Art helps us to revisit the value of ordinary things like the pretty colors

in a splash of morning light on a table cloth or the familiar and nos-

talgic aspects of old beer cans.Art embraces appreciaton

AppreciationArt focuses in on the essence of the scene rather than the whole of it. It homes in on what is most memorable from the scene the artist was viewing.. Art records and preserves emotions

Memory

Art helps us to complete our own unformed thoughts and ideas. We

have an ‘aha’ moment when we see a piece of art that perfectly

captures a feeling or thought we have had that we couldn’t express.

Self UnderstandingArt doesn’t just increase our capa-city for joy, it validates our sorrows.Art provides a different perspective or “vantage point from which to survey” our own sadness, and find a way to deal with it

Sorrow

Growth HopeArt can move us to tears. Beauti-ful art can bring tears of joy. Experiencing such heart-warming feelings about it encourages us to hope for the same thing for our-selves

When we see a picture of some-thing we haven’t personally expe-rienced or of an emotion that we

don’t have a personal context for, we can take the time to think about

it, react to it, and empathize with. Art promotes self-growth.

Re-balancingOur day to day lives influence the balance of our emotional make up. We gain balance through art by taking a moment to observe, judge, and appreciate things we don’t nor-mally see and our responses to them.

Art As TherapyHow art helps us grow and evolve in our understanding of ourselves,

each other, and the world we live in?

Based on the book Art as Therapy, Alain De Botton and John Armstrong identify seven functions of art

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Art As Therapy

Art is not a handicraft, it is the transmission of feeling the artist has experienced - Leo Tolstoy