There's a set of watercolors in a drawer you haven't opened since you bought them. Every time you think about it, the same thought follows: I'm not an artist. What would I even make? It would just look bad.
That thought keeps a lot of people from a lot of joy. And it may be based on the wrong idea of what the activity is for.
What one study found
In 2016, Girija Kaimal and colleagues at Drexel University published a pilot study in Art Therapy. They gave 39 adults, aged 18 to 59, a choice of art materials and 45 minutes to make whatever they wanted, with no instruction. They measured cortisol, a hormone often used as a marker of stress, in saliva before and after.
According to coverage of the study, about 75 percent of participants had lower cortisol after the session. The researchers had expected people with more art experience to benefit more, but they didn't find that difference. Beginners appeared to benefit as much as anyone.
It's a small, early study, and the researchers described it as preliminary. Cortisol is only one measure of stress. But it's a useful nudge: the benefit didn't seem to depend on being good.
The point isn't the picture. The point is the forty-five minutes you spent making it.
Make it about the making
If you're new to it, or coming back after many years, a few ways to keep it light:
- Set a time, not a goal. "Forty-five minutes with the paints" instead of "finish a painting."
- Choose simple materials. A pen and a cheap sketchbook, a bag of air-dry clay, a stack of old magazines for collage.
- Start with a prompt. Draw your coffee cup. Collage your favorite colors. Paint the view from your window.
- Make something you don't keep. Knowing you can throw it away takes the pressure off.
- Notice how you feel afterward, not just how it looks.
It doesn't have to be art
The study used visual art, but many people find the same kind of absorption in knitting, baking, playing an instrument or rearranging a garden. You don't have to be a professional creative to have a creative side. Many lawyers, nurses, accountants and managers have one that's been waiting in a drawer.
Where an accountability partner helps
Starting is the hardest part, especially when you're worried about being bad at it. An accountability partner can help you book the time, cheer on the beginner's attempts and ask how the session felt rather than how it turned out. Sharing a messy first try with one encouraging person can make the second one easier.
This week
Block 45 minutes. Gather whatever simple materials you have and make something with no goal other than to make it. Afterward, write one sentence about how you feel, then decide when your next session will be.