Therapy On A Budget:

Free Advice From The Art World

By Melissa D. Calder

You are stressed out.You are feeling down.You need an outlet but … you don’t have the extra cash to take a vacation let alone spend $12 on a yoga class, $80 on a massage, or a $100 new clothing shopping spree that may just maybe make you feel better. You need help. You want to feel better. You want to make your problems go away even if just for a few hours.

Disclaimer: This article is not for people that need real therapy and have deep dark issues that will take years to get through.

However, this article is for people having a bad day, a bad week, a bad month or even a couple of months.

Next time that you are feeling blue, try this solution:






Create ART

It doesn’t matter …

a) What project you tackle
b) What it looks like
c) What the outcome will be
d) How long you spend planning it
e) Or what materials you use.

Sketch It Out
It can be as simple as picking up a pencil and some paper and writing down or sketching out your feelings.

For Your Eyes Only
Take the pressure off of yourself by remembering that the key is to make the art without concern for what it looks like. If you think you can’t draw, you actually probably can with just a little bit of practice. Plus, who cares if you can’t, no one has to see your artwork, it is for you and only you.

Mosaics
If you don’t want to attempt drawings then try something more kinesthetic such as mosaic art. Take those old ceramic dishes that you don’t use anymore and break them. You do not need tools. You can just place them in trash bags and throw them off your back deck or toss them from a high window.

Disclaimer: be sure to take proper safety precautions and keep children and other people out of the area below before doing this.

You don’t have to make a pretty mosaic, it doesn’t have to make sense. No mosaic flower pots or mirrors here. Mosaic your trash-can, mosaic part of the sidewalk. You will need some sort of adhesive but you may just have some cement or strong glue in your garage or junk drawer. If you don’t have glue or you do not want to spend the money on glue then just take those ceramic pieces and place them in interesting ways. Does the broken blue ceramic look cool next to the green one or the pink one? It is questions like these that will take your mind to another place and help take your focus off your problem.

Mix It Up
Another idea is to take tools from the garage such as blue painters tape or electrical tape and rip it into pieces and place them in interesting designs all over a piece of paper, a piece of old wood, or an old mirror.

Organic Nature Sculptures
If you have a backyard or a park near your home then, venture out. Look at the leaves, look at the sticks, find interesting materials and use them in an organic nature sculpture. You don’t always have to be able to take art with you to get satisfaction out of it. It can be whatever you want … Line sticks up in an interesting pattern and leave it there in the park. Take a picture of it with your camera or just a mental picture in your mind. If anything maybe you will confuse some pedestrians that may just walk by and observe in wonder.

Painting
If you don’t have paint or paintbrushes and you would like to try painting, use food coloring as your ink. You can express yourself simply by using utensils such as forks and knives along with food coloring and shaving cream or whipped cream. You add the food coloring to the cream and create an abstract design with your fork and knife. You can transfer the design onto paper or simply take a picture of your creation and then wash it away with water.

Finding Your Subject With Music
So you don’t know what to paint? Try putting your favorite song on and listen to it over and over again. Maybe you just broke up with your boyfriend, and want to put on the best “boy hating song” and paint your heart out. Music has a tendency to provoke feelings. Think about when you are driving in your car or walking down the street listening to your ipod on shuffle and then all of a sudden a song you haven’t heard in maybe 6 months or even a year starts to play, you love it, you forgot how much you loved it, you forgot how it made you feel and most importantly you forget about what put you in this funk to begin with. Now, combine music with the power of creation and you are well on your way to smiles again.

Put the feeling that the music triggers on paper. Draw the colors you see while listening to it or the even include the lyrics in your sketch, painting, or whatever you decide to make.

Why It Works
Poof! You were just so engaged in the task at hand that you forgot about the boyfriend or girlfriend, the ex-boyfriend or girlfriend, the annoying boss, or the best friend that betrayed you. You were able to get those feelings out of your system. You can now look at the problem more clearly. Yes, the problem is not solved but you can go into solving it with a new attitude and a new outlook since you took time to express your frustrations and can move forward.

Of course if you want to forget about the fact that you even had a problem or a bad day then you can go ahead and destroy the work when you finish. You know like on Saved by the Bell when Kelly burned that love letter from Zack. You can also keep your artwork as a reminder of your strength, power, and dignity. You didn’t lose your cool, you expressed it in a beautiful way of that might just inspire others. Go forward and create!

Melissa D. Calder, BA, MAT, is an advocate for innovative education. She recently completed designing an art education book to be published and is busy searching out creativity in the small corners of the World. She is Busy Painting, Creating, Producing, Dreaming, Scheming, Relaxing, Socializing, Being, Critiquing, Judging, Contemplating, Wondering, Wishing, Playing, and Dancing. With her coffee, some music and a creative outlet she is happy.