Doing Art Can Change Your Mood

I come from an art family. My mother has been crafting and sewing all her life, and when my sister and I were little, she always made sure that we had plenty of art supplies to fuel our creative lives. My husband and I met in art school (MICA) and my daughter also graduated from our alma mater. My son is involved in the business world, but that doesn't mean he doesn't lead a creative life every day.

This past Saturday Martha Simons invited me down to her fabulous studio to show me the process for our Trading (Artist) Card workshops, as well as introducing me to mono printing. We played with paint and pencils, ink, paper and even crayons for over 3 hours. Eventual hunger was the only thing that stopped me from staying for 3 hours more. Well, that and another project of my own that I was trying to complete.

That evening I showed my husband everything I had made and he excitedly said, "Can we do that tomorrow?" Whoah...hold on – I've nearly begged him on hands and knees to do art projects with me in our shared studio for years. He's more of a loner artist, working down on his workbench, then ready to do the final "reveal" only when it is complete. I was thrilled.

I also heard from my 26 year old daughter that day. She was feeling a little blue, and although she is normally a PROLIFIC artist, she hadn't been able to get motivated for two days. I invited her to do art with us, have dinner and watch Game of Thrones. She agreed to come over, but expressed her reluctance to participate. She would sit quietly and knit. She was feeling very sad.

I began to tape out the paper for my husband and myself, remarking to her that it was very tedious work. She offered to do it for me, and after she set the two of us up said, "Well...maybe I will do one." Several hours, 3 sets of cards, and 3 mono prints later she was feeling energized, creative, hungry and happier. It was awesome. Her whole day changed just because she indulged in some creative processes that she had never done before.

Today she bought herself the 64 box of crayons. For fun. As a little present to herself. YES!!!!