How can art help your self care routine?

Art as self care is a proven way to improve your well being and promote good mental health – not just have fun! Releasing your inner Picasso and making art can make you feel relaxed, reduce anxiety, feel engaged, and boost your mood.

While most of us may not have picked up a brush since Year 7 visual arts, incorporating art making into your self care routine can make a healthy impression on your physical and mental health in everyday life. Making art is a creative and authentic way to connect with others, challenges you in a way to act inspired, and can boost your confidence as you express creativity on canvas!

Art therapy

With the guidance of an art therapist, you can practice self care while creating art to gain a better understanding of your own feelings and behaviour. No artistic experience is necessary for art therapy, with your wellbeing being prioritised to explore different experiences including anxiety, depression, and other forms of mental health. Creative and self expression can take place in many different contexts, utilising the arts for personal insights and also learn an exciting new skill!

Channel your emotions

Art therapy acts as a great way to find your own imperfections and practice creativity in a way that evokes emotions. Art can take different forms including clay (more intuitive and sensory-based), collage (no artistic ability with a sense of a familiarity with magazines), painting (select colours that draw and play on your feelings). Whether the art extracts negative emotion such as sadness or anger, or positive emotions such as happiness – the most important part is the expression and the feeling that’s explored in your creation to better understand your mental health!

Stress relief

Picasso once said that ‘art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life’. There’s a reason that all kinds of paintings are hung on the walls of almost every building from hospitals, schools, universities, and corporate offices. Art is everywhere in the community and lets us focus on something else and, even for a brief moment, has been proven to impact cortisol – a stress hormone.

Exploring a new passion in creating art, maybe coupled with music and the forces of nature, can be a great practice in improving your mental health and relieve stress.

Looking at art

Our world is full of stress and it can take a toll on your mental health. Studies have shown that even a brief visit to an art museum and soaking up the culture of the artistic world can have a marked result in reducing one’s cortisol levels. This would be why you feel so at ease in a gallery, flipping through an art book, or just going for a walk. Art can help you heal, feel safe, and can play a major role in your feeling of wellbeing.

Building connections

Building strong connections, friendships, and social interactions are all key human experiences – particularly for young people and their social lives. Quality time with friends and loved ones is great for the soul and promotes better mental health and the benefits of safety and belonging.

Art as self care can play a key role in building connections in your own network and in the community, whether that’s exploring self expression in your own artistic journey, or attending a sip and paint class with Pinot & Picasso where you can create art in a public setting.

Accessibility

There may be an unfortunate circumstance where you can’t be in a physical space to experience art, whether it’s at a gallery, an art therapy session, or a sip and paint session. No matter your health or position, the incredible technological options in our time allow us to view art wherever we are and experience all the benefits of it.

Online art galleries such as Google Art Project, and social media sites Pinterest and Instagram have a plethora of art projects from both community and professional artists. Museums around the world such as The Smithsonian, The MoMa, and The Louvre also offer online tours for accessibility which bridges human experiences.

Art journalling

Anything goes for an art journal, letting the owner channel art as self care and create as they desire with any medium. Having an art journal creates a healthy and expressive outlet each day and lets the user make art as they desire to express their emotions.

The freedom of a visual diary has endless possibilities on a daily basis where you can create anything without judgment and can contain whatever your health calls for: your daily goals, what you ate that day, your favourite songs and books, places you wish to visit, the best or worst things about your day, your to-do list, and so much more!

Meditative art

Differing from art therapy but offering similar health benefits – meditative art is a creative form of meditation that focuses on the creative process where you notice your thoughts, emotions, and sensations while you make art. Meditative art requires no artistic experience as it’s all about the process, and stimulates your body and mind in the same way that meditation does as one of the oldest and most revered self care practices. It’s all about focusing on the present moment, slowing down, and working on every individual moment while creating your drawing.

Book a sip and paint session with Pinot & Picasso

You’ll just have to experience how the artistic process can act as self care yourself! Combine the artistic creation with some music, BYO (alcoholic or non-alcoholic), and lots of laughs, and you have a sip and paint session with Pinot & Picasso. Whether you’re an individual artist or want to come with a group of friends, there’s an artwork for every occasion! Book your next sip and paint session now and practice the next step of your self care routine.