How Does Art Build Resilience
By Heather Roan
Have you ever spilled a cup of coffee? How about broken a plate or glass? It is impossible to navigate life without making mistakes, but that doesn’t mean life is defined by our mistakes. In a world that seems to revolve around perfection, it’s easy to assume that when we face challenges we are alone in our struggles. However, take five minutes to read about famous artists such as Vincent Van Gogh, and you will quickly discover that being engaged in the work of art doesn’t excuse one from the challenges in life. In fact, recent studies suggest it may be the other way around; art, instead of distancing us from our struggles, actually helps us build resilience to combat them.
Meagan Shand introduces us to her thesis research study on the relation of art and resilience by defining resilience; “Resilience in its most basic form is strength during difficult time." It is easy to assume this definition only applies to the most difficult times in our life, but when we think more generally, we experience difficult times each day when we are faced with decisions we may not have an answer for. Art builds resilience when we make creative choices, even if we don’t know what the outcome might look like. Especially with mediums such as watercolor and other paints, every brush stroke is a stroke of courage that things will turn out right, even if we can’t predict what “right” will look like.
Art has also been proven to increase individuals’ resilience by increasing their overall quality of life and fostering their confidence as they grow in different skills such as drawing or sculpting. In her article for Psychology Today, Dr. Cathy Malchiodi discusses what she believes is the true purpose of art:
“For me, that true purpose of art is one of resilience, not of pathology or mental illness. It is why humankind has continually returned to art making as one way to reparation and recovery from the inescapable physical, emotional, interpersonal and spiritual challenges of life.”
If we think of art as a response to the challenges of life instead of as a side effect of life’s challenges, then we are already on the road to becoming more resilient.