The Power of Art and Craft
Art is something created by mankind, through imagination, creative thinking and emotional expressions, typically in the form of visual or audio such as plays, dances, music, paintings and sculptures. It is very wide in scope, covers almost anything in our daily lives, from a happy nursery song to a sad movie. It encompasses a masterpiece by Picasso, a nicely crafted photo frame and many more. Craft, on the other hand, focuses mainly on physical artwork where there are forms and shapes which one can touch and feel.
Why Art and Craft?
In order to produce an artwork, one needs to go through a series of thinking processes and decision making. First, he needs to decide what he is going to produce, for example, an artistic homemade gift box. Next, he will need to imagine how he wants his gift box to look like. Is it going to be just an ordinary and simple single color box? Or is it going to be a very unique and colorful masterpiece? How big would the size of the gift box need to be? What would it be used for? What material does he want the gift box to be made from? How much time does he plan to create this artwork? Where can he obtain the material he needs? There are tonnes and tonnes of questions arise that he needs to assess and decide before he can even start putting his hands together to start working on it.
These are a series of “problems” that need to be resolved in the mind of the artwork creator. These thinking processes enhance imagination and problem solving skills. It requires the creator to observe the details in the nature and on the things surrounding him to assist him in composing his special artwork. It requires a great deal of creativity in the process of finding answers to the questions that pop up in his mind. Sometimes, he needs to think out of the box and dare to be different in order to come out with his own special masterpiece. This process also enhances his project management and planning skills.
Other than the above, the artwork creation is a way of emotional expression. An artist is able to express his feelings through his work. A happy artist will create a brightly colored and vibrant piece of art, while a sad and down one will create something that resemble his gloomy mood. This way of emotional expression is of utmost importance to a person’s overall health. Mentally healthy person will bring about physically healthy body. Art has also been used as a therapy for depression patients and special children in order for the therapists to understand the inner feelings of these special ones and be able to assist in their learning to cope with their daily lives.
Other than that, physical coordination and motor skills are improved by working on art and craft. The artwork creator will need to have good “brain-eye-hand” coordination in order to enable all the pieces to be put together for the final masterpiece. It can also be used as a mean for improving concentration and focus. It is often found that art and craft is able to capture the attention of some hyperactive children, helping them to sit down and work on these for a longer period of time. Eventually these practices will help them to settle down for longer period of time on other learning activities.
Artwork creation requires a lot of patience. It helps to train energetic young children and “fast-pace” adults to slow down, be patient, stay focus and work slowly towards completion. Upon the completion of the artworks, they will feel the sense of achievement thus help to boost their self esteem.
In addition, one has to be very open and always on the lookout for something new to inspire him for the next piece of art. This openness and observation training enhances the scope of thinking. Art and craft can be done in groups thus enhance interaction among the creators, enable them to socialize, spend time together, learn from each other, and have fun together. This is strongly beneficial to be done in the family among parents and children, or among close groups of friends to improve relationship.
In short, do not underestimate the power of art and craft as it may create wonders for all of us, enriches our lives, enable healings and help in our personal improvement and development. Let us enjoy the power of art and craft!!
