Friday, March 24, 2017

Art/Therapy

I hope you enjoyed the process of coloring the printed mandala designs in class this week.  Mandalas are important to a variety of cultures, faiths and schools of thought...

You can create some interesting mandalas at this site.  If you click on the asterisks, there is more information about the different elements.

Leave a brief but thoughtful COMMENT (100 words or so) on this post answering one or more of these questions:
  • How or why do you think art could be used as therapy?
  • Can you think of other pieces of or types of art that are connected to certain faiths, disciplines or movements?
  • What role does art play in your own life?
  • If you could be any kind of artist, what would you be?  Why?
  • What do your doodles say about your personality?  Check this site or others for reference.
  • Why do you think Adult Coloring Books are so popular right now?  This article has some ideas.
Read everyone else's comments, too, and reply back if you'd like!

24 comments:

  1. There are many types of artwork that is associated with faith and different movements. Art plays a role in helping me learn about life. Art also could be useful as therapy because it is self expression and lets a person learn about themselves where words are not enough to describe who they are.

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  2. Art can be used as therapy in many different ways. An example is how coloring can help people relax and decompress from stress. I think that's the whole reason Adult coloring pages are such a big thing right now. Also it can be a good distraction from whats going on around you. You can definitely lose yourself in your work. Art is also a way to express yourself. It lets your personality shine, and also it lets you be yourself. There are many different types of making art, and each on can be a therapy for something else.

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  3. I think art can be used as therapy because it allows you to express yourself in ways that communication and words cannot do so. Sometimes you don´t always know the words to say to express what you are feeling, but you can draw or paint it, or even capture a picture of what you are feeling. I feel like art is great form of therapy because it allows you to release what you are keeping bottled up inside without actually having to communicate it.

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  4. I believe that art is already used as a type of therapy by many people. When people want to get their mind of something, they usually turn their heads to coloring or other forms. A big type of therapy it provides is against stress. I know a lot of people who color whenever they are stressed, just to keep their minds off of things. I don't incorporate art in my life very much, however, I do know many of the people I surround myself with heavily incorporate it in theirs.

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  5. Art is a good way of therapy for many people. Personally, I like to color to relieve stress and it is one of the most popular types of art therapy. I think adult coloring books are so popular right now because it brings adults back to their childhood as well as relieving stress and it is fun. I often notice when I color that I lose track of time.

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  6. Art does not play a big role in my life, but that does not mean I don't enjoy doing it when I find the time. I enjoy doing artsy things such as painting, coloring, doodling, and pottery. If I could choose one of these artsy things to do forever and make into a job, I would choose pottery. Being able to use your hands to make 3D art as a living would be a dream. I also love coloring though because it takes a lot of focus, which means you can't also be thinking about any problems going on in your life. It's peaceful and I'm glad we got to spend this Friday to just color.

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  7. Art doesn’t play a vital role in my life, but that does not mean it isn’t there. When I was younger I loved art. It was definitely my favorite class and being able to work with my hands and create something always put me in a really good mood. I remember I would sometimes compete in art competitions, but it always felt like fun to me, not a challenge. When I got into middle school I started to enjoy art less and less. I guess it could just have been changing hobbies, or growing up, but by eighth grade I had completely forgotten about art. Now I can not so proudly say that I haven’t even taken an art class since eighth grade, and don’t ever really plan to. Instead of creating art, I would much rather enjoy looking at art made by others. So even though I’m not involved with art anymore, I still really like to see what others have created.

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  8. I definitely believe that art can be used as therapy because whenever I'm upset and want to wind down or escape, I draw. Also many other people I know use art as an escape from the real world for a while. Art plays a very significant role in my life because I want to go to college for illustration and pursue a career in art.

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  9. Art plays a major role in my life. All different kinds too. I have been drawing for as long as I remember. I had a sketch book with me wherever I went ever since I was a child. To this day I still draw, maybe not as much as I'd like to, but I do. I have been pretty interested in graphic design for about three years now, and I may not be spectacular at it, but I think it is one of my favorite things to do to pass the times. I even considered pursuing it as a career. I am not completely sure whether or not I will actually do it, but it interests me. I only connect to certain types of art, drawings or sketches interest me. I love to paint but I know I am no good at it. I enjoy looking at what other people have created as well.

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  10. Art plays a huge part of my life, I absolutely love it. There are so many different kinds and styles of art. I'm not good at drawing,painting, or knitting and stuff like that but with Photography and makeup that's a different story. I love to take pictures of people and natures as well as I love makeup. Every artist has different canvas. I hope to one day start my own photography and makeup business after college.

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  11. If I could be any kind of artist, I would like to be a painter. I really love the look of watercolor paintings. To me, they seem very minimalist and effortless while being beautiful at the same time. I wish I had more time to make that a hobby of mine. I think that art can be used as therapy because it's something you can focus all of your attention on. I think it does a really good job of distracting you from anything that may be bothering you. I tend to like things that will distract me from my thoughts, since my mind tends to race a lot. There's something about being able to focus all your attention on one thing that is really relaxing and calming.

