Charles Blackhall

​

Visual images and the creative process have long been a passion for me.  From the days of black and white and darkrooms, I have studied photography with various teachers and mentors, and in collaboration with other artists, set up the first photography gallery in Victoria, British Columbia. We called this the Secession Gallery as an homage to some of the pioneers of photographic expression. They advanced the art of photography as a means of visual expression beyond simply mimicking the painting styles of the day.

The Mindful Eye practise works with the meditative discipline to slow down and  work with our state of mind. By calming and settling down we could connect with things as they are. This is a practise based on cultivating a contemplative state of mind so that we see things as we are and our creative expressions (images) reflect that purity of raw experience- rather than a conceptual overly (what we think).

Life’s journey led me to the meditative, or contemplative arts…ways of taming the mind. After years of exploring, practice and study, I became an instructor of Qi Gong, Tai Chi, and mindfulness meditation. These disciplines all relate to cultivating awareness by synchronizing body and mind .  A still mind and open heart, synchronized with the eye, is the very essence of direct visual perception, the mindful eye. Today I appreciate the influence of image makers/story tellers from various disciplines who attend to the freshness of this present moment.  Clear and simple, as it is.

​

When I met and married Kerry Crofton, a long-time mindfulness meditation practitioner and teacher, we shared a connection with this practice and the contemplative arts altogether  The Mindful EYE program developed from our combined aspiration to share these ways of experiencing the freshness of our world. We look forward to sharing this with you and your family/organization, it’s a great way to be together, or alone in the natural world, and just where you are, appreciating the simple beauty of daily life.