Benefits of Art

I came across this article recently. I found it in a little publication called "Silver". It describes itself as a "55+ Magazine for WNY and Northern PA". The article focuses on the positive benefits of art (especially on making art) beyond childhood.

The article begins with a quote from Pablo Picasso: "Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up." This is a great point. All kids love to draw, color, play with clay, and even paint. However, this somehow gets stifled as we age for most people.

The author lists several positive benefits for art later in life. These include such benefits as an outlet for self-expression, boosting self-esteem, cognitive improvement, confidence boosting, as well as the fact that it can be just plain relaxing.

So, this got me thinking. Our congregations are, for the most part, an aging community. How can we use art to enhance not only the lives of our members, but also the community at large? How can and does art affect our present ministries? How can we be facilitators for art in our congregations?



Just something to think about

The article can be found here: http://www.post-journal.com/page/content.detail/id/534977.html?nav=78