How Art Heals and How to Incorporate It Into Your Day
"Art washes from the soul the dust of everyday life."
Every single time.
All those stressors throughout the day can try to take over your mind, body, and soul!!
Do you need to let off some steam? Need to punch a pillow?
What do you do to de-stress?
When you are feeling grumpy, stressed, overwhelmed, pissed off, just not right, even sick, art has the power to wash away that stress and dust and pain you are feeling.
You can still punch that pillow. And then do some art!
Art is healing in so many ways.
It really can help turn around your mood and your day.
It has helped me heal from anxiety, depression, trauma, overwhelm and so much more.
Being a part of different communities of artists all over the world, each and every one of them has said the same thing.
Art helps them feel better.
Many family and friends and people I have met have talked about how they started doodling or coloring in coloring books, and it has helped them through the crazy stresses of life, and through tough moments.
How is art healing anyway?
Art is healing because your mind and body become connected.
Meditation clears your mind. Exercise works your body.
Art reaches BOTH your mind and body to create and promote healing.
Drawing, painting, coloring, writing, doodling, even coloring can be a powerful ways to help our mental health. Creating art allows us to de-stress, express our deep inner thoughts, examine how we are feeling, relax, meditate, and have fun.
Studies show art can help people with depression, anxiety, or cancer, too. And doing so has been linked to improved memory, reasoning, and resilience.
In recent years, scientists have studied the positive effects art can have on our health. Recently, there have been many studies showing how art therapy has a positive effect on our health, physically, emotionally, and mentally. So it is something simple we all can connect with in our daily lives,
Here are some easy ways to incorporate it into your day.
1. Grab some coloring books, pens, pencils, paper, anything, and just get doodling and coloring.
Making it easy to start with is what is important.
Use what you have. If you have just pencil and paper, use that!! Many times I just started with that. If you have crayons, use that.
Keep it easily accessible.
Near your bedstand, or next to your dining table, or somewhere you will always see it.
Set a timer for 10 minutes and just color or draw or doodle away!
Feel yourself lowering your stress, and disconnecting from the overwhelm.
At first it might take time to work, but the more you do it, the more easily your mind and body will relax. Feel the calm take over. Feel better!
2. You can also watch art tutorials and follow along!
Create amazing art step by step no matter what level you are at!
There are art tutorials in different places. One place to find them easily is on Youtube.
Here are some I recommend:
Beautiful Animal Art Tutorials - Learn how to paint step-by-step all types of animals from farm animals, to dogs and cats, to wild cats, and more. She incorporates positive inspirational messages into her videos that are very therapeutic while you are learning art.
Art Sherpa - Various tutorials on so many incredible ideas and themes. It helps you learn how to paint a variety of things and also relax.
Art for Kids Hub - You can learn how to draw so many different things. It says it is for kids, but it is also a great way to learn how to draw things for adults. And is all a fun family activity to do together. You can start with just a pencil! And if you want to add markers and crayons.
If you have some recommendations of art tutorials you can leave them in the comments below. Thank you!
You can do it little by little!
When you are done, you have something you made for yourself! Or you can give it as a gift or hang it up just for fun!
3. Check out some art books from the library. Or even children's picture books.
There is a lot of inspiration and ideas from these books. Just browse through them!
You can even practice drawing what you see.
Many of the books have step-by-step learning.
Just reading the books can be inspirational and calming, and even spark your creativity.
You might see something that gives you a new idea!
Some examples are:
4. Get inspiration from other artists.
So much of my inspiration comes from famous artists that many of us know.
And now I also get inspiration from friends who are artists and people I follow, and there is so much creativity inside of them.
It is incredible to see what people come up with.
Here are some examples of artists that inspire me:
Bob Ross - He was incredible at helping people paint beautiful paintings even when they didn’t know how to paint, just by following his steps. He also helped people embrace the journey and the fun of art.
You can learn how to paint landscapes just like this.
He reminds us that even if you make mistakes, they are really just Happy Accidents, and can turn into something else!
He has a lot of tutorials even on Netflix and Youtube.
