We recently connected with Minni Hein and have shared our conversation below.
Minni , looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Can you talk to us about how you learned to do what you do?
To speak of how I learned my craft, let me start by saying what I currently do: I create meditative, energy-transmitting mandalas. As much as I love art, I am fascinated by learning itself – I am also an art teacher. I believe the human experience is a fascinating, uncomfortable, wonderful and miraculous opportunity for our souls to grow. So whatever I find a piece of information or a cool method, whether art-related or something else, there is always this tickle in the back of my brain asking: how can I share this? Also, I know that learning happens best with experience, rather than listening to someone’s words. So, I create meditative art workshops where people can immerse themselves in the process of creation. Some of what they realize or become better at is the result of what I teach, but sometimes even deeper insights come from the practice itself.
<b>The first chapters</b>
How did get here? Art has always been a passion of mine. One of the first photos I have of myself was at ca 5 years old, sitting and drawing with my new set of watercolor pencils. (Except now I know much better how to use them!) I continued to follow my passion: graduated from the children’s art school in my town (Tartu), did my BA in Art Theory and MA in Art Education at the Estonian Academy of Arts. I also took several hands-on art classes, but my sprint of learning when it comes to practical skills came after I graduated: I was invited to teach at this really cool private extracurricular art school called Sally Studio. To this day, I occasionally give lessons there. Planning drawing and painting lessons for 7-15-year-olds was a lot of work at first, but since a good teacher first does the assignment his/herself, this meant that I had a lot of practice! At this point, I was making some mandalas occasionally, but didn´t consider myself an artist.
I remember one day at Sally Studio, packing up after a lesson. The Estonian Artist Mall Nukke was there as well as she also had a class to teach. We were talking about what it takes to be an artist. Mall said something like “well, if you have a strong reason why you are making art or a message, then you can be an artist.” This made me think. However, it took me a while to find “my thing.” It took me two more things: working as an educator at contemporary art exhibitions and inner work.
<b>Inspiring time as an educator</b>
For several years, my art was teaching: giving lessons at Sally Stuudio and also, from January 2016 to June 2024 I worked as a gallery educator at Tallinn Art Hall. Helping school children and adults have deep and meaningful art experiences was great! I enjoyed talking about exhibitions and creating interactive learning experiences. The contemporary art I encountered was more on the serious side, contemplative, socially critical, thought-provoking, sometimes also humorous, often beautiful in known and new ways. This meant that there were plenty of opportunities for deep, compassionate discussions. I got feedback from groups that they liked my calm, yet inspiring approach. Being immersed in contemporary art taught me to notice beauty in the mundane and to speak in the language of symbols and metaphors. It was also inspiring to see how many different ways there are for expressing oneself, from crazy site-specific installations to subtle sound art to powerful paintings! Yet, with each passing year, I felt like it was time to start telling my own stories, with the energy that I personally wished to bring to the world. I yearned for harmony and lightness.
<b>Doing the inner work</b>
This desire had its roots in my spiritual practice: I know that whatever we focus on, we amplify. I felt like Doing the inner work is a stream of learning that runs parallel to my academic and work-related education: getting to know myself and the Universe. I started because of health reasons, but also because I was fascinated by the mysterious, subtle realms. I had questions like: “Are we really all connected? How? Who am I in this cosmic soup of creation? What is my unique essence like? What can I perceive beyond words and how does that change things? How can I create the life I prefer?” This has led me to countless meditations, courses, shamanic journeys and podcasts, including becoming a Bach Flower therapist and a master of Advanced Intuitive Reiki. I am on a constant journey, with peaks an valleys, but more often than not, I find myself feeling peaceful and grateful. So as I went deeper with spiritual practices, another question arose: “How can I share the love, peace and bliss I found from within?”.
