The Benefit of Arts and Crafts for Mental Health | PotomacBeads

Did you play a musical instrument in your youth? Many of us have. Whether it was the violin, the clarinet, the guitar, or the piano, the time you spent learning that instrument was never a waste. Revisiting that old instrument, dusting it off and getting back into it can be a rewarding hobby. Never played an instrument before in your life? Maybe it’s time to try one out now. Grabbing a used or inexpensive guitar and teaching yourself to play, with the aid of free resources you can find on the internet, is a great way to learn a new skill that helps you relax and unwind.

Not everyone is born knowing how to draw. Even if you’ve never put pencil to paper before, spending some time doodling with no expectations or pressure can be therapeutic. Sketch pads and pencils are easy to find and not particularly expensive. Visiting a beautiful location such as a local park can provide inspiration, and being out in the fresh air can be beneficial as well. The best part about drawing is that the more you do it, the better you’ll get - even if you don’t consider yourself “talented”.

Too convinced that you couldn’t sketch your way out of a paper bag? Don’t worry, there are still plenty of ways to get into an artistic hobby. Collage is one of those ways, as all you need is a pair of scissors. You can cut up old magazines or newspapers, removing images that speak to you and then pasting them into a blank book or even just a piece of cardboard. Arrange the images in ways that are aesthetically pleasing or meaningful to yourself; you can even turn the finished product into something that you can look at in times of trouble and draw courage or determination from it. Adding an affirmation to that effect is a wonderful way to support your own mental health in these times.

There’s something cathartic about rolling up your sleeves and getting dirty. Sculpture scratches that itch we all feel to just have a seat in the sandbox and play, but with the added benefit of making art as well. Learning the techniques in creating things from pottery, whether it’s a simple coffee mug or it’s a detailed bust, is fulfilling and rewarding in ways that many other arts and crafts might not be.

The best thing about photography is that there’s no longer a massive barrier to entry. Now that everyone has access to a smartphone with a decent camera built right in, you no longer need expensive camera equipment to be a shutterbug. Landscapes, self-portraits, candid photos - whatever strikes your fancy, you can snap a picture of it and look at it later. If you’re particularly proud of a well-composed shot, you can share it on social media or even get it printed out and placed in a photo album.

These two distinctly different but still related crafts are fantastic choices for anyone with the manual dexterity, and the patience, to see them through. Whether you decide to pick up knitting or crocheting, you can enjoy the process of progressing through learning basic stitches and then progressively complex ones. The fact that the end product of your hobby can produce actual things to wear, either for yourself or to be given away as gifts, is another bonus. Also, the knitting and crocheting community is a welcoming one - joining an online knitting group can not just help you improve your skills but also provide a social outlet for you as well.

Two skilled crafts that are, again, highly related while still being vastly different, baking and cooking make fantastic hobbies. One part art and one part science, both baking and cooking involve following recipes closely with performing techniques in the kitchen properly. Again, starting small, such as making an omelette or baking a batch of muffins, can lead to more complex - and more rewarding - projects. And if you’re unsatisfied with how something came out, you can always eat the evidence.

Whether it’s making a handsome wreath to hang on the front door or creating a tasteful centerpiece for your dining room table, home decor as a hobby requires both an artistic eye and the skills needed for crafting these objects. You would be amazed at what you can accomplish with some craft store supplies and a hot glue gun; before you know it, you’ll have a revolving collection of decor that you can change with the seasons.

Related to knitting and crocheting in that it involves needles and creating things to wear, sewing and embroidery are two sides of yet another crafting coin. Sewing is one of those crafting skills that can lead to any number of projects, from fixing rips in your own clothes to creating Halloween costumes from scratch, while embroidery can create exquisite pieces of miniature art in their own right.

Putting together a puzzle or a model might not sound necessarily all that artistic, but the fact is that you are building, piece by piece, something that you can be proud of in the end. Puzzles hone artistic skills like pattern recognition, while model building offers artistic outlets in adding details to model planes, cars, and boats that make them seem less like toys and more like miniature objects.

More than just stringing a couple of beads together on a chain, jewelry making involves learning the techniques used by jewelers in creating necklaces, bracelets, and earrings and then using those techniques in ways that create aesthetically pleasing pieces of wearable art. It’s a wonderful way to express your creativity, both in the making of a piece of jewelry and also wearing it proudly afterwards. Additionally, gifting handmade, handcrafted jewelry to your friends and family will make birthdays, anniversaries, and other holidays just that much more special.