ART HOPE is a practical guide for healthful, artful living that explores the healing opportunities of art-making, art-taking, and art-giving. Creativity is a ready remedy for everyone, everywhere, every day that reduces stress and increases wellness. It is an essential life skill and our most renewable and valuable natural resource. This positive growth mindset helps us survive and thrive. The book offers a cradle to grave perspective for people seeking to improve their health and well-being through creative self-expression and self-care.
Creativity is a movement, a generative and regenerative energy that maintains a state of balance and homeostasis. It articulates life. Creative thinking, doing, and being activates wellness. Like creative energy, health is not stagnant. We can create health and a good life. Wellness is a dynamic, hopeful state of positive health in mind, body, and spirit, in any moment or environment, that nurtures the creative potential in all aspects of living. It exalts our best qualities and is an empowered state that takes time to develop. The things that make us well are relative to our life condition. Wellness is a healthy personal balance. Creative wellness is the measure of our health, happiness, and creativity in daily experience. Research shows when people have a creative and positive approach to life, it activates the "hope factor" and the body's natural ability to self-heal, triggering a placebo effect. Creative therapies in various forms are widely recommended by healthcare providers for patient well care because the process reduces stress. A leading cause of illness, stress negatively impacts physical and mental health, and our relationships, work, and daily life. At every age, creativity improves learning and memory, supports emotional and physical health, enhances personal growth, and celebrates life.
How are you creative? The common things people do and love to do are creative. The ART HOPE Creative Wellness Model is a universal application for everyday creativity that relates to our lifestyles, interests, workplace, education, healthcare, corporations, and communities and leadership, locally and globally. The model and related essays represent the many ways people are creative. They highlight mental, physical, spiritual, environment, community, home, language, sound, and visual aspects. These nine themes are synergistically interconnected and suggest the organic potential of creativity. Most of us can relate to some interest or activity described in the model. The concept is an idea catcher that can spark creativity, prompt an interest or hobby, and help identify opportunities for expression.
In this uplifting narrative, the author is an artist who paints a portrait of human creativity. It is a phenomenon we all share and how our species evolves with a sense of wonder and empathy for life. It is the natural way we relate to ourselves, others, and the world around us. Creativity is the way to wellness. ART HOPE is an inspiring book for educators, healthcare providers, community leaders, artists, self-directed learners, and creative seekers of all ages.