Art I Would Choose

Art for a Meditation Room

    

I've always wanted a small room, or even an outdoor shed, to use as a meditation and yoga room. If I were able to gain this luxury, below are some of the artworks that I'd choose to display in the room. I want pieces that are more minimalistic but have color. For this room, I'm drawn to pieces that can flow together, be calming, but also enlightening and inspiring. I would prefer art that is large in this room, but not so large that it becomes overwhelming and overpowers the space.  As far as my budget would go, it'd be high, but it definitely wouldn't go out the window. Some things I'd ask for as gifts when Christmas rolls around, but other than that, I'd be funding it myself, along with my most generous husband, of course. 

    The first piece on this list is a print that I've been eyeballing for a couple of years. I love the vibes that it could bring into a room. It's calming and simple yet intricate and colorful. I love that as the woman meditates, there's a root connection to the ground, as I also picture that in my mind when I'm meditating. I love that the flowers not only represent where the ground ends and the air beings, but also that they bring in the idea of growth and commitment. You have to commit to a meditation practice like you would commit to growing flowers. They need to be watered almost daily and trimmed regularly for them to grow into something new and more stable.

    The artwork is available for purchase on probably my most favorite online store, "Etsy". Since it's a print of an original piece, the artist allows you to choose from a variety of different sizes to fit your needs. It's titled Sun Worshipper and was created by TarnEllisArt. The artwork comes from the United Kingdom. I was unable to locate an exact date or year as to when the art was made, but I know for sure it was created sometime within the last 5 years.

    I love this art for its heavy use of orange. Orange is my favorite color, so I definitely need to have it in what would be my favorite room. It's a color of creativity, freshness, warmth, and excitement. Through some research about the color, I've learned that "some cultures regard orange as a sacred color because it balances red’s power and yellow’s perfection. Buddhists also connect orange to the highest state of illumination. Orange is the color of transformation in Confucianism" (HunterLab, 2023). All of these different aspects and meanings of this color are themes and energies that I'd want this room to exude, so it'd be perfect for the space.

    The main reason this artwork caught my eye is the artist's use of color. She's used multiple shades of orange to create this ethereal and unified look to the piece. I also think it was an important and crucial addition to add little pops of various colors within the piece as well. By creating a small garden of flowers near the bottom, she's separated the background and the foreground with the use of color and overlay. Lastly, I love the use of color she's used on the woman's skin. If you look closely enough, you can see a pattern of orange flowers scattered throughout her body. This may represent her absorption of the energy, warmth, and light that the sun in the background is providing.

    The artist brought this painting to life with the use of contrast. This technique is used throughout the entire artwork, making this more simple minimalist piece discreetly complicated and technical. For example, the background is mostly soft and blended, but then when you look at the sun, you can see how the lines within it stand out; they're not completely blended. This makes the art more defined and interesting to look at. The other example of contrast that makes this piece stand out is the contrast between the sun and the woman's hands. The sun is circular, while her hands are in a more triangular position. The usage of contrast through shapes draws the viewer's eyes towards these two important elements of the piece. 

    Another artpiece that has recently caught my eye from the great land of "Etsy" is titled Enchanted Forest Mushroom Lamp by StarArtisans. This piece was created in either 2024 or 2025 in the United States. I personally think it's absolutely gorgeous and versatile for many different rooms, but would especially feel at home in a meditation room. I would love to place it on a little accent table or, ideally, the shelf set that I have chosen as artwork number three for my meditation room.

    Mushrooms represent themes such as transformation, wisdom, connection, and mystery. Forests, on the other hand, can represent a wider variety of different meanings. They represent a connection to the divine due to their association with deities, spirits, and creatures within mythology. They were also commonly portrayed as places of solace and introspection during the Romantic era of the late 1700s to the early 1800s.

