Ever thought about the power of art to improve a sense of calm and relaxation? Art is wonderful for giving one the opportunity to put our thoughts and mental activity aside and make space for some creativity and introspection. The process enables us to gain another perspective, have some distance between ourselves and a problem(s). The benefits continue on and on with an obvious benefit being that of improving our mental and physical health.
When the Corona Virus began to spread and lock down was becoming a new normal in the world, I had some requests to develop some videos around the topic of therapeutic art. I began to think about an exercise that I had been doing for myself filling the page with circles. It’s such a fun exercise and offers the opportunity to improve a number of skills. These include how we use the page and discovering how many circles you can fit onto a page. Another fun one is to play with the different size of circle on the page as you create your own pattern. Along with the benefits of improving skills in drawing comes a sense of inner calm.
I was thinking about this exercise and considering using it as an opener when I happened to take a look on You Tube. I did not have to search for therapeutic art or art therapy or art in therapy or the power of art for relaxation. It’s as though the internet somehow read my mind and up popped a video with an abstract design. The next day I noticed another video by the same artist.
I decided to follow along and have since completed many of the ideas for drawings offered in this video series that has art therapy as a hash tag. All too soon I had lost track of time. Yes I know it’s been weeks but that can happen too! You see, I so enjoyed the process of the abstract designs that I almost forgot about creating those videos. Stepping back for a moment to look at my pages of drawings I find myself wondering if there is a need for yet another demo on the power of art to create a sense of relaxation and calm?
As a result, instead of creating my own videos I decided to share one of the videos that happened to pop up just when I was thinking about this topic.
I hope you enjoy the video as much as I have done. When you have completed your drawing, go to the playlist and follow more of the daily tutorials. Have fun! You don’t have to leave your final drawing as pure line. Colour it in. Enhance the lines. As you work through these abstract drawings give yourself the opportunity to improve the steadiness of your lines. You can work on your hand-eye co-ordination, accuracy, control of the line or just enjoy the process.
Let me know in the comments below if you have enjoyed any of the 3D designs that are demonstrated in the video series by John Harris. You can also let us know what you are doing to help to create time, space or a feeling of calm and relaxation as we go through this Covid time in our history.
Stay well and healthy! Oh, and happy creating.