Art Can Save your Children Too

Blog by RootsandSproutsDesigns.com : Handmade and handcrafted artisan Jewelry

“Life is full of challenges. We all have them. Art has helped me through my own deep valleys.”

~Sarah Jio, All the Flowers in Paris

The pandemic has been a difficult season, and even so for the youngest of us, our children. Add social dynamics and early hormones, parents are still navigating the after effects of the pandemic on our children's mental health. To help, we recently acquired a sweet 1 year old Collie that I swear was made to be a therapy dog. She wasn't something we planned, but she may be what we all needed.

Last Saturday, a few short weeks into this new dog journey, my daughter and I had a date night. After burgers and rootbeer floats, we got some cool cobalt blue hair dye to experiment with, then came back for tea and art. She spontaneously sketched this sweet collie on a canvas and found some watercolor pens I had bought probably 4 years ago and never used. She very quickly painted the cutest impression of our new therapy friend, buddy and new family member. Art can lead us out of lonely places. This short creativity session brought a greater sense of calm and connectedness, and a really nice end to this special night.

We have lost a lot of art in our schools. We have lost a lot of art in our town, as the musicians and painters and artisans transitioned to farther off places with more affordable housing. We have lost handmade art in our galleries, with cheaper versions of prints on metal or just prints, and no artists there to represent their work or craft. Back in the day there were fancy art walks where people dressed up, wine and cheese plates were served and beautiful wall sized paintings hung next to artists talking about their techniques and style. With all the tech and mass produced factory art abroad, are we losing the life blood of something so important to our health? I hope that the world continues to nurture the artists and makers and creative works that are in each of us. It is the arts and aesthetics afterall, that bring people into this town: the cute downtown, the theatre, the bright colored buildings and old victorians along Main Street, the beautiful landscaped Lithia Park and eclectic food choices, the mass collection of finely crafted wines. Art is worth saving and may be the thing that saves us all. So go find yourself and support others to do the same.