Sustaining hope through art
join me in the comments: + 365 art prompts, newsletter recommendations, and a cool rewilding course invite
Hello!
Today I write to you about sustaining hope through making art, and challenge you to do 3 things. Links & cool readables are down the bottom as always.
Some fascinating personal news things before we begin!
My friend Meghann is doing free 365 days of easy art prompts and oracle readings! Emailed to your inbox every day! Sounds great, right? Sign up here! Nothing to buy ever!
I’ve started a free online course called Urban Rewilding: Restore Your Local Ecosystem. Cool! Anyone wanna study along with me?
Alright, hope and art, art and hope
The world can often feel like a dark and difficult place, no matter when or where you’re living. The smog of everyday life can sometimes be enough to sap all joy from the day. Writer Dani Shapiro calls it “the fleas of life.”
“You know,” she writes, “colds, hangovers, bills, sprained ankles, and little nuisances of one sort or another. They are the constants of life, at the core of life, along with nice little delights that come along every now and then…It’s so easy to let them get in the way. Or to become so busy swatting at them that we get nothing else done.” (read about grieving the fleas)
But there’s also such bigger things going on in the world as well — the terrifying news cycle, wars and rumours of wars, the climate news, political and economic uncertainty… etc.
So what are we meant to do? Why not make art?
Making art can provide a way to sustain hope and resilience, even in the darkest of times. Through art, we can access our inner strength and find joy in the small moments.
"This act of imagination is actually an act of survival. It is preparing us to imagine possibilities and hopefully survive those possibilities.” Girija Kaimal, professor at Drexel University and a researcher in art therapy
Connecting with ourselves
When we make art, it gives us a chance to express ourselves in a deeper way. We can access our feelings without judgment, allowing us to explore our emotions in a safe and creative way. It’s been proven that art can help us identify and better understand our inner thoughts and feelings.
This can be especially important when we are facing difficult times whether personally, like financial hardship, physical or mental health issues, or, closer to home, the rent and homelessness crises that just don’t let up in Dublin, …or, globally, the ongoing climate disaster.
This is why I find that making art is a way to sustain hope by connecting with myself, my values, my intentions… and my inner strength.
Cringe but true.
It kept me going during the pandemic lockdowns. I just made a lot of art. I’m not saying it was good art, and I didn’t share it all online, but it definitely helped me cope with that was going on.
Actually, it was during the lockdowns that I discovered art journaling! So, thanks, horrific global event!
Finding joy in the small moments
It can be hard to find joy: that’s why so many experts are saying we need to focus on tiny things - because the big things are going crazy, I guess.
Making art helps us focus on the beauty in everyday life, and I know I’m not the only person who finds this. Focusing on tiny beauties can be as simple as noticing the colours of the sky or the way the light shines through a window.
Expressing gratitude isn’t just for hokey woke hippies
I’m the kind of person that finds it really hard to stay focused on the positive. How can you, when headlines are spiralling out of control, and the feeling of powerlessness rises day by day?
I’m not going to suggess that we should use gratitude rituals as a way to bury our heads in the sand. I’m not suggesting that we pretend life is peachy keen. But I am saying that gratitude rituals can help us see the tiny but mighty good things about our days. And art can be a way to express gratitude for the things we have.
Join me in the comments:
Using any book you want, start an art journal. If you’re intimidated by all that paper, make a small one: tiny but mighty!
Use art making techniques (and an instax camera if you have one, seriously, they’re underrated genius) to document experiences, and capture moments of joy.
Set a time every day for a week to list three things you’re grateful for about that day. Just try it.
Newsletter recommendations
Bee-Witched, is Jessica Maybruy’s poetry and art in uncertain times. I also write about mental health and art-making & share simple art projects to help us stay grounded in reality. Feel free to share parts of this letter wherever and with whomever you’d like. If you want to support my work, subscribe to this publication and/or visit my zine shop. Thank you.
Thank you for sharing my newsletter! I hope your new year is filled with enchantment.