Let Your Creativity Flow
In this Guide:
- Introduction – Let Your Creativity Flow
- Our Hobbies – Our Health
- Reasons for Resin – Art Therapy
- Epoxy Epiphanies – Epoxy Examples
We all need breaks from our routines – time to explore and express ourselves – freeing our minds to wander where they will creatively. Too many of us spend too much time staring at too many screens. Headaches, vision issues, sleep interruptions, attention disorders and even deeper emotional and social problems can manifest. Finding your muse, whatever that may be, is one way to combat this technological intrusion. Offsetting daily stresses and obligations with cleansing and rewarding pastimes helps keep life in balance…
Our Hobbies – Our Health
Leisure time activities including hobbies, travel & exploration, and sports are very beneficial to our health and happiness. Spending unscheduled time, that is not related to work or other commitments, helps break boredom from routine and relieves stress; while focusing on doing something for personal benefit provides one great self-satisfaction.
“Those who decide to use leisure as a means of mental development, who love good music, good books, good pictures, good plays, good company, good conversation – what are they? They are the happiest people in the world.” – William Lyon Phelps, American author, critic, scholar
In an article ’22 Benefits of Having a Hobby or Enjoying a Leisure Activity,’ online site www.developgoodhabits.com stresses (if you will); that while having a routine in one’s life is beneficial to productivity and task-oriented accomplishment; “incorporating a hobby into your life can add the excitement and spark that it may need to increase your personal satisfaction.” The idea being that if your personal life is enjoyable and positive – this will carry over into other life aspects such as work and relationships.
The article offers insight into how hobbies improve quality of life through the introduction of pleasurable activities that take one’s mind off of potentially stressful issues that lead to negative emotions. “While adding an activity to your list of things to do might seem like it could create more stress, I’ve found that it is actually a great outlet for releasing stress. When you focus on a non-work-related task and you are able to get into the flow of it, all of your stress seems to fade away.”
Benefits of delving into a hobby or pastime are numerous and varied. Aside from the aforementioned stress reduction, which is good for your health, hobbies encourage us:
- to take a break – while also providing fun, entertainment and a sense of purpose
- to explore new opportunities and experiences – online social site Meetup has groups and meetings for just about any interest you can think of – providing myriad venues to partake in whatever moves us
- to challenge ourselves a bit, and maybe get to know ourselves, and others, better through interactions outside of the workplace and usual circles
Hobbies can also help us perform better within our careers as often job satisfaction increases as life outside work satisfaction increases. Being less stressed, thinking more creatively and having activity and drive outside work usually translates into better attitude, confidence and productivity at work. Colleagues and employers notice when their employees are refreshed, positive and ambitious. And a hobby may even become a career; following the “do what you love, and you’ll never work another day in your life” axiom.
Reasons for Resin – Art Therapy
One of the therapeutic outlets we often see (since we’re in the epoxy business), is Fluid Art Resin used as an artistic and mindful way to decompress and creatively express one’s self. Quality free time creatively explored – allows for freedom of thought and imagination – providing a great way to unwind and refresh one’s spirit.
Art Therapy is alive and well. The American Art Therapy Association is an organization dedicated to the growth and development of the art therapy profession. Their mission is “to advocate for expansion of access to professional art therapists and lead the nation in the advancement of art therapy as a regulated mental health and human services profession.
Art therapy focuses on enriching the lives of individuals and groups through active art creation to sooth the soul and psyche. This undertaking may be professionally implemented as a series of courses run by a certified therapist; or on a more casual/social basis, by those who just want to explore and express their artistic side by themselves or with a like-minded group.
Art therapy can take several forms such as collage, coloring, drawing, painting and sculpture. No matter the outlet chosen, at the core is working with colorful paints, acrylics, epoxies, and other art supplies to paint, carve or mold creations on canvas, wood or another palette desired medium. Part of the fun, expression and spirit-freeing therapy is seeing the fluids flow, either completely randomly, or with some direction from you – into a one-of-a-kind creation.
Taking a page from artist Sarah Day-Short’s book for instance; whose “top priorities are making art affordable and giving back to the community. I believe in making fine art accessible and incorporating it into everyday life.” Ms. Day’s “process and purpose” focus on color and movement. “This also allows me to use the art making process as a personal therapy. Sometimes the therapy bleeds into my titles, hinting toward an idea or making certain details more obvious. Instead of providing a clear narrative, I find it more interesting to see what each individual takes away from the art.”
For the rest of the story – access/print the PDF of this Guide: Art Resin as Therapy
