Mental Health / Art of Meditation
I have always let myself play. Play? Yes. Play.
I am a continuous craft addict, and I have indeed fallen in love with new creative channels. I have completed photography, which led to scrapbooking, even better photography, tie-dye art, mixed media canvases, jewelry making, yarn weaving... the list is long.
As a child, I learned to occupy myself with various craft projects, making art seem like nothing. I built an entire mini house out of Balsa Wood and decorator sample books. I often made sculptures with my own materials: glue from mixed colors of crayon shavings and dried glue.
In recent years, crafting has taken a backseat to running and writing, both of which have their meditative benefits.
One of the issues in modern society, especially in the United States, is the shift towards a noisy culture. We are trained for productivity to the extent that any time spent on non-work efforts still needs to have a goal, and if it’s art, we should make money from it.
The pressure to make money makes most creative efforts feel burdensome. What happened to making art just for fun, like we did when we were kids?
My time in PTSD recovery included art classes. Not technical art, but meditative art. Recreational art. For me, this was absolutely a new concept. It’s not that I didn’t know art was for relaxation, but creating art for myself as a means of reflection was novel.
Our art therapist encouraged us to keep an art journal. You can use it to doodle or try various media and techniques. It can become another adjunct to formal therapy. No need to spend money. I picked up a nice one in point 5 below. Keeping a journal for imperfect art space; a place to practice new media and techniques without pressure.