For many of us, children and adults, the last year has been a real shock. Nobody expected a global pandemic to start and constrain us to adapt to so many changes.
If we think about it, we had to spend more time in our homes than we were used to. Besides that, interacting with others would make some of us even more anxious than in an everyday context.
And studies have shown that children under the age of 12 can also get depression. It does not commonly happen, but they sure can get lonely, just like we all do from time to time.
We had to deal with matters like:
Since we can not control the socio-environmental factors that may affect our mental health, we should focus more on the things we can do.
Even if we talk about painting or sculpting, the act of creating has healing effects, and it’s the process, not our skills or talent that helps us the most. We always remind our students at Martin Fine Art Classes that anyone can learn drawing and painting from the very basics steps, but today let us focus on how art can help us through difficult times.
At our fine art classes, you can find a kind and warm environment, always open to discussing the themes of your artworks, from the techniques, shapes, composition, to the symbols and meanings you create and express through art.
Art can improve our mood and can let us reconnect with our motivation and desire to do things. When depression kicks in or when we feel down, some simple things we have no problem doing, like getting out of bed and preparing our meal, can feel like such difficult chores.
The fact that we can not perform simple tasks can deepen our low mood, and we judge ourselves harshly for that. Trying creative activities helps our brain produce more dopamine, the brain chemical that we are not getting enough of when we’re lonely or depressed. Dopamine provides us with the motivation to start and continue an activity.
You can manifest your emotions in your artworks the way you want. Nobody will judge you, even if the feelings you want to express are from the negative spectrum.
Art is a suitable medium of self-expression and a rich source of information about one’s inner world. You might gain essential insight into the conflicts you experience with yourself or your needs by interpreting your art pieces.
It can also feel like a good exercise to look back at older artworks and compare them or see how the theme of the paintings changes through these difficult times.
If you have a hard time vocalizing your bodily and mental experiences, we recommend you channel all this energy into creative energy. You only need some art supplies, and you will be surprised to notice how this artistic activity can give a ‘voice’ to your thoughts.
You might have heard of, and sure experienced it many times, a state known as ‘flow’. This state of flow happens when you are so focused on what you are doing that you became fully immersed in that activity.
It often happens when we perform creative activities such as drawing, whether we draw something from still life, from our imagination, or try to copy our favorite artist’s artwork.
There’s a sense of fluidity we experience when our mind and body sync and our thoughts feel calm. In that state, time slows down, and the pressure and stress from everyday life seem to dissolve into the flow.
We all need support when we have our periods of depression and loneliness, and we encourage people to seek that support and stay in touch with friends and family. Here is a list of things you might want to take into consideration when you decide to come to spend your time with us:
