Debunking the Myths about Art and Accessing Your Inner Artist
As an expressive arts therapist, one of my greatest pleasures is helping people access their inner artist. Our inner artist is flexible, creative, unafraid to try new things, open to fresh insights, and takes pleasures in small joys. Our inner artist is able to get messy, make “mistakes,” and find new ways of thinking and doing. Sounds great, right?
And yet so often there are beliefs that block us from feeling comfortably creative - beliefs or thoughts we have that prevent us from accessing our inner artist. So often when I sit with people, I hear, “I’m not an artist,” “I can’t do art,” “I’m not doing it right,” or “This looks terrible!” I have lost count of how many people have come into my office with a dejected look saying, “I’m a lost cause, I can’t even make a stick figure look good!”
I call these blocking beliefs “Art Myths.” They afflict not just the old, but increasingly the young as well, who, frustrated by a perceived error, crumple up their paper because it “doesn’t look right.” These Art Myths cause our clients to feel creatively frozen, unable to access their creative selves. They have a belief about what art is and they are certain that they are horrible at making it.
So what are the benefits of one accessing his or her inner artist? Just a few include:
Increased mindfulness
Better frustration tolerance
“Flow” (see below)
Finding and making meaning
Improved connection with self and others
Increased sense of control, competency and identity
Ability to constructively channel difficult emotions and behaviors
CHALLENGING OUR IDEAS ABOUT FINE ART
The realm of Fine Art in its myriad of categorizations, skill sets, and histories has an important role in challenging our thinking, enriching our culture, and deepening our understanding of societal happenings, and yet it does not hold a monopoly on “art.” Unfortunately, Fine Art that is critiqued in text books and displayed behind glass in gallery settings, can cause us to question the worth of our creativity if our skills aren’t up to par with those of professional artists. Even art classes, with their emphasis on technical skills and grading the final product, can foster feelings of inferiority, self-criticism and perfectionism.
But art wasn’t always so separate from our everyday lives. What if we knew that the need to create is in all of us? That we are hardwired to be artists, each and every one of us? What if we re-expanded our definition of what art is, so it is more accessible to us all?
Let's start by debunking three major myths about art that block us from our own creativity:
"Only really talented people are artists" WRONG!
Art is in our biology – we evolved to create!
“Making special” is an inherent need (see below)
We are all artists
"There is a “right” way to make art" WRONG!
There is no “right” or “wrong” way to make art.
Art is more than what we see in museums or what we are taught in art class.
Creating, altering, transforming, adding, subtracting, and taking risks – these processes are just as valuable as the finished product.
Everyone has their own style and approach to working with art materials.
There are no “rules” about art materials - they can be found objects, pieces of bark, pinecones, “trash”, etc.
Making art can be about taking risks, letting go of perfectionism, and following the process
"All art is made to be looked at and appreciated by others" WRONG!
Some art is made to be seen by others, and some is not
Some art is transient, never seen by others.
Sometimes process is more important than product
There are many cognitive and emotional benefits of art-making: Art can be made for personal benefit, to promote insight, and create a sense of empowerment and competency. Furthermore, the bilateral stimulation of both the right and left sides of the brain created through the art-making experience helps to further integrate the cognitive and emotional parts of the brain, and helps us make sense of our own thoughts, feelings and behavior.
UNDERSTANDING ART CLASS VERSUS ART THERAPY
Art class is skill-based, where a teacher imparts their knowledge to the students by teaching art techniques for the purpose of improving skills and displaying artwork for others to see and appreciate. The primary focus is on the value of art product itself, and furthering the art profession. The therapeutic aspects of art are secondary.
Art therapy is attachment-based, where a therapist models and invites their clients to engage in a variety of art processes for the purpose of promoting self-expression, personal understanding and insight. Art made is personal, and may not always be displayed or even be permanent. The primary focus is on the value of creative process itself, and the art product is secondary. The art therapist understands how diverse ways of engaging with art materials is a means to deepen understanding and personal insight, create a sense of safety and grounding for difficult and often painful experiences, and promote trust and openness between the therapist and the client.
In conclusion, our inner artist plays an integral part in our growth and development, and the sooner we give ourselves and our children permission to access this creative side, the more connected and grounded we can feel to ourselves and the world around us.
Written by Madelene Pario, LMHC, ATR-BC, Co-Owner of The Artful Life
As adapted from her article published in Boston Parents Magazine, Fall 2018