Why Coloring and Art Can Be Therapeutic

Can drawing, painting, crafting, coloring, and even doodling be GOOD for us?

Well, I always thought so, but turns out I am not the only one.

Shutterstock photo from Africa Studio

It seems that creating art is a type of meditation...calming, centering, and "an active training of the mind that increases awareness and emphasizes acceptance of feeling and thoughts without judgement and relaxation of the body and mind." (The Washington Post)

Most will also agree that art seems to take us elsewhere, a place of peace and healing, where we can escape from the stress of everyday life. Turns out this escape is actually good for us, too. Art helps us connect to our inner selves, the true beings we were meant to be. When we listen to our own, very often negative thought loops, we can create self-doubt, insecurity, and fear. Hobbies like drawing, crafting, and coloring allow us to break free from this mind-chatter and get into a free-flowing, alpha wave inducing flow, something we very much need. Alpha wave biofeedback has been used to treat depression and anxiety. (Psychology Today)

Speaking of brain waves, "alpha waves are produced when you are awake but relaxed and not processing too much information, such as first thing in the morning, just before you go to sleep, when you're daydreaming, or practicing meditation. Alpha activity has been linked to a reduction in stress, anxiety, discomfort, and pain. It may also boost memory." (Caba) 

Meditation is not for everyone. Sitting cross-legged on the floor and focusing on a tone or trying to have no thoughts seems counter-intuitive to calmness to some. Yes expert after expert claim the benefits of the inner stillness and mind-emptying that meditation creates. How wonderful to know that when we create art, we are creating the same type of benefits for ourselves, along with an outward expression of this work that we can look at, share and enjoy. Eckhart Tolle writes, "All artists , whether they know it or not, create from a place of no-mind, from inner stillness," which is just the state--or non-state--that meditation is trying to create.

Not every artist or colorist is on social media, but Facebook, Instagram, and other platforms are the perfect place to find others who have the same hobbies as you do. Studies have shown that loneliness is a very stressful state. Coloring groups, art pages, and drawing communities are a great place to find like minded people, and possibly some new friends. Some say being an artist can be a lonely endeavor, but now there are ways to connect even if we have to stay home.

One final word, you do NOT have to be Leonardo da Vinci to experience the joy and benefits of art, coloring, or crafting. Find your thing and do it with gusto...and do not seek approval from anyone.

Here's your homework...get two blank sheets of paper, or coloring pages, and, with NO attempt at GOOD RESULTS, draw or color something just because you want to. Maybe use colors you have never thought to use, or a different medium, color outside the lines if you want...JUST GO FOR IT. See where you end up. Take your time or hurry up--just don't be attached to the outcome. See what happens...you might be surprised.

XO

P.S. I'd love to see what you end up doing. You can find me in my coloring gallery on Facebook, or in my studio. dealenihan@gmail.com Looking forward to seeing what you come up with.

CLICK HERE to see my ETSY Shop, ArtbyDea.

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Coloring is the New Black...and Orange, and Pink, and Blue...

I remember coloring in the basement of my aunt's house in New Jersey with my cousins as a child. We all had the same Casper coloring book, and despite the mostly adult party going on all around us, we were in our own very happy colorful world, creating, and feeling great.

My images were boldly outlined, then colored in with a lighter hand. My sister loved brights and it made her pictures eye-catching and fun. A cousin didn't follow any type of guidelines--her own or any other--her trees may have been pink and the sky possibly purple.

The point of telling this is just that we all had a great time, we all did a different version of the same picture, no pressure, and it was awesome.

We spent time together, kind of like a youngster version of a quilting circle. No one had to entertain or impress anyone...we just did our thing. Sometimes we cracked jokes, sometimes we chatted about our lives, and sometimes we said nothing. We were just together.

I think this is missing in the world today.

We get together, but there is a lot of social climbing, and fancy Pinterest table setting, and fancier recipes than I could ever cook. I miss getting together just for the sake of getting together...nothing fancy...and I think coloring is helping us do just that.

Yes, it is a digital world, but it is a good thing here. We find groups on Facebook or Instagram, or follow our favorite artists and find other like-minded colorists.

The world is a crazy place right now, and coloring is a gentle place to sit, create, and be yourself. 

I think we all have an artist inside. Picasso said all children are artists, and the problem is how to remain one once we grow up. Coloring books take the pressure out of art. Many get canvas confusion...when they look at a blank page or canvas they don't even know where to start. When we color, someone has started the canvasfor us, and a little of the steam is released so we are free to just go for it and have fun.

