and MW spontaneous between creative writers and visual artists was observed. Furthermore, a significant mean difference between professional and amateur creative writers in MW deliberate was found, and a significant mean difference between professional and amateur visual artists in MW spontaneous was observed. The findings and future recommendations have further been discussed.