This month’s guest blogger is Marlene Millevolte, owner of Lake Country Fine Arts School & Gallery located at 112 W. Capitol Dr. in downtown Hartland.
Art is Therapeutic and Healing
Whether you are a professional artist or someone that enjoys the creations of others, everyone can agree there is significant importance in art. Looking at our towns and cities, vehicles and aircraft, clothing and furniture. Every single component starts with art, the original design of something that will serve a purpose. Many people are on the outside looking in; admiring designs of creations made by others. There are very few that are talented enough to design the next great car, line of clothing, or landmark amphitheater. There are however, even more incredibly important uses of art or the act of creating. “Engaging in any creative process is healing. It is a way of knowing yourself better on the deepest levels, connecting with others, regulating your responses to stress and communicating your inner experience”. The Healing Arts at Montefiore, Montefiore Medical Center.
Especially during these cool spring nights, when a later evening stroll is less than appealing, we tend to seek something new. There tends to be yearning for something different than staring at the screen for another whole night before forcing yourself to bed in a state of lethargy. It is time to allow yourself to tackle something new, using that part of the brain that gets forgotten so often.
“It (creating art) involves getting both hemispheres of your brain communicating with each other.” Keep Your Brain Alive, Lawrence Katz, Manning Rubin.
Whether you are a writer with stories waiting to be shared, a musician that hasn’t picked up an instrument in a while, a painter with incomplete paintings on the easel or the seamstress with an unfinished garment on the dress form. This blog is to challenge you to find that inner artist; break free of the screens and create. There is so much healing to be enjoyed by sketching, painting, mashing and curling clay, playing music, or writing poetry. People that allow themselves some quiet time to create any art form will find themselves more able to shut out their job, their school, or even hectic family life. That break will offer needed rejuvenation and usually newly found energy to go back to the real word with a fresher attitude. The brain is meant to rest and rejuvenate while we sleep, but it is harmful to be stuck in a routine of very repetitive actions and brain activity for too long. Trying new things sends new messages to the brain, giving the brain more exercise, stimulating and challenging the brain making it ready for even more new adventures.
“Art Increases Brain Connectivity and Plasticity. Every time you engage in a new or complex activity, your brain creates new connections between brain cells. Your brain’s ability to grow connections and change throughout your lifetime is called brain plasticity or neuroplasticity.” The Healing Arts at Montefiore, Montefiore Medical Center.
“Art washes from the soul the dust of everyday life.” — Pablo Picasso
There are several businesses in downtown Hartland that offer performing art and art classes. Check them out at https://www.downtownhartland.com/directory/categories/arts-performing-arts