Pablo Picasso - An out of the box thinker, Picasso really used his creative right brain to create all types of art that he let loose and had fun with. He played with lines and shapes and created such unique artworks.
He reminds us to make sure we play and be creative and use our imagination and see things differently.
You can go to Pinterest or Youtube and find ideas to express your art like Picasso.
Fiyabomb - An incredible artist from Connecticut too! She creates such colorful beautiful artwork. Many of her paintings have such a unique heartfelt story and connection in it. She really shared her heart and art during the pandemic and helped many of us feel love and hope and connection. Her tutorials were so much fun.
https://www.instagram.com/fiyab0mb/
She reminds us that we all can dream big and we all can actually achieve those dreams.
These artists are examples of how anyone can use art to heal, and use art to learn how to be an artist, or just paint for fun!
5. Get some inspiration from Pinterest
Pinterest is incredible for giving art ideas and inspiration.
You can get ideas for something you want to paint or draw.
There are various tutorials and step-by-step ideas.
Save images that inspire you, touch your heart, really give you excitement.
If you save art ideas, you can use these to create your own artworks, or just provide inspiration for other types of creativity.
It can give you ideas of creating an art journal which is incredibly therapeutic.
The creative possibilities are endless!
6. Get some art inspiration books to get you flowing!
Here are some really great books to get the inspiration and creative juices going. Check these out in the picture above.
It can also help you relax!!
You can go to your library or Book Store or even shop online.
I love browsing around Barnes and Noble to find all the different art journals out there. There are so many and then you can decide later which ones you want!
7. Put on some music AND do art.
Putting on music opens up your right brain, which helps improve your creativity and helps you problem solve more easily. Music is therapy. It helps you let loose, or just flow. The more you do this, the more you relax, de-stress, and heal from things that are affecting you negatively.
At our house music is a big part of our every day life. And listening to music and making art is extra fun and special.
It allows you to let loose, and feel the music and let go. This helps keep the calm amongst the chaos.
Music and art, are closely related. A place where music and art are experienced together, can ignite our creative process.
Turn on the music, and see where your art leads you!
8. You can even add some dancing and painting.
Move your body. Put on your favorite music. Whatever it is!
As you move, your physiology changes, and puts you in a better state of mind.
And then add the art... drawing or painting...
And it can really provide you with a sense of joy, calm, peace, excitement and more!!
We actually made some art while dancing and painting and it was pretty wild! It is an extra silly and fun and relaxing and creative time. It also helps reduce your stress levels, such as reducing your cortisol levels.
Paint. Dance. Feel better.
9. Keep little areas around the house where you can get inspiration and make some art. Creativity really can help you.
Keep coloring books and paper and colored pencils or crayons right where you can reach it and access it.
We keep adult and kid coloring books with lots of patterns and animals, as well as blank paper, right next to our dining table. And just color and draw together.
And we also have markers, crayons, and pencils next to it. So we can color, doodle or de-stress anytime.
You can keep some by your nightstand.
Or even in your car.
And just take a few minutes or however long you want, and it can really help de-stress you.
Even 15 minutes a day, can help reduce stress and inflammation, and can improve healing.
Those are just a few ideas about how to incorporate art into your day.
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Art has sooo many benefits beyond just feeling less stressed. Studies have shown that it can help you:
-reduce headaches
-sleep better
-feel happier
-reduce anxiety and depression
-heal faster after illnesss or surgery
-go into a meditative state
-bring you into a positive mood that lasts and spreads to the rest of your day
-take you into another world
-help you through grief, trauma, and pain
-reduce stress and overwhelm
-help you be more productive with other projects or dreams or tasks
-reduce the need for pain medications
-helps you take challenges on better
-help you work on habits you want to change such as overeating or drinking too much or negative self-talk
-bring you beauty and joy and happiness
-the list goes on!!!
So get some supplies, and start with any supplies, and CREATE. HAVE FUN.
MAKE ART. FEEL BETTER.
"Art enables us to find ourselves and lose ourselves at the same time" - Thomas Morton
I am going to be offering Art Classes and Healing Classes and A Coloring Book and more!!
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