     To me, a forest most represents the unknown, "inviting viewers to embark on a journey of discovery and self-reflection". Forests are also often used to explore human emotions and psychology through art (Printed Editions, 2023). All of these ideas demonstrate themes that coincide greatly with the practice of meditation and overall my personal spirituality. Self-discovery, transformation, and venturing into the unknown are the aspects that are most fulfilling and important to me in my spiritual practices. 

    This particular piece could easily be the inspiration for the entire meditation room. I'd love the room to feel like you're journeying into a magical and transformative foresty space. Two elements that I believe make the art come alive are texture and unity. Beginning with the evaluation of texture, it's quite literally everywhere. The mushrooms are smooth and rounded, the crystals appear sharp and transparent with inner cracks, then all of the different species of plants have different textures to create distinction amongst them. The intentional placement of each element within this terrarium brings across beautiful unity in this piece. Even though there are so many different textures happening, together they all seem harmonious. Lastly, because all the colors are similar, the artist employed techniques such as repetition and proximity to create an effect of unity rather than one of messiness and meaninglessness. 

    The final piece that I think would be lovely in my meditation room would be this Riverbank Shelf Set, crafted by Steve Uren. This item is created in Michigan and is usually made to order. It can easily be purchased online at a website titled "Artful Home".

    I love the idea of having this eye-catching shelf to display things in my meditation room. I like how the wood brings in colors and textures that can be found within nature. It ties in well with the idea of this room being not only a foresty space, but also magical and transformative. 

    This shelf set is an example of transformation because he created something new out of a natural element. While doing so, he still appreciates and pays respect to the element, in this case, a tree. The artist achieved this by not overcomplicating things. He really tried to just define the tree's already beautiful natural pattern. "He uses no stains or dyes and instead allows the natural beauty and colors of the wood to showcase themselves'' (Artful Home, Riverbank Shelf Set). By doing so, he enhanced the appearance of the tree rather than taking away from it. 

    The reason the shelf captured my attention was the use of lines. I love the wavy line that's carved in the backboard; it helps bring in the magical feel that I would want my meditation room to reflect. It also contrasts well with the straight shelves and complements the dark woods' natural patterns. Without this wavy line, this piece would come off completely different. It makes the shelf set seem open and light, which isn't often an effect that we see when we look at wood. 

    Another art element that is important to this artwork is balance. When you choose not to center things, it can easily come off as unbalanced. But the artist using 4 shelves and elongating 2 each on opposite sides makes the piece become flawlessly balanced and pleasing to look at. He also balanced colors well by using only the dark, more potent wood as the backboard, while lightening it up with the tan wood as the shelves. This way, it doesn't appear heavy and makes the shelf set more expensive-looking and enticing to look at. Overall, I think the Riverbank Shelf Set would be a great piece to display beloved items in many different rooms, and I'd love to have it in a meditation room.

TarnEllisArt. (n.d.). Sun worship art . Etsy. https://www.etsy.com/market/sun_worship_art 

HunterLab. (2023, November 28). The color orange - history, meaning and facts. https://www.hunterlab.com/blog/the-color-orange/ 

StarArtisans. (n.d.). Glowing crystal pillars with healing properties, Enchanted Forest Mushroom Lamp, Fantasy Crystal Nightlight, unique gift, elegant home decor - etsy. Etsy. https://www.etsy.com/listing/1882229003/glowing-crystal-pillars-with-healing 

The meaning of forests in print. Printed Editions. (2023, July 23). https://www.printed-editions.com/print-curations/art-curation/forest/ 

Apuluo, Y. (2025, September 19). Enchanted mushrooms: Forest magic in your hands. elfinery. https://elfinery.com/blogs/field-notes/enchanted-mushrooms-forest-magic-in-your-hands?srsltid=AfmBOorIC4nugvEE1GBf-svEicPA1ddvtlsqkMIr666TU4dcU3oqZ3z2 

Uren, S. (n.d.). Riverbank Shelf Set. Artful Home. https://www.artfulhome.com/collections/artist-steve-uren