<b>Guided meditation a tuning fork before creating</b>
This question needed time and freedom to be answered. However, little by little, guided meditations and mindfulness practices sneaked into my practice as a teacher. Visualizing exercises before drawing proved very interesting. I started making “slow looking” tours, which integrated mindfulness practices with experiencing artworks. I started working half-time and my main job and began organizing meditative art classes. There, I experienced over and over again that there is power in pausing and becoming present before starting to create anything. I continue to use guided journeys as a tool: with deliberate focus, we can access the reservoirs of peace and love we all have in our hearts. This has got me into the practice of using the same process for my own art: pausing, tuning my state of being and then creating.
<b>Just CREATE</b>
After quitting my job to focus on my own work(shops), two things happened. Firstly, I experienced the exhilarating freedom of standing only for myself and creating what was truly coming from my heart. Spirography, mandalas, sacred geometry and the watercolor technique were exciting to dive into! I feel that I learned a fair bit because I spent the time experimenting. Art really is a practice, repetitions and constant (self)analysis is the key to learning.
Secondly, I had an identity crises! I was used to being surrounded by school groups daily and in the absence of that, there was a certain emptiness. Here, I experienced how powerful art can be as tool to support myself with. For example, painting and drawing with the color yellow has brought a lot of joy. This, in turn, taught me a about the power of colors and the methodology of using them. It is fun to go along these paths of what feels interesting!
Currently, I am happy many works have inspired others and a some have also found homes. A few months ago, I had this experience when I was selling my art at a little fair: a cool-looking woman came over and said she could see my work was kind of glowing, she could sense the energy. She bought a piece called “The seed of golden light” and later said it holds the energy of lightness in her home. This made me feel like, yes! The journey of learning is exciting, but also, it does feel great to have the confirmation that others can also see the value in it.
<b>The “craft” now
</b>Currently (actually, as usual), I am excited to continue learning, occasionally taking workshops (Estonian artist Kadi Tombak is one of my favorite teachers at the moment) and developing my practical art-making skillset by experimenting on my own. I love watercolors and there’s always another level of mastery there. I know I have a long way to go compared to some, but don´t let it bother me. I feel that the energy I wish for my art to have, it does, most of the time. In fact, I believe that with sincere expression, the energy is always there, regardless of the skillset. I´ve seen this in my workshops and this inspires me to continue.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
I see myself as an artist and therapist. My mandalas are born at the meeting point of the fruits of my inner work and the fascination with the presence-bringing, flow-state creating, time-bending creative process. I have a background in Art Education (MA) and I’ve been introducing art to peopple a great part of my working life. In recent years, the inspiration pool from experiencing artworks and seeking light within has started to overflow, finding its expression in mandala art. At other times, when the days are dark literally or metaphorically, art is the light I need and share.
I believe the world changes from the inside out, so I do my best to embody this. I see myself as one of many whose soul calling is to bring through healing energies through the arts. My mediums are painting and drawing (mandalas), poetry, energy healing sessions and art workshops. The harmony and beauty I experience while creating also have a deeply balancing effect on myself and my students and this is what I am excited to share!
The people who attend my workshops say they felt that time passed quickly, they relaxed and realized that – in fact – they can draw and paint! These are skills that can be learned and you don’t need to be a professional to enjoy the process.
<b>My unique process</b>
For me, art is more than what happens on paper. It is a transformative practice: when drawing or painting, we form new neural connections and memories of being immersed in the beautiful flow of creating. Moreover, we can use art to create the experience we prefer in life.
Combining art-making with guided meditation helps to boost this potential. The first stop of any workshop is always presence: allowing the hustle of the day to dissolve, for the mind to settle into silence. I use mindfulness and movement techniques to help my students relax at this phase. I am sometimes amazed at what a difference it makes to center ourselves in our bodies, to just notice our breath and tune to the senses. I also like to use it when doing guided tours at exhibitions.
Why is this so important? When we are present, we reach a state of harmony. Also, we become more open and susceptible to the subtle nuances of art like textures, details, colors and also the intricate layers meaning. This brings enjoyment: the more present we are, the less we need! In this state, we also notice what is happening within, so any experience is amplified. Then, we can ask: what do we wish to create? Or more importantly, what do we wish to experience? I agree with what Abraham-Hicks shares: if the reason we wish to have anything is because we believe will feel better in the having of it… why not start by going straight to the feeling? The present moment is the only thing we can ever experience anyway. Usually, I follow this phase with sharing the technical details of what we are about to create.
