Project Calm Issue 16

Of all our topics this issue – fire, play, kindness, a good yarn – awe is the theme that threads everything together: experiencing the world afresh with all the wonder, magic and innocence of a child. Ruby Deevoy’s feature about awe on page 60 sums up what mindfulness means to me. Being curious, letting the magnitude of nature overwhelm you (in a good way!), allowing yourself a moment to delight in little things, and being present in the here and now. It’s a way of living that’s available to us all, but ‘mindfulness’ and ‘self-care’ have become somewhat commercialised lately. Caitlin Metz and Victoria Emanuela are exploring this in their work as joint venture On Being In Your Body. I’m thrilled that they’ve collaborated with us this issue to make…

When did you realise you wanted to be an artist? Quoting a dear friend of mine, it’s not a realisation you have but it’s something you work towards every day. Where does your love of the natural world and fantasy come from? I think it stems from my childhood, we grew up in an ecosystem thriving with insects, birds, flora and fauna of the native Aravali biodiversity in the heart of Gurgaon city in northern India. We also farmed on the outskirts and grew up with stories that tied us to the natural world. Over time, we lost all this to a rapidly growing city. My artwork stems from a space of nostalgia and wonder – of the relationships we once shared with the natural world, the magic it offered to our lives…

Pay it forward, random acts of kindness… thoughtful gestures are so rare in today’s world that social movements are started just to remind us to take the time. If you’ve been on the receiving end of this kind of compassion, you’ll know how much it can lift your mood. So this issue we’re looking at all the ways we can be kinder, on- and off-line, to ourselves and others. Psychotherapist Sheri Bateren writes that being kinder to yourself makes for enhanced creativity. A sense of silliness does too, as professional clown Ash Perrin shares with us in his piece about the importance of play. We round off the section by playing with some paper, of course, to make nostalgic fortune tellers. Illustration: Beast fromeast/Getty Images; quote: Bob Kerrey…

1 A LITTLE KINDNESS Filled with pride at their children’s unprompted acts of kindness, friends Lucie Carr and Charlie Williams, decided to launch the Kindness Co-Op, a socially responsible apparel and accessories brand aimed at fostering compassion (especially amongst children) towards ourselves, others and the environment. The collection includes ‘Be Kind to Your Mind’ and ‘Be Kind to Our Planet’ notebooks, and organic cotton ‘One of a Kind Generation’ totes and tees. A donation to YoungMinds is made with every item sold, which funds projects that support mental health and emotional wellbeing for kids and adolescents. thekindnessco-op.com 2 LOVE YOUR BODY RIGHT NOW Diet culture, mainstream media, social conditioning, prejudices of disability, sexuality, race or gender identity – all these things create a structure in which we may not show our bodies the…

When people are kind, it can make us feel good. Sometimes it can be a small gesture, such as an exchanged smile between strangers, or something bigger like doing a favour for a neighbour. Knowing we’ve lightened someone’s burden lightens our own burden too. Kindnessisreciprocal. If we are kind, we improve other people’s lives, and we, in return, reap the benefits. According to clinical psychologist Joe Oliver, being kind to other people is beneficial to our own wellbeing, mental health and relationships. “As these flourish, other benefits for creativity and broader physical and mental healthmanifest,” he says. It sounds simple, but it can also be one of the hardest things. Despite our best intentions, a study led by Jonathan Freeman, psychology professor at Goldsmiths, suggests we’re not always as kind as we…

When did you realise you wanted to be an artist? I can’t remember a time when I didn’t draw, but it wasn’t until I was in sixth form that I realised it could be a career! I started as a children’s book designer, then became an illustrator. Can you describe your creative process? Coming up with a strong concept is important, so I typically focus on how best to express it first – be it through composition, mood or colour. What have been your favourite projects to work on? Recently I’ve really enjoyed making simple little animations of quiet moments – I’d love to explore this further. Where are your favourite places to enjoy nature? I love walking in forests as I always find it so peaceful and restorative. I’ve also recently been away to Snowdonia and…