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  12. I think art could be a great form of therapy because many people find it relaxing to look at, as well as to make. I think adult coloring books are popular for this exact reason. The relaxation brought by art helps people "escape" from their world for a little while. In my own life, art, more particularly drawing can be a nice relaxer form me after a long or stressful day. I keep a sketch book that I draw and color in (and occasionally paint). If I could be any kind of artist, I would be an oil painter. I think oil paintings are beautiful and paintings using oil paints melt together to create smooth landscapes, objects or even people that are featured. I would also paint landscape and nature scenes if I was an artist. there is something calming about nature, and they are stunning painted with oil paints.

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  13. I think art is one of the very few things that everyone in the world can fully understand, and I think because of that, we are relaxed by it. It is something you can discuss without upsetting anyone. It is something you can see and connect to memories or see and think 'That is beautiful.' I think art is one of the very few things that keeps the world from going insane. It is an outlet for those who create it and for those who view it

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  14. I think art can be used as therapy because for me if i'm mad or sad, i can sit in a peaceful and quite room and just look at art and get my thoughts out. Well one piece of art is the man that is standing on front of the tank back when the war was going on and that was such monumental photo. Art plays an everyday in my life. i have art all in my room so every time i wake up i see them and i think music is art and i listen to music everyday. A musician because i love music. My doodles would say that i'm very confusing cause when i doodle i just do a lot of abstract shapes. I think they are really popular right now because they help with stress and a ot of people are stressed now a days.

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  15. I think art could be used as therapy because it's calming and it takes your mind away from all of your problems and distracts you. What my doodles say about me is I'm hiding my warm heart behind my prickly defense. I must say that is very true, I'm a very nice person- It just takes me some times to warm up to people.

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  16. Art therapy is a great thing for a lot of visual and emotional people because it allows then to calm their mind and see the product of their relaxation, which is something you accomplish in Therapy. Art has a lot of meaning in my life because it's something I see and do on a daily basis. I'm almost always sketching or crafting things in my class or at home when I'm alone. If i could pick a area i'd be better in it'd be digital art, I'm so-so right now but i'd like to be able to draw with out having to look at a ton of refs when doing digital. But digital art allows me to find the perfect colour and thickness unlike traditional art.

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  17. Art is a great therapy mechanism. It relieves stress, and calms people down when they are in tough situations. I like to color and draw when I am having a big event or big week coming up. On finals week I usually print off a couple of coloring sheets and color in every class after my tests to bring me down from the stressful hour that I just endured. I totally agree with the statement that art can be used to relieve stress

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  18. I am personally not one to enjoy art, I don quite understand it. But I think for some people it could be used for art therapy, soothing for people to paint or even look at paintings.

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  19. Art by definition is the expression or application of human creative skill and imagination. I think art can be used in a therapeutic way due to the fact that art can be literally anything and everything that you want it to be. This allows people to express themselves in a variety of different ways, and return can help a person through some drastic times. I personally have turned to art to help relieve stress. I think adult coloring books are such a big thing right now because they allow adults to disengage from the world around them and enjoy something simple and relaxing.

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  20. Art plays a big role in my life. It is a really big hobby for me. I typically enjoy ceramics or acrylic painting. It is very relaxing to me and it is a great way to express my thoughts and emotions. My art is something I like to keep private and do in my personal time as a way to relax and reflect.

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  21. I think art is great therapy it is very relaxing and you focus so much on what you are making you forget about the things happening in the outside world. If I could be any type of artist I would want to be a painter. I don't know why but something about brushes and paint make me feel really relaxed. I also love the mixing of colors and the ability to make any color out of just two or three colors of paint. I don't necessarily like picture art I'm more into musical and cinamatic art. I do appreciate a good painting though.

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  22. If I could be any type of artist, I think I would be a graphic designer. I'm more about trying something over and over again until it is absolutely perfect, and digital programs allow me to redraw something as many times as I see fit. I also like ceramics, just because it's messy and ungraceful compared to the others that it has some kind of appeal to it. I think art can be used for therapy because it's interesting to make something that came from just you. No one else can replicate it, and I think that's part of the appeal. You made a tangible end product from nothing, and not only that, but it is one-of-a-kind and yours.

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  23. I do believe art is a great therapy. You can feel free to express yourself, and draw/ write whatever you want. It is a time that is quiet, calm, and your own. You can be your own person, and do your own thing while no one can tell you what to do. It is something that is easy, and no one can tell you what to do. Art is definitely therapy.

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  24. Any type of art can be considered therapy because most people cant express their feelings through vocalizing it or putting it into words, and most times it cant be put into words. Thats why sometimes just the stroke of a paintbrush or the focus that you put into digital art or even the push of a button on a camera can be very therapeutic to most people even if you don't consider yourself "artistic".

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