Art & Creativity as Therapy

Art is a great stress relief tool
“Other than making random doodles in the margins of a page, if you’re like most adults, you probably don’t express yourself with art as you did as a kid. You may not think you’re any “good” at creating art, or you may not think it’s worth your time, but art is actually a valuable pastime. There are many reasons that art is a great stress relief tool, even for those who don’t consider themselves artistically inclined.” (Scott, E., 2019b)
The importance of self-expression
Art and ‘the arts’ are very important in my life. I enjoyed both art and music at school and consider myself to be ‘creative’ and a bit ‘arty’. I collect pens and pencils and my desk contains pots of brightly coloured pens which cheer me up even on the wettest of autumn days. Colour is important to me.
However, I have lost that childlike confidence of being able to simply draw or paint what comes into my head. Somewhere along the journey of being an adult I lost that sense of freedom to simply draw something and to feel happy with the process rather than the product. I am hoping to re-find that sense of freedom of expression as part of this journey with Dave & Finn by making use of the art materials (paper, watercolours, inks, etc) which have languished in a cupboard for several years.

I also enjoy photography and gardening especially planting anything which will help bees and butterflies. I can completely ‘switch off’ when pottering around the garden and I have learnt to accept that gardening is never ‘finished’ and that it is the ‘doing’ that matters, rather than arriving at a particular destination. I accept that my gardening is a constant work-in-progress and far from perfection and I need to accept the same with my attempts at sketching.
Music is also a huge companion for me and I know that music can determine my mood and my mood can determine my choice of music. Indeed, there are times when I have to deliberately work in silence so that my mind can focus on the task in hand rather than being taken over by the emotions that music can trigger. (Kaye Nightingale — KN)
Memories from childhood
“For me, art is something that I used to love as a child, when I was encouraged and given the opportunity. Whenever I used to visit my grandparents it would always take me a day or two to calm down from the anxiety I suffered at home with mum. I remember gardening and art were both something that my grandparents used to try to encourage me to take part in, almost as soon as I arrived at their house. I had no real idea why at the time. But I do remember the effects they both had on me. The simple act of being encouraged to sit down in front of a blank piece of paper and a pencil and concentrate on drawing a simple subject could bring me down from the rafters and calm me like no telling-off ever could or would.” (DW)
“I will always remember one pencil drawing I did of a windmill. The drawing took several visits to complete and I loved every second of making it. Sadly I don’t physically have the drawing. But I will always have it (and how it made me feel) in my memory.” (DW)
Engaging in the arts seems to be growing in popularity as a way to improve your wellbeing. Participating in the arts can enable people to deal with a wide range of mental health conditions and psychological distress. (Fancourt, et al, 2016)
“When we talk about the arts, we include visual and performing arts, such as traditional craft, sculpture, digital art, text, dance, film, literature, music, singing, gardening and possibly the culinary arts — although we will cover cooking at a later date.” (DW)
The best part is that it helps people to improve their mental health through creativity. Making art is helping many people express themselves, without having to use words. (Ockelford, 2012)
Getting involved in the arts has shown to help rebuild lost social connections in the older generation and help alleviating loneliness.
Art Therapy
Art Therapy involves the use of creative techniques such as drawing, painting, collage, coloring, or sculpting to help people express themselves artistically and examine the psychological and emotional undertones in their art. According to Psychology Today (2019) “No artistic talent is necessary for art therapy to succeed, because the therapeutic process is not about the artistic value of the work, but rather about finding associations between the creative choices made and a client’s inner life.”
There is clearly a difference between engaging in art and creative pursuits to reduce stress and achieve a sense of calm -v- engaging in ‘Art Therapy’ with a trained Art Therapist. We will research this further but for now we are focusing on the benefits of simply engaging with the arts.
The Power of Music
“Music has always played a huge part in my life. Even at home my mum used to have the radio on most of the day, usually radio 1. It was a sort of comfort to her and a companion to us.” (DW)
“I’m a hopeless singer — as anyone who has seen Finn and my rendition of ‘We are the Champions’ will testify — but I do love to sing. I will add though, that I am always cautious on my choice of music as music can really affect my mood in either direction. I spent a lot of time as a child listening to music and certain songs and their words have much meaning to me. Some not always good.” (DW)
“I have a very good friend who is one of the best guitarists I’ve ever seen. I spent many an evening just watching in absolute awe of his skills as he practised. And practiced he did, everyday from his early teens. He inspired me to try the guitar in my 20s, and although I was never any good, the challenge of learning a tune or part of a tune was incredible and took me back to my drawing days as a child at my grandparents. The sense of achievement was also fantastic — tweaking my ‘happy hormones’, as we all now know. Music, art, performing arts and photography are all things I encourage my children to take an active role in. In fact, Tia has started to write a book. It may not be published, at least not for years. But she’s enjoying the challenge and the research.” (DW)
What music means to people
I am sure that many people will have seen the story about the “lost” or “missing” 300 year old violin that was accidentally left on an underground train. The owner (Stephen Morris) was distraught by what had happened not only because the violin was very valuable but because that particular violin had been his companion in some amazing performances. Memories like that cannot be replaced.
We are both delighted that, with the help of friends (and the power of social media), the violin has been returned undamaged.
This is what it means to love your music and to love your violin:
#LostAndFoundViolin
Get colour into your life
“Getting in touch with your creative side may have been easy for you during childhood, but if you’ve lost touch with your penchant for artwork, it’s not too late to pick it up again.
If you aren’t into drawing or painting, consider coloring in a coloring book. Adult coloring books have risen in popularity and for good reason — coloring can be a great stress reliever.
Research consistently shows that coloring can have a meditative effect. One study (Curry & Kasser, 2005) found that anxiety levels decline in people who were coloring complex geometric patterns, making it a perfect outlet for stress reduction.” (Scott, E., 2019)
Can Coloring Reduce Anxiety?

