This Just In: Making Art Is Good for Your Brain!

I’ve known this intuitively for a looooong time. But now the scientists are proving it. I see this all the time with my students, whether they are youngsters, oldsters, or in betweensters. Some of it can probably be chalked up to learning something new, which improves cognition. But some of it is specific to the process of art-making, as shown in this study. “The study, conducted on a small population of newly retired individuals (28 people between the ages of 62 and 70), concludes that making art could delay or even negate age-related decline of certain brain functions.”

The interesting thing is they