Most of the participants in our classes are attracted to the sip and paint concept we offer. Yay! We’re all about the fun of unleashing your creativity over a glass of wine or a beer. However, our artists are usually pleasantly surprised by the positive side-effects of our classes. There’s so much more than just the fun! Here are 3 positive side-effects you can expect from a social painting class.
1. Therapeutic Side-Effects (Art Therapy)
What is art therapy you might be wondering? It is basically tapping into the creative nature of art to enhance your life. It includes creative forms of art like drawing, painting, sculpting and colouring, to name but a few. The whole idea is to use any of these art forms as a way to relieve stress in your life and improve your mental well-being.
Have you ever found it hard to express or articulate your feelings and thoughts using words? I bet you can relate! The good news is that you can vent all of these emotions through art. The creative process of using images, colours and shapes can have the same therapeutic effect than talking to a friend about what’s worrying you.
Let’s face it! The normal highs and lows of everyday life can take a toll on you without you even realising it. Whether you’re trying to find a more balanced life or reach quite ambitious personal, family or career goals, life can get a bit hectic sometimes. The challenge is to learn how to identify those moments and take the necessary measures to relieve the stress in your life. Don’t underestimate the benefits of self-care and taking some time for yourself to explore those interests that could energise you.
Some people do a pretty good job at taking care of their mental and emotional well-being. However, some of us keep pushing through despite of all the signals our body and mind are throwing at us. We sometimes wait until we’re on the brink of a breakdown to raise our hand and say: “Yes, I need a self-care or well-being practice to relieve stress and enhance my life.”
2. Disconnection/Connection side-effects
If you really want to be immersed in a tech-free experience, painting for fun is a great way to disconnect from your mobile phone for a change! Painting pulls you into the present moment and urges you to pay attention to the task at hand. However, we’ll always encourage you to not be overly worried about the end result. What is more valuable and enriching for you is the internal and unique experience you go through regardless of the result. When you put your phone down and just paint, you’re more likely to enter a state of flow.
This disconnection facilitates the connection with the people around you. At Paint for Fun, we love bringing people together through our classes. It brings us joy to see people get out of their comfort zone, adopt a creative mindset and go home with beautiful artwork. Probably competing with that is the satisfaction of witnessing the connection that results from sharing this amazing experience with strangers, friends and/or loved ones.
3. Meditative side-effects
Did you know that doing creative activities, such as painting, puts you in a meditative state of mind?
“Creating art is a type of meditation, an active training of the mind that increase awareness and emphasizes acceptance of feelings and thoughts without judgment and relaxation of body and mind. Art, like meditation, allows us to create space between our often negative, anxious thoughts and connect with our true selves – as opposed to with the fleeting or false sense of identity we sometimes have when we are caught up in our thoughts and emotions”.
It’s amazing to see the balance our participants find between the more contemplative and meditative aspect of painting and the social nature of our events. There are usually periods of silence when our artists are completely lost in their attempt to get that one part of their painting right. Their concentration is reflected in calm, absorbed faces. Their state of mind is quiet, reflective, creative and blissful. Next comes the natural need to socialise and involve other people in their process. That’s when we hear the laughs, the chatting and… the sipping.
And there you have them, some of the advantages of attending a sip and paint class. Hopefully you’ll get to understand our events in a different light. So much more than just fun!
If you got inspired, we invite you to check our calendar of events and find the class that resonates with you.
We can’t wait to paint with you!
