014 Art Through Difficult Times

We explore why art can steady us when life gets heavy, offering clarity, calm, and a place to breathe. We share how consuming art and creating art help us regain control, name what we feel, and endure with more courage. 
• art as a refuge that keeps us present 
• consuming art for clarity when crisis hits 
• stories and images as tools for perspective 
• art as a healthy distraction that slows us down 
• consuming art to fill the creative well 
• creating art for control and small accomplishment 
• making art as expression, movement, and catharsis 
• art as endurance and connection to others 

Transcript

When Art Becomes A Lifeline

Richmond 0:00

When was the last time art got you through a difficult time? That art offered you a small space in time where you can just stay in the present and take a moment of respite. In difficult times, art can be our light. And it makes me think that beauty can still be found in dark places.

Welcome To Pockets

Richmond 0:28

Hi, you're listening to Pockets, a podcast about finding joy, meaning, and purpose in life's simplest moments. I'm Richmond Camero. Let's dive into today's journey. It's a strange feeling when we find ourselves faced with a challenge we didn't think we'd face. It becomes a question of survival. What do I need to get through that? Perhaps we repress our creative tendencies. We forget about our passion for art. But let me remind you of the power of art even in difficult times. There is beauty in admiring the artwork of others. That's why museums will always be a novel experience. It connects us to thinkers and creatives from the past. Even reading books is a collaborative exercise.

Why Consuming Art Helps

Richmond 1:29

The author conjures the world and tells the story. But it is up to us readers to have an interpretation of that story. What's interesting is even with the same book, the same story, the same words, no two stories are exactly alike. The way I imagine the characters in the setting of the book is different from the way you imagine yours. It's an exciting thought, isn't it? That sense of wonder that art sparks in our hearts. Its power to put us in suspended disbelief for a couple of hours for us to enjoy the tale. Its ability to reflect a part of our desires and curiosities, which makes art relevant to keep in difficult times, especially in difficult times. Whether we're consuming or creating art, it gives us the power to get through. And today I'll share why art is essential in difficult times from a consumer and a creator point of view. As a consumer, I often turn to books during difficult times, starting with the nonfiction ones. It might just be me, but I read books in order to understand what I'm going through, or to give me a different perspective. For instance, when I encounter problems in relationships and friendships, I read about attachment theories and books on codependencies. Maybe there's a part in me that thinks that if there's a problem, someone is a subject matter expert and must have written about it.

Clarity Through Stories And Images

Richmond 3:14

Which takes me to the first reason why consuming art is important. It brings clarity. Most of the time when we're facing a crisis, our first question is to ask, why is this happening to me? It's human nature for us to question the purpose of everything, even for difficult things. We are wired to think about cause and effects. If something bad is happening, there must be a reason for it. There must be a purpose. Turning to art provides some form of clarity to that question. Because art represents human nature. It freezes a certain point in human experiences. Stories answer the question what if? Paintings depict the artist's interpretation of an event or an object. From these minds we look for counsel and wisdom about what we're experiencing. But sometimes it doesn't need to be something meaningful. Sometimes we don't have the energy to look for answers or make sense of things.

A Healthy Distraction From Crisis

Richmond 4:23

So for my second point, consuming art becomes a healthy distraction. I'd like to qualify it as a healthy distraction because art requires us to slow down. We're already in a time that when I mention social media, the words that follow are usually doom scrawling, time wasters and brain rot. By reading books, watching movies, and looking at paintings, you become more grounded in the moment. It's not easy, yes. It's difficult to be still, but in difficult times, there's a benefit in giving space to the quiet. It is in these occasions that a spark of creativity triggers our minds. Which brings me to my third point from the consumer's point of view.

Filling The Creative Well

Richmond 5:17

Consuming art fills the well. I believe as creatives, our art is a product of our hands and our influences. That's why it's important for me to continually read books and study painters and artists and how they draw. It's where I understand how good art is made. It's how I decide on things that I could experiment and make my own. In difficult times we may not feel that it's filling our creative wills, but our subconscious remembers our instinct to discern about art in the way we create is improved. Now we go to the other

Why Creating Art Matters

Richmond 5:58

side. Why creating art is important. But let's start with some honesty. It's very difficult to do art in normal times, and there will be more resistance doing art in the middle of a crisis. Our energy will be spent dealing with our problems such that it will feel that we don't have enough left to create art. But just like exercise, we have to spend energy to gain more energy. Starting will be the toughest part, but once we get the momentum going, we'll feel better as we get into the flow.

Control And Small Wins

Richmond 6:37

To start, the first benefit that we'll get is that we gain a sense of control and accomplishment. In the middle of a situation where we feel that everything around us is crumbling, it's so easy to feel helpless and just to give up control. Making art gives us a small sense of that. A stroke of a line is controlled from our hands. One word is a defiance against a blank page. It gives us power back that whatever external is happening around us, we can still control small things. That small effort that we exert gives us back our confidence and a sense of accomplishment. If not for the sense of accomplishment, then we can definitely do it for our own well being.

Expression As Catharsis

Richmond 7:31

For my second point, making art is important in difficult times for us to be able to express ourselves. Again taking a concept from exercise, there's an idea that anxiety is trapped to energy, which is why there's the need for movement. I would say art is movement too. Sometimes we can't find the right means to express what we feel, and art becomes the medium for that. We transmute our energy and feelings and give it life. Mindfulness starts with acknowledgement and naming things, and by creating art, we start to make shape of what's happening to us. It's a form of catharsis too, that would hopefully release the burden we're carrying.

Art As Endurance And Connection

Richmond 8:21

Finally, creating art makes us endure. Sometimes we think about whether it is worth creating art despite of what's happening to us. But that's a thing. It is in these troubled times that we need art, that the world needs art. It's a medium that allows us to connect to others without the burden of long conversations. It's the way for us to believe that the current challenge that we're facing may be worth it. And one day, it will be our art that will remind us that we were brave souls, that chose to endure. Art will keep us going.

Grace, Play, And Closing

Richmond 9:03

In my experience facing difficult times, consuming art and making art becomes my anchor. It's those times when I allow myself some grace to explore what I feel and to explore my curiosities. It gave me a needed sense of play and joy, a small belief that art is fun. And it sustains me, giving me enough energy to tackle things I need to. Whatever challenges you're facing may still have the spark to make art and keep on creating. You've been with Pockets. Thank you so much for sharing this space with me. Now go embrace the moments, build your pockets of meaning, and keep curiosity a s your guide.