The next step is to focus ourselves into the state of being or emotion we wish to amplify in our lives. This can be as abstract and expansive as tuning to the Divinity within or as concrete as breathing into peace and tranquility, joy or inspiration. I’ve had people find joy, peace and love in their hearts and their pictures then became manifestations and reminders of that state. Art can be an anchor for what we wish to see more of in our lives.
I use a similar kind of process when I paint or draw. It is useful to take a moment of setting the intention for what I wish to create. I notice a difference in the clarity of inspiration I receive. Students say the same. Sometimes, an inspiring state of being arrives spontaneously, sparked by a conversation, an encounter with something in nature, an inner longing, an experience in some meditative practice… then it is my job to be quick enough to “catch the feeling” before it passes.
<b>Anyone can enjoy making art!</b>
I also believe in everyone’s ability to express themselves visually. I don’t know about other countries, but in Estonia, I often hear the stories of people whose art teachers told them they couldn’t draw or worse, that “they did not have any talent in art”. Yes, there are some for whom drawing, painting, sculpting and making meanings through art comes more easily, but anyone can enjoy the process and with the right guidance, amazing results are possible!
At times when we are spending an increasing amount of time in front of screens, consuming information, two things are needed more than ever: creating things with our hands and allowing ourselves the opportunity to express though non-verbal means. Art is a great way to calm the over-active mind by giving it something neutral, yet inspiring to focus on like finding the center of a paper, deciding which shape goes next into a pattern our what color is best with blue.
<b>Deliberate methodology for an intuitive experience</b>
This relaxed, time-bending state that occurs when we create was coined as a state of Flow by the psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi. There are a couple of important factors that need to be in place for that to be achieved. One of them is the level of difficulty of the assignment. We want the mind to be able to ride the wave of being interested, but not overwhelmed with a difficult task. There also needs to be an instant feeling of seeing the result, like the pleasure of molding clay, seeing paint flow or noticing the paper being filled with patterns. As a teacher and workshop experience designer, I take this into account, constantly developing and experimenting the lessons so students both learn and relax. I take into account whether the participants are beginners or advanced art-lovers to give them the art assignment that is in their “zone of proximal development” – just right for them. I keep the groups relatively small or work 1:1 to make sure this is possible.
In conclusion, I believe in the power of art as a tool to uplift and inspire us, whether we are the ones creating or viewing it. Either way, we are creators. Can we become more aware of our potential to create our life experience? My artwork and workshops guide participants on this path.
What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?
My work is driven by the conviction that art can support us at these turbulent times. The contemporary art scene is very diverse, raging from socio-culturally critical pieces to art that is simply pleasant to look at. I believe all art is good for someone – for understanding something, for getting a reflection to oneself or seeing society in art’s metaphorical mirrors, for being emotionally moved, being inspired. I see my mission to bring forth art that is made with the intention of bringing healing, harmonizing, uplifting energies to the world. It is starting to feel like a movement: there are quite a few fellow artists, musicians, writers etc who have found the same calling within. So a part of the work is to make artworks that work as light-houses of uplifting energy.
I also feel called to raise awareness of this phenomenon and the wonderful, tapped-in fellow creators. What do we have in common? We listen within, we trust ourselves over collective narratives and often, we feel that our ouvre “flows through” rather than us having to create it with our minds. Where does the inspiration come from then? Definitions may be different, but in short: from a connected, expansive, benevolent, loving place. We give form to the harmony we feel within so others may also tap into it.
How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?
One big shift that would support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem would be to raise awareness of the power of art. Art tends to be a bit of a narrow niche at the moment, at least in Estonia. I’ve heard many people say they can’t really connect with viewing or making art. I feel that art is a necessary part of the spectrum of human expression and anyone can find their favorite flavor, so to say, from the diverse buffe of art. One of best ways of achieving that is to value and fund art education.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @minnihein
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/minni.hein/
- Linkedin: Minni Hein