Art is a tool we all need
- Vicky Lord
- Aug 21, 2019
- 5 min read
Updated: Oct 22, 2019
We all carry with us a toolbox of sorts, filled with tools acquired over our lifetimes, that enable us to fulfill roles and complete tasks. Be it tangible tools such as your smartphone for connectivity on the go or the kitchen knife to prepare dinner, or intangibles like your university education or honed DIY skills from weekend training. We reach for these 'tool' in times of need, without question.
Art is arguably a tool we should all be adding to the toolbox. Creative outlets enable us to fulfill roles and complete tasks that we may not be able to do otherwise.
Art enables us to go places we may not usually go to, or to depths we wouldn't ordinarily reach, and it does it by tapping into our innate wisdom. Our intuition. Connecting with memory and emotions; hope, trust, grief and sadness, love, passion and anger to name a few.
Art enables us to find balance, to extend or redirect, to connect better and discover more (about ourselves and the world around us, and also the worlds of others).
This is a point that Alain de Botton and John Armstrong argue for in Art as Therapy, a book that explores how art shapes our societies and our thinking, through an exploration and exposition of how art is viewed, perceived and presented to us. [For more on this book, click here]
Before I go on, if you'd rather jump to some quick facts and online articles, then skip to the links provided below this blog entry. If you'd rather hear me out first, then read on.
If we are to explore this concept further we might start by asking questions and by dispelling myths (or could we call them mis-truths?). I've selected a handful of the often heard arguments and common place sentiments that exist (particularly in the West):
I can't draw to save myself (queue fear of Pictionary). No it's not for me.
Art is elitist, bourgeoisie BS, clouded in a veil of snobbery and confusing rhetoric.
To be an artist is to be a hippy, crafty, ethereal creature who only comes out at night.
Ok, I might be exaggerating a little, but I'm making the point that underlying all of these mis-truths and preconceived notions is judgement. Something we'd do well to better manage. All the more reason for art.
So let me respond...
Actually you can draw. Participating in a creative outlet is something we all have the ability to do. And from birth to about the age of 8 we participated freely without batting an eyelid. Why? Because we could. We're expressing ourselves. We're acting on instinct and drawing on our inner wisdom to communicate, to cement our new learning, to express ourselves and connect with the world around us. We're using art as a tool without question and it works for us.
But if it worked, why did we stop?
Somewhere, for most of us it is between the age of 8 and 10, there is a significant shift for all children. For the most part you've settled into a formal education system (school). You've learned how to read and write well enough to get your point across and you generally spend the largest portion of your day in the presence of peers near to your own age, engaged in the same tasks, at the same time. Be it kicking a ball in a team sport, perfecting letter formation in the classroom or finding your footing on the early reader scale. You've learned to compare yourself against your peers. What your friends think is infinitely more important than Mum's opinion. The risk of drawing what you want to say or how you feel becomes hugely risky. At 5 no one knew better, but at 8 you want to write like others as much as you want to dress alike. Your starting to grow up.
Imagination (critical to art) takes a back seat to influence. And influence only grows in importance the older you get. It's hardly surprising that many adults have the drawing ability of an eight year old. That is when most of us stopped trying.
But does this matter? And is it possible to improve with fresh and continued engagement with art as a tool? The answer to both these questions is YES.
Yes it matters. It matters because creative engagement improves your well-being, innovative capacity and productivity. Participation in art creates calm, develops neural pathways by engaging different parts of your brain and gives you time and space to respond to external stimuli from your core.
Like any skill, time and regular practice enables a honing and strengthening of muscle memory. A master carver doesn't control a chisel with perfection overnight, just as a lead ballerina take years to develop prowess to wow audiences.
Think about when you last actively engaged in a creative outlet. If it was drawing a race car design at age 7 or attempting to tinkle the ivories at 8, chances are you'll find picking up a pencil to draw or trying to play a piece of music at the piano to be somewhat of a challenge. This disconnect and discomfort we feel is actually shallow. In science speak it is a whole lot of mixed messaging bouncing around from your amygdala to your hypothalamus and your nervous system to boot, telling you not to take the risk. However below this, our intuition knows exactly how to make a mark on the empty piece of paper before us.
Art is an essential tool, so use it. This is not about the Guggenheim or glamour, new age rhetoric, hippy chic trends nor bandwagons. It is both timely and timeless advice.
So how to make it happen...
Pick a month if you need a defined time frame. Any month, week, date bracket will do. No need for tricky names like 'Dry July' or 'Movember'. Just find a creative outlet and start.
Get yourself a pencil and notebook.
Each morning while you wait for the toaster to work it's magic or the kettle to boil, or even on your public transport commute, draw something. Anything. Whatever comes to mind, even a pink elephant, the view, a visual weather report or your to do list for the day. Draw something everyday!
Furthermore;
advocate for creativity in the classroom. If not as a specialist subject then at least allow doodling in the margins.
put away your colouring books. They might promise calm (I'd say numb) but you are mindlessly finishing someone else's work. Think for yourself and create your own masterpiece.
play Pictionary every once and awhile.
place blank paper and a jar of pens in the center of your family dinner table. Watch and learn from your kids - they are inspiring creative creatures.
make your mark. Draw something everyday. Take an art class or attend music tuition. Create daily and watch your mind spark and your heart sing.
Further reading on this subject can be found here:
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