By Janet Sellers
“Art has no rules; it is self-expressive and creative. In this way, the artwork gives a voice to those who create it. Whether designing in a traditional sense or working with alternative materials, art can be viewed as a representation of self and storyteller for places yet to be discovered.”—Rob Talley, ArtBusinessNews.com
Art can tell us about history, people, and their time. People have put their thoughts, dreams, myths, hopes, and histories in art for over 60,000 years with no words needed. The oldest known art is over 60,000 years old, created by Neanderthals. For example, painted seashells from Cueva de los Aviones in Spain have been dated to at least 115,000 years old, and cave paintings in three Spanish caves are more than 65,000 years old.
Our visual literacy and its visual impact affect our past, present, and future. We are bombarded daily by visually powerful imagery, an art form that is mostly commodified for various gains. Communication affects each of us and our conglomerate as a society, country, and world. The ubiquitous cell phone society of today reaches all lands and peoples, with the advantages and threats to go along with that reach. Even without seeing things, sounds and effects of art come into our ideas and imaginations, which can shape our actions.
Does art have power?
Does art have a deeper purpose than decoration or artifice or artifact? Ultimately, art’s ability to facilitate collective empowerment makes it a powerful tool for creating radical transformation. Art has the power to evoke emotion, open dialogue, and challenge paradigms. It can be used to inspire action, call attention to injustice, and bring visibility to issues that would otherwise remain unseen.
The impact of art on our world is undeniable; it illuminates culture and history, facilitates understanding between societies with different values, and encourages participation in social movements. When art is used as a form of activism, it can help drive change in deeply significant ways—from building solidarity among varied groups of people to giving voice to those who are systematically silenced by oppressive systems.
How we can use art skills for problem-solving
Problem-solving by doodles is an old technique. What is a doodle? It’s an absentminded scribble, and it can have powerful outcomes. Doodling helps the brain by enhancing focus, memory, and creativity, and by reducing stress. It acts as a low-level mental distraction that keeps the brain from wandering, improving concentration on a primary task like a lecture or meeting. This activity can calm the amygdala, the brain’s fear center, and the repetitive motion can induce a meditative state, absentmindedly.
Sometimes we are stuck for a solution to a problem, and creative action can help solve that. How? We can take a piece of paper and draw black lines into quarters, then in the first section, just “doodle” for 5 minutes. Then make a doodle on the second quadrant and connect those two doodles for 5 minutes. The technique includes incubating that for 5 minutes by doing something else, such as taking a walk, listening to music, or anything else, but don’t think of the problem. Often, with just these steps, solutions come to mind. Even so, there is still more room for pleasantly doodling into solutions, as it frees up cognitive resources.
Janet Sellers is an artist, writer, teacher, and speaker, specializing in creative endeavors for health through her indoor and outdoor murals, landscapes, and nature art, and offers local forest bathing hikes. Contact her at JanetSellers@ocn.me.
Other Art Matters articles
- Art Matters – The architecture of awe: why art holds nature’s secret language (4/1/2026)
- Art Matters – Art, physics, Argyle socks, and math (3/4/2026)
- Art Matters – Is our education keeping up with visual literacy? (2/4/2026)
- Art Matters – How Gen Z influences our cultural and financial future (12/31/2025)
- Art Matters – Art curation: We all do it, even with holiday trees and gift wrapping (12/4/2025)
- Art Matters – October is Arts Month: Artober with Monumental Impact (10/1/2025)
- Art Matters – What is art good for? (9/3/2025)
- Art Matters – We Can’t Unchop a Tree (7/31/2025)
- Art Matters – The many benefits of outdoor art and arts events (7/3/2025)
- Art Matters – On being a sketchy person in the art and cultural sector (6/7/2025)
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