“The present study examined a method of decreasing anxiety called “coloring therapy” (Belchamber, 1997) that combines elements of art therapy and meditation. The basic idea of coloring therapy is that when individuals color complex geometric forms, they are provided an opportunity to suspend their “inner dialogue” and to deeply engage in an activity that removes them from the flow of negative thoughts and emotions that can sometimes dominate their lives.” (Curry & Kasser, 2005)
I have recently discovered a wonderful artist (Iain Welch) who posts videos of his ‘nightly sketch’ on Twitter. I have found it incredibly relaxing to watch him sketch and paint. I introduced his work to Dave by sharing this video and their brief exchange of tweets was very interesting:
Oct 25 2019
@K9Finn Replying to @iaindwelch
“Wow. Just wow. Art really helps you, doesn’t it? As a troubled child, I used to find art was great and getting me to slow down and stop thinking about everything but the drawing in hand. I also find that with my youngest.” (DW)
@iaindwelch Replying to @K9Finn
“Art is so therapeutic!! It can be really calming. It does wonderful things to the brain by engaging the memory, fine motor control and observational skills all at once. I think that a lot of people would feel better if they did more drawing (well, drawings of dogs, obviously…)” (Iain Welch)
Art can be used by all of us as some sort of self help without much preparation needed and therefore fits my journey in looking for non-medical ways to look after myself mentally. Since it can be used as a non-medical approach to preventing mental health problems it could help save money in the health service and social care.” (DW)
We will therefore be exploring and researching the benefits of introducing art (and various aspects of ‘the arts’) into day to day life, as a way to reduce stress and help regain a sense of calm.
#FabulousFinn will continue to help Dave with his singing lessons!
References
Curry, N. A. & Kasser, T., 2005. Can Coloring Mandalas Reduce Anxiety?. Journal of Art Therapy Association, 22 (2)(https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ688443.pdf), pp. 81–85.
Fancourt, D. et al. Effects of Group Drumming Interventions on Anxiety, Depression, Social Resilience and Inflammatory Immune Response among Mental Health Service Users. PLOS ONE 11, e0151136 (2016).
Ockelford, A. Songs Without Words: Exploring How Music Can Serve as a Proxy Language in Social Interaction with Autistic Children. in Music, Health, and Wellbeing (eds. MacDonald, R., Kreutz, G. & Mitchell, L.) (OUP Oxford, 2012).
Psychology Today. Art Therapy. [Online]
Available at: https://psychologytoday.com/gb/therapy-types/art-therapy
[Accessed 3 November 2019]
Scott, E., 2019a. Very Well Mind: Tips to Reduce Stress. [Online]
Available at: https://www.verywellmind.com/tips-to-reduce-stress-3145195
[Accessed 1 November 2019].
Scott, E., 2019b. Very Well Mind: How to Relieve Stress with Art Therapy. [Online]
Available at: https://www.verywellmind.com/art-therapy-relieve-stress-by-being-creative-3144581
[Accessed 2 November 2019].
Welch, I. D., 2019. Iain D Welch — Artist. [Online]
Available at: https://twitter.com/iaindwelch
[Accessed 25 October 2019].

