“Art washes from the soul the dust of everyday life.”
— Pablo Picasso
When we think of adding art to our home, we often think of how it will look. Are the colors right? Does it match the overall look and feel we are trying to achieve, but we don’t often consider how it will affect our brain or how it will impact our family and ultimately our life.
The truth is, art has a tremendous impact on our lives and on our kids. I put together a quick list for you of 15 amazing benefits of viewing art. As you read through the list, think about the art you have in your home. Are you experiencing all of these benefits?
- Increased brain function
- Enhanced fine motor skills
- Elevated overall creativity
- Improved emotional balance
- Increase in serotonin levels which impacts the entire body from emotions to motor skills (1)
- Increased analytical and problem solving skills (2)
- Encourages creative thinking to develop unique solutions.
– Stimulates the brain to grow new neurons
– Both hemispheres of the brain work together - Improved critical thinking skills
- Increased empathy
- Improves social tolerance towards others (3)
- Triggers a surge of dopamine into the same are of the brain that registers romantic love (4)
- Focus on positive life experiences forgetting problems
- Greater ability to express feelings
- Reduce stress by lowering levels of the stress hormone cortisol (5)
- Connect to senses, body and mind. Greater ability to feel emotionally and physically. (6)
One of the biggest problems facing our children and the generations to come is the lack of connection. Technology makes it possible to completely disconnect from personal, face to face relationships and from the world around us. I am becoming more aware of the numbing that takes place in my own mind and in my kids when we are so focused on our screens. One of the most exciting benefits I found in my research was the fact that art has the ability to stimulate these connections.
I like how Olafur Eliasson expressed it, “Art does not show people what to do, yet engaging with a good work of art can connect you to your senses, body, and mind. It can make the world felt. And this felt feeling may spur thinking, engagement, and even action.
I believe that one of the major responsibilities of artists […] is to help people not only get to know and understand something with their minds but also to feel it emotionally and physically. By doing this, art can mitigate the numbing effect created by the glut of information we are faced with today, and motivate people to turn thinking into doing.”
We all want the best for our family, I encourage you to bring more art into your life today! Go to a museum, check out an art book from the library, color together, visit an art show, purchase meaningful art for your walls.