By Janet Sellers
Experiencing art, whether we’re making it or consuming it, allows us to reach varying degrees of euphoria and catharsis or neutrality and inner peace. Unlike movies and music, wall art allows us to involve ourselves at our own pace and create our own personal responses and connection to the art experience. We can involve ourselves, or not, at will. Wall art allows us choice in our art experience.
When we see art we enjoy, our brain releases dopamine and endorphins, which can help us feel happy and at ease. It can help people process difficult emotions in times of emergency or challenging events. And art appreciation is something that can be improved over time simply by looking, and especially by picking up a pencil or paint brush and making a try. Research suggests that it doesn’t matter if you do a great job or just play around. The simple act of making the effort and engaging yourself to create something has a powerful effect in many ways for optimizing health and well-being.
History shows us that the arts—pictures and stories, dances, drama music and other aspects of art—are central to culture and to rituals of healing. These days, hospitals and healthcare centers are returning to the support that art gives and the ambience art offers for patients and healthcare workers.
The Americans for the Arts in Healthcare field report explains, “Arts in Healthcare is a diverse, multidisciplinary field dedicated to transforming the healthcare experience by connecting people with the power of the arts at key moments in their lives. This rapidly growing field integrates the arts, including literary, performing, and visual arts and design, into a wide variety of healthcare and community settings for therapeutic, educational, and expressive purposes.”
The field report also suggests that for students in medical and other healthcare fields, the arts can enhance their skills—improving their observational, diagnostic, and empathic abilities. It helps them to understand patients in a different way and connect with them on a more humanizing level.
The use of art and music helps reduce hospital stays, with studies showing earlier discharges among patients taking part in visual and performing arts interventions than among those not doing so. In one study, surgery or critical care patients who participated in guided imagery or had a picture of a landscape on their wall had a decreased need of narcotic pain medication relative to their counterparts and left the hospital earlier. Evaluations of art projects can link the benefits of creative expression to healing and greater wellness.
Our local art scene is still active over the winter season, especially in December, with numerous special events in town. Our local shops and artists offer many works that we can enjoy, obtain, and keep for ourselves or give as gifts. We can even buy art gift credits. These can be given as gifts for the recipient to choose some art for themselves at that venue. Let’s talk with our local art venues and artists to find out how. It’s a fun way to give, and enjoy some art while you shop.
Janet Sellers is an artist, writer, and speaker, specializing in art for health through her indoor and outdoor murals, landscapes, and nature art. Contact her at JanetSellers@ocn.me.