Yuning Chen (Ivy) · Mindful Artist & Inner Wellness Advocate

Art × Tech × Mindfulness

Yuning Chen (Ivy) is a University of Toronto Industrial Engineering graduate, mindful artist, and inner wellness advocate. Her practice connects art, technology, and mindfulness through painting, embroidery, education, and community engagement.

Explore the Art →Discuss a Workshop

Yuning learning Suzhou Embroidery, China, 2026.

My practice begins with what is happening in the mind.

I bring attachment, uncertainty, agitation, tenderness, and stillness into the creative process—not simply to illustrate them, but to work with them.

Through colour, line, breath, and at times silk-thread embroidery, each work becomes a visual record of contemplative practice and inner development.

Art

INNER LANDSCAPES｜心之境

Meditate. Visualize. Paint. — Four contemplative journeys in acrylic.

冥想 · 观想 · 绘画——四段以丙烯记录的观照之旅。

My practice unfolds through three movements: meditate, visualize, paint. I begin by noticing what is present in the mind, allow it to take shape through inner imagery, and explore it further through colour, gesture, and paint.

These four independent works explore basic goodness, light within difficulty, equanimity in the presence of suffering, and the storms beneath a relationship’s quiet surface. Each painting records a moment of contemplative practice—not a fixed answer, but an ongoing process of seeing, responding, and growing.

Swan and Lotus Lake 《天鹅与莲池》 — Swan and Lotus Lake
《天鹅与莲池》
Acrylic on canvas, 18 × 24 in.

The Light That Survives 《幽谷之光》 — The Light That Survives
《幽谷之光》
Acrylic on canvas, 18 × 24 in.

The Storm Inside the Cloud 《云中惊雷》 — The Storm Inside the Cloud
《云中惊雷》
Acrylic on canvas, 18 × 24 in.

Our Basic Goodness 《本初的善》 — Our Basic Goodness
《本初的善》
Acrylic on canvas, 20 × 20 in.

COILED AND UNCOILED| 缠与解

Four works tracing an evolving practice of attention, encounter, settling, and release.

在色彩、线条与针线之间，觉察心的纠缠，探索松开的可能。

Cutting Through — The Clarity That Ends Entanglement 《斩断纠缠——清明的一刀》 — IV. Cutting Through — The Clarity That Ends Entanglement
《斩断纠缠——清明的一刀》
Acrylic and Suzhou silk-thread embroidery on canvas, 30 × 40 in.

The First Encounter — Mindfulness in Ordinary Things 《初遇——日常事物中的觉照》 — I. The First Encounter — Mindfulness in Ordinary Things
《初遇——日常事物中的觉照》
Acrylic on canvas, 30 × 40 in.

Two Mindstreams 《两种心流》 — II. Two Mindstreams
《两种心流》
Acrylic on canvas, 30 × 40 in.

Four Stages of Settling the Mind 《调心四境》 — III. Four Stages of Settling the Mind
《调心四境》
Acrylic on canvas, 30 × 40 in.

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Mindful Art

Mindful Art, Shared

I adapt drawing, embroidery, breath, and reflective exercises into accessible experiences for different communities and professional settings.

Round silk embroidery fans with wooden handles and colourful silk tassels arranged on a table.

Workplace practice

Hybrid mindful art workshops for government employees. On May 13, 2026, I led a 90-minute hybrid workshop for the government office I previously worked for, with approximately 30 participants.

Participants working on round-fan embroidery together at a community mindful art workshop.

Community workshops

Community mindful art sessions organized through cultural associations. Venues such as libraries and University of Toronto spaces are arranged by the associations or with help from student clubs—not commissioned by the institutions themselves.

Participants practising embroidery on round fabric fans during a mindful art workshop.

Student-focused practice

Drawing, body-awareness, and breath-based embroidery exercises designed around exam pressure and student life. These sessions offer space to pause and observe—no claims are made about improving exam performance.

Community

From Personal Practice to Shared Action

Vitamins for the Kids · 一颗维生素

A community support initiative I started in 2021, working with supporters and local collaborators on children's nutrition, education, hygiene, and everyday needs. The work continues, step by step.

For more information, please visit the project page or follow us on Instagram.

Explore the project

A child holding a sign bearing the Chinese name of the Vitamins for the Kids initiative. — Vitamins for the Kids
Children with a sign for the community support initiative.

A smiling child holding a peeled boiled egg. — Everyday nutrition
A child holding a boiled egg.

Two children carrying a basin of apples during an outdoor meal. — Fresh fruit
Carrying apples for distribution.

A child carrying bananas between rows of children seated for a meal. — Sharing bananas
Bananas being distributed during a shared meal.

Children’s vitamin gummies
Children holding the vitamin gummies we distributed.

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Nepal Education & Community Support

A roughly ten-day on-site project in 2025 combining mindful art, drawing, AI basics, and practical life education. AI-assisted Nepali-language materials were translated and taught together with local teachers.

Drawing together

A classroom drawing session, with children sharing their work.

Classroom art showcase

A larger classroom group sharing their drawings.

Mindful art in practice

Children drawing during a mindful art session.

First Stiches

Discovering a new way to create mindfully, one stitch at a time.

Practical life education

Leading an interactive lesson on everyday hygiene.

Learning through pictures

Using illustrated prompts to discuss clean clothes and bedding.

Hands-on art

Children sharing their embroidered fans.

About & Contact

Let's create space for attention.

Yuning Chen (Ivy) is a Toronto-based mindful artist, educator, and long-term meditator. Her practice connects art-making, inner wellness, and community participation.

Collaboration areas

Mindful Art workshops
Arts and cultural education
Community-engaged projects
Exhibitions and creative collaborations

Contact