From the moment we are born, we struggle with all kinds of life aspects like social relationships, mental wellbeing, and economic security, but the cultivated ability to enjoy living is what can fill a void in our hearts.
However, sometimes life is too challenging to enjoy. A cancer diagnosis can be a heavy burden to carry, and it can make people experience hard to put into words feelings.
It can change one’s life perspective and be overwhelming and shocking.
But even though another person can not erase the pain and burden of a cancer diagnosis, there are some ways of easing the suffering, even just a little; one of them is through art therapy.
Perhaps most of us already know that viewing and making art has healing effects on our psychological dimension.
People fighting cancer can benefit from art therapy and use it as a coping tool for understanding the myriad of experiences that come with the diagnosis.
And you don’t need a background in art or any kind of artistic experience. Nor do you need high expectations from yourself in terms of results and pictorial acuity. The idea is to be open for exploration, relaxation, and self-discovery.
Nobody truly knows how it feels to be diagnosed with cancer until it actually happens. But such an experience is not something we expect or wish for ourselves.
However, when the diagnosis becomes part of our reality, making art can help tremendously with self-expression.
In a way, art makes it possible for people to make their experiences visible in the form of their artwork.
And this can lead to better communication with oneself and others since the people supporting the person leaving with cancer desire to understand and empathize with them.
Compared to cancer patients not interested in art, those who engage in a form of artistic creation, besides developing a way of expressing themselves, can keep their overall physical and mental balance and thus improve their life quality.
Other benefits of art therapy and art-making for cancer patients are:
Every experience with cancer is unique, depending on the type of cancer, the complexity of the medical needs, social stability, and economic resources to fight the disease and get proper care and treatments.
But it also depends a lot on what mental resources the individual can access, and here we believe emotional support from others can mean a lot.
The complexity of living with this diagnosis is not easy to comprehend for others, especially for those who are not so close with the cancer patient.
However, at Martin Fine Art Classes, we can provide people with an understanding and non-judgmental safe space for self-expression and compassion. We also hope to create and maintain a sense of community for all our students and a positive distraction through making art for everyone who needs it.
