Art for Mental Health & Wellness

Express your own creativity and develop a life-changing mindfulness practice in this guide to mindful sketching for all levels by bestselling author and artist Peggy Dean. Combine the mental health benefits of mindfulness with the joy of sketching with this how-to guidebook by beloved art teacher Peggy Dean that walks you through the basics of staying present while you draw-and teaches you how to enjoy your work without self-criticism. Peggy leads readers through the basics of why and how to begin mindful sketching with instruction on materials, techniques, and working with different subject matter and locations; plus offers step-by-step exercises to guide you through the learning process, and fun sketching prompts. Learn how to stay in the moment while you're working, draw what you see around you, and embrace the results. Enjoy the mental state of calmness, flow, and non-judgmental self-expression that is mindfulness. Grab your sketchbook and get started-yes, you can draw!

Drawing Calm teaches artists and non-artists how to find an oasis of calm every day by using the work of master painters to inspire creativity. Maybe it's the colors, or the eye-widening vistas, or maybe it's just the idea that harmony can exist on a square of canvas, but there is something in art that can calm and inspire at the same time. In Drawing Calm, artist Susan Evenson, shows readers how to do the same. It's a book for everyone--non-artists as well as those with plenty of experience in a studio. Using restful, but dynamic works of art as a starting point, Susan Evenson teaches how to capture the light and peace of the master painting. Making use of "soft" techniques such as torn-paper collage, blended pastels, and wet-on-wet watercolor, this workshop encourages stress-free creativity. After you learn how to set up your work space and what materials to gather, choose your soundtrack and get started with some warm-up exercises. Then, unwind with projects grouped by theme: Delight - Quiet - Warmth - Harmony - Calm - Light Rhythm. Put on the music that makes you happy and choose the colors that take you there too!

Drawing makes you happy! This boldly illustrated handbook offers easy-to-follow drawing exercises--some thought-provoking, some meditative, all fun--inspired by art-therapy practices. Each page features an activity written by artist and activist Tim Shaw and brought to life with colorful art from Spanish illustration duo Cachetejack, offering readers simple strategies for boosting their confidence, reducing stress, and expressing themselves in meaningful and joyful new ways. With a distinctive, modern aesthetic, Draw & Be Happy will resonate with both new and experienced artists looking for fulfillment through creativity.

When the pain caused by difficult or unexpected life-changing experiences goes unexpressed and unreleased, it can unravel the fabric of your life. Where talk therapy fails to remedy the situation, expressive art proves successful. Breakthrough split-brain research tells us that imagery is our primary form of communication. Using an image to express a painful emotion allows us to see it in a way that is inaccessible through words, making us better equipped to transform a negative emotional reaction into a positive life experience. In this beautifully designed book, Barbara Ganim shows us how to use imagery to identify what we are really feeling, rather than what we think we feel. Says Ganim, "When you draw an image of what an emotion feels like, you can finally separate what your verbal thoughts are telling you from what your body's actually experiencing." She then explains how to deal with those feelings. With colorful drawings and quotes from students in her workshops, she demonstrates how others have used the drawing from the heart process to express and heal their pain.

Zentangle® is a meditative process of creating art, wherein simple shapes and lines combine to make a complicated and interesting final piece of artwork. The focus of Zentangle is on the process of creation, rather than the end result. The beauty of Zentangle is that there is no right way or wrong way. If you can draw a line and a circle (perfectly or not), you can Zentangle. Zentangle is an art concept that is engaging, approachable, and fun enough for someone who has never picked up any art tools or created a piece of art, yet is still meditative, productive, and creative enough for an advanced artist to enjoy. While many popular Zentangle books share tips, inspiration, and final artwork, there are few that break down Zentangle into a step-by-step process. Structured to be part instruction, part inspiration, and part doodling, The Art of Zentangle will first demonstrate how to create Zentangle art by showing intricate patterns broken out into several steps. After artists have warmed up and are ready to give it a try on their own, they'll be invited to practice creating their own Zentangle designs on the beautifully designed blank pages of this inspirational sketch journal. A short gallery of final artwork and several inspirational prompts are included in this comprehensive introduction to the new, inspirational world of Zentangle.

Flowing from the same reverence and principles as Watercolor Is for Everyone, the first title in the Art Is for Everyone series from Quarry Books, Drawing Is for Everyone offers 21 intuitive, process-based drawing lessons for depicting the natural world with graphite, colored pencils, and colorful inks.