Art – The Ladder to Development

Art is most often associated with adjectives like beautiful, magnificent, and brilliant, to mention a few. However, every piece of art, irrespective of its intricacies, holds a greater meaning and significance that is brought forth by the artist through sensory means. Art is a wide spectrum and covers many forms. Music, Dance and Movements, Drama, Speech, Written Words, and Visual Art are the main categories under the umbrella. Each form uses different modes to convey a feeling, an emotion, a thought, an idea, a belief, or a message. Art is a form of expression. Expressions range from positives to negatives, and in-betweens.

Artists use their preferred artistic medium to portray a vast variety of themes. All forms of art help in expression, however art is also a very unique medium that brings about holistic development. Art is a part of our lives even when we do not notice it or associate tasks with art. Art is in playing games, art is in writing, art is in listening to or playing music, and art is everywhere.

We can make conscious efforts to use art to our advantage. Art is a powerful tool and you can choose your preferred medium, it can help in many aspects we wish to work on for ourselves or others. That is where art is used as a mode of therapy. In Art Therapy, different forms of art are used to achieve a goal set by the client or a goal that is set by the therapist for the client. The client’s needs are always a priority.

As mentioned earlier, art can bring about holistic development, that is emotional, social, physical, and cognitive developments. You must be wondering how. Listed are the different areas of development with examples of how art provides a platform to build ourselves.

?1) ??Physical development:

To put it simply it is the development of the physical body, i.e., limbs, fingers, muscles, etc. This is important to promote mobility of the body and to use our strength to its full potential.

Practicing dance, sport, and exercises directly affects the development of muscles, promotes strength, and enhances flexibility. As children we have all created masterpieces with wax crayons and paints, this aided in fine motor development. We would turn into little monkeys when we went to the jungle gym, this developed strength in our legs and arms.

?2) ??Cognitive Development:

We develop the ability to learn, think and understand through childhood and teenage years. We enhance these abilities throughout our lives due to various experiences we have. The ability to comprehend, remember information (memory), and exercise creative thinking is a very important aspect of development and important skills to establish.

A good example to better understand cognitive development would be learning songs. We start with lullabies and nursery rhymes and gradually to mainstream music. First comes recognition of the song by sound, then comprehension of the familiar words, and then remembering the lyrics. Activities like learning music stimulate the brain and thereby works to develop cognition.

?3) ??Emotional Development:

As human beings, we are emotional beings. We experience a wide variety of feelings and emotions brought about by the many people we meet and situations we face in our day-to-day lives. Emotions may be positive or negative; happiness, sadness, fear, and anger are some of the basic emotions we feel. Emotional development brings about self-esteem, coping skills, and assertive behaviors.

Sometimes we may find it difficult to express our emotions especially when it does make us feel uncomfortable. The use of any form of art can be a great way to express these feelings and emotions. When we paint and simply focus on making strokes with the brush, we can focus on the activity and use our emotions to control the flow of each stroke. This assists in regulating our emotions and preventing us from bottling them up.

?4) ??Social Development:

Social interactions and connections are vital to growth and development. As an infant, forming a secure attachment with a caregiver enables the individual to explore and learn with confidence, knowing that the caregiver will provide a safe space and backup when needed. As infant continues to grow, they learn social cues and social skills from the people around them, this enables social interactions in environments outside of the home.

Playing games with other individuals teach us values like waiting for our turn, cooperating with others, how to work together, and understanding our peers, to list a few.

Participating in drama activities provides a platform to explore different characters and make connections with other people.

?Art is in everything we do. The key is to identify the areas and productively use them for our well-being. Incorporating artistic activities into our daily routine lays a foundation on which we can build self-care in the widest sense of the term. It is very important for us to be aware of ourselves, our perspectives, behaviors, triggers, likes and dislikes, temperament, shortcomings, physical and mental health, etc. Art can then assist us in documenting these aspects. If you would prefer to be guided by a professional, reach out to an Art Therapist. They will provide you with a plan catered to your needs and help you recognize and enhance your progress. And yes you do not need to essentially have a certain artistic skill to practice it. Be unafraid to explore and try out the art form you feel drawn to.

By Anna Chatterjee