MEET OUR FOUNDER

Arlene Mangialardi

Lawyer by trade. Teacher by day. Artist by choice.

The road to meditative drawing was definitely a long and winding one for Arlene. Educated in the sciences (B.S. in Biology) and subsequently receiving a Juris Doctor from St. John’s University School of Law, Arlene always struggled to find her creative voice, which remained untapped by her educational and career choices. Arlene always found time to paint and draw, even during her stressful career as a lawyer. It wasn’t until she gave up the practice of law and started working with special needs children and teenagers that she discovered meditative drawing. Arlene saw the calming effects it had on both herself and her students and has been drawing ever since. She found it immeasurably helpful after she tragically lost her husband and used this art form to help her get through the grieving process. Using patterns both simple and complex, found in architecture, nature, and cultural symbols, she uses special pens to create intricate works of art. However, the purpose of her drawing is the process and not the product, making the art form well suited for those students who claim that they can’t even draw a straight line. Arlene is a proud mom to two daughters and a Lhasa apso. She lives and works in Westchester, N.Y. but is always up for bringing her Metaphys-inks practice to a new city, state, or coast!