Benefits of Creativity and Art

In this video, We talk with Teresa Spenser, the owner of Soul Fire art studio, and tour the shop in Delafield, WI. At Soul Fire, people of all ages can create new projects of clay, glass or paint, or they can complete one of the many projects Soul Fire has on hand.

When we think of art, typically we don't tend to think of our neighbor down the street who has paint in their hair and clay under their fingernails. We think of great painters, of museums where masterpieces created long ago now hang in solitude, forbidden to be touched. These pieces make it hard to remember the cardinal rule of art as a whole because they are seen to be so perfect. There is no such thing as a mistake in art.

Teresa Spenser, the owner of Soul Fire Art Studio in Delafield, WI works to reintroduce the practice of arts and crafts into her community. The team there works tirelessly to open the creative part of everyone's mind, and to be more open to the possibilities before them. Their philosophy is that no one is ever too young or too old to engage in arts and crafts.

While arts and crafts are often thrown together as one and the same, they actually address two very different kinds of creativity. Art is open ended, there is no set finish date. The only person who can determine a finished product is the artist. The piece is created based off of their own feelings, emotion, and vision. Crafts are much more concrete. They usually require skills and technique in association with a physical project.

There are so many facets that are covered under the umbrella of visual art, including, but not limited to, sculpture, painting, drawing, printmaking, ceramics, and new mediums that become popular every year. The WHAT isn't necessarily as important, it's all about the WHO. Creativity allows the three networks of the brain to work together to create ideas, evaluate them, and decide which ideas get used, and the brain works in perfect harmony (Your Brain on Creativity).

While the collaboration of these three networks sometimes results in less than stellar art projects that don the doors of our fridges, there is so much more at play while your child is being creative. Letting our children be creative from a young age will help them with problem solving abilities as they grow older. They learn to not only express, but cope with their feelings (Fostering Creativity). The more freedom they are allowed (without getting paint all over the walls), the better decision makers they will become. Ok, even getting paint all over the walls has its value.

Soul fire does not just cater to kids parties, they have also found a home among the adults in the community. In the immortal words of Dr. Suess, “Adults are just outdated children”. There is a reason that art is commonly used on retreats, in elderly homes, and in workplace community building. Art projects have been proven to relieve stress and produce meditative results by focusing the mind and pushing aside worries to focus on the task at hand (The Benefits of Art for Adults). They also improve creative thinking, and help boost one's self esteem. While it may be harder for adults to get into the groove of creating, with reasons ranging from “I’m not very creative” to “ I don't have time”, taking that chance is nothing compared to the memories our kids will have of you creating with them. There are no such things as mistakes in art.

To learn more about Soul Fire, call or visit their website.

Soul Fire Art Studio, Ltd
636 Main St, Delafield, WI 53018
(262) 646-8900
www.soulfireartstudio.com