Some see a therapist, some meditate, some do yoga. I think we are seeing a new way to relax...and that is coloring.

xo

Join my Facebook group if you like...coloring friends abound!

Click here to join in!  

Incense, Drawing, and a Little Magic

How long has it been since you burned some incense?

High school? College maybe?

I was drawing a page from a soon-to-be coloring book and the doorbell rang. It was a special delivery--my order of incense.

I was very excited about the idea of my bundle of mysterious fragrances, but did not want to stop working, so I lit a Frankincense and Myrrh stick and got right back to the image of the lighthouse. 

And something a little magical happened. 

The scent transported me. I felt like I was at the top of the lighthouse in the dark, looking over the troubled black waters. Off in the distance I could see the sun crack through the clouds, and I could hear the seagulls call to one another.

The waves settled down, and the sun rose. Far off I could see the gulls swooping, and one landed in a field of poppies and smiled at me.

Coming soon from the book By the Beautiful Sea

Not sure poppies grow anywhere near the ocean, nor am I sure a seagull is capable of a smile, and I don't think Frankincense and Myrrh have anything to do with the sea, but that's fine. None of these images existed before I lit the incense, and now they will all be featured in an upcoming book. (The book was originally called Lighthouses, it has now been renamed By the Beautiful Sea.)

All this from lighting some incense? I guess so. Would I have developed these ideas without the mysterious smoke wafting through my home? Maybe. But maybe not. Plus I sincerely enjoyed it, and I think I will do it more often.

Here is some incense I really enjoy. I am not paid by any company--just want you to know the companies and brands I like.

Click here for the meditative Frankincense and Myrrh I just wrote about by Fred Soll 

Very popular and less expensive Nag Champa--still yummy

So here is my  recommendation--light a candle, put on some soothing music or a healing tone, (I love this one and it supposedly heals our DNA! I'll take it):  Healing Tones, light some incense, and draw, color, or paint. 

No need for meditation--this makes me feel wonderful and creative, and I have a feeling it might create a little magic for you too.

I also have a library of resources for anyone who likes to color. 

CLICK HERE for THE COLORING STASH

      
Enjoy!

xo Dea

Here is the video, Coloring with Pastel Pencils Part One, demonstrating Conte pastels for coloring. Enjoy.

Art and Meditation

I have a friend who always tells me that I should meditate. She tells me it does many wondrous things.

I don't disbelieve her, but whenever I try it sometimes feels like overkill.

Most people can meditate, and I wondered why I had such an issue, and why I felt so antsy.

I think I have an answer.

When I am drawing I have to focus. I do not like having conversations, or even recording myself when I am doing serious work. Music is OK, but that is about it for input. 

I think art is my meditation.

Big Sister Goes to School

I do not think of problems, solutions, people, money, or any other worldly problems--I just draw. It is rhythmic, peaceful, and time stands still.

It is a separateness from reality and a bit of a delve into magic.

This week I looked at a deck of tarot cards drawn by artist James Eads. I was shuffling and the High Priestess card fell out. The High Priestess is the card of the subconscious, where ideas and creativity are first conceived.

We need to listen to our intuition and meditate in our own way. Some go outside and say nature is their church. Some meditate. I do art. Maybe you do too.

Stay tuned. I am in the process of creating a book just for artists. We are a special breed. We should not forget that.

xo 

The Artistic Time Warp

Sometimes art is just hard.

Working as an artist is actual  work--but some folks don't get it.

Yes, there will always be a faction of people who think it is nothing but fun. Grrrr. Or unimportant. GRRRR. Or silly. GROWL!

But on the other side of the art coin there are those glorious times where we just lose time, and ourselves, in our art. It is just short of what some may call a religious experience. It is meditation, creativity, and connecting with something--a higher power, an energy flow--I'm not quite sure...but it rocks.

Yes, we all start somewhere, and we are usually not that great. But with practice we can get closer and closer to good.

So practice if you love it, and keep your fingers crossed for those space time continuum moments.

Don't forget to enter the Fabulous February Faber-Castell Giveaway right HERE! Good luck--I love those pens, you will too.

xo 

***UPDATE--as an after thought...I actually feel lucky to be doing this every single day, and although the above things happened, I will no longer complain! I do NOT want to look a gift horse in the mouth (we have to look up the meaning of that phrase...) so from now on only motivation.