HealthyTag

Art Education with Autumn
Posted 28 November 2020 | art, art center, art gallery, bay city, classes, community, drawing, Healthy, Safety, support, workshops

Art Education with Autumn

As I was sitting at home last night working on homework I was having a terrible time concentrating. It makes sense, right? There’s quite a bit of uncertainty in the world right now and it just has to have an effect on us… it can’t not! I found myself grabbing a sheet of scrap paper and moving between doodling and homework. Next thing I know, I’m getting my work done.

See, as I’ve grown older I’ve realized that doodling/creating/artmaking is not just fun and not just another distraction. It’s a great way to help us relax and refocus.

 

My homework doodles- clearly I was hungry!

 

So, how does creating benefit your mental health and how can Studio 23 help?

Well, Malaka Gharib, a journalist for NPR, found that in between daily tasks she was always doodling. To find out why she enjoyed doodling so much and what effects it had upon her brain, Gharib spoke with Girija Kaimal, a professor and researcher in art therapy at Drexel University. Kaimal conducted an experiment where blood flow to the brain of a variety of participants was measured. They found that when subjects created there was an increased amount of blood flow to the reward center of the brain. This would suggests that creating art stimulates the reward center of the brain.

In another experiment, subjects were asked to create art for 45 minutes in a studio with an art therapist. During this time, cortisol levels significantly lowered. Additionally, they found “no differences in health outcomes between people who identify as experienced artists and people who don’t.”

What this information suggests to me is right now, during a pandemic, we need to create more than ever. This is why Studio 23 has been offering art classes and virtual art lessons that you can easily follow. I make it a point to post fun, easy projects that don’t require a bunch of fancy art supplies. Because it doesn’t matter what products you use or what your result is- it’s the act of creating that helps center us.

I hope this inspires you to keep healthy and create something today!

Autumn Reyes, Education Coordinator

 

If you’d like to read more on that study, here’s the link!

 

Posted in my office space to inspire me! 🙂

 

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Posted 13 November 2020 | art, art center, art gallery, community, Healthy, Preview Party, Safety, Virtual Event

Art is good for the soul.

With COVID counts on the rise in Bay County, we want to encourage everyone to be safe. Studio 23 is committed to being a safe environment for our patrons, students and community. Each morning we arrive the studio is completely sanitized and we get ready to open the doors for you. Our students enter the classrooms wearing their mask and sit at their own table spaced apart from each other. A class is complete and we wipe down the surfaces to prepare it for the next class. Our staff has some beautiful masks that we are happy to wear everyday. Thank you for letting us serve you!

ART is so good for your soul. With the stress and worry we face everyday, I’m inviting you to come into Studio 23 to create, view art and experience joy. Here are five reasons why art is good for you!

(Source: https://obxartstudio.com/5-reasons-art-good-soul-world/)
  1. Art Generates A Love For Learning & Creativity: Art gives you a chance to explore parts of yourself maybe you did not know existed. It teaches risk taking, and being open to how things may turn out different from what you originally wanted them to. It helps you learn to be more passionate and curious.
  2. Art Develops The Whole Brain: It is proven that art increases attention, strengthens focus, requires practice, develops hand-eye coordination, and interacting with the world using mediums and tools. I feel strongly that art is mentally a good thing for not just kids, but everyone to do.
  3. Art Supports Your Emotional Intelligence: Art really supports the expression of feelings that maybe you can’t put into words. Art helps you discover joy in one’s self, and often you’ll be surprised. I personally know that in some cases situations and feelings are very hard to express in just words. There are usually such strong feelings behind a piece of artwork you may think is just something pretty.
  4. Art Teaches Problem Solving: Art challenges our beliefs and encourages us to be open-minded. It helps us think, and realize that there is more than one answer to a problem. It forces us to really get creative and to use our crazy imagination.
  5. Art Is Eternal: Self-expression and creativity has always been essential to our humanity. Going back to beginning of time, our earliest expressions were recorded in petroglyphs, cave paintings, and ancient sculptures. Imagination has always been apart of our world, and we should value it.

 

This Wednesday, November 18th we will be hosting our first virtual preview party for the upcoming auction. Traditionally in December we host a large fundraiser that auctions off artwork and items from local businesses. This year we are moving the auction online and having it stay open for three weeks. With this change we are hopefully that we will raise funds for our nonprofit to help us end 2020 on a high note.

We are getting excited to show you the amazing items up for auction. Join us for our first Preview Party from the comfort of your own home.
Our Preview Party Partner is Artigiano. They have paired a cheese and wine for each night and you can purchase these at their shop located on Saginaw Street in Bay City.
The Fawn is a mild yet very flavorful American Cheddar cheese that is from Wisconsin. It is a gold medal winner at the International Cheese Awards.
Sansilvestro Dulcis Moscato is a light, semi-sweet wine that will pair perfectly with the fawn. The bottle is a beautiful piece of art on its own!
Stop in to Artigiano to purchase the pairing and get comfy on your couch for November 18th at 7pm.
I’m looking forward to seeing you virtual,
Tara Welch
Executive Director
Studio23.Executive.Director@gmail.com
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