Are you a creature of habit? I know I am. I do like to be spontaneous too and to try different things, but I find that life works better if I follow a routine. Working for myself from home that’s particularly important – but in other parts of my life as well, routine really helps.Continue reading “Day By Day”
Tag Archives: painting
Art As Tool
The more I experiment with art for wellbeing, the more possibilities emerge. I’ve written before about “art as refuge” and “art as tool” – the two distinct ways I feel art can help wellbeing. Art as refuge is the more familiar of the two to me, and I still think this has immense impact byContinue reading “Art As Tool”
Call Of The Wild
Awe, wonder, empathy, caring – just a few of the ways you might respond to animals. Maybe you like interacting with them. Stroking an animal’s fur, grooming a horse or feeling a pet or companion animal’s warmth beside you can all be reassuring and therapeutic. It’s interacting with another living being, a feeling of connectingContinue reading “Call Of The Wild”
Think Art
As I think about how art can help mental health and wellbeing, two distinct ways emerge. One way sees creativity as a positive to focus on, as refuge or haven, space away from the everyday and from specific issues. The other uses creativity directly to address and work through those issues, to express thoughts, feelings,Continue reading “Think Art”
Colour And Line
I wonder what first springs to mind when you think about abstract art? For me, it would be Mondrian’s clear, ordered colour grids. But this “geometric” style is only one side of abstract art. Other, non-geometric abstraction covers diverse styles, from Pollock’s drip paintings to the work of Barnett Newman, Jasper Johns or Robert Delaunay.Continue reading “Colour And Line”
Creative Climate
Hitting the headlines this fortnight is the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow, as negotiators and world leaders discuss and map our possible routes to net zero carbon. It all comes down to commitments, finance, deals and agreements. But it all stems from the pace of change across the world, and the future of many differentContinue reading “Creative Climate”
Looking Back, Looking Ahead
A year since I first set up Medley to share art, music and nature for wellbeing, I thought I would look back over the last twelve months – and ahead to what might come next. Integral to Medley is combining three different ways to boost wellbeing, that is, music, nature and art. Balancing the threeContinue reading “Looking Back, Looking Ahead”
In The Frame
Great art might open up great opportunities for wellbeing. So far Medley has mainly explored art’s impact on people who themselves take part in painting, drawing or crafting. In this blog post the focus turns to how looking at art might in itself also boost wellbeing and enhance life in diverse ways. How might enjoyingContinue reading “In The Frame”
Breathing Space
Many people welcome any new year with euphoria, with high hopes of new opportunities. For others a new year might be a time of fear, anxiety, dread or uncertainty over what is to come. To many people every single day is a hurdle, let alone an entire year. People who care for others, or whoContinue reading “Breathing Space”
Through New Eyes
When I think about art and autism, all kinds of questions come to mu mind. I wonder how art might alter the way people who have autism see and experience the world, or how autism might alter the way they make art. I wonder how taking part in art or craft might help people openContinue reading “Through New Eyes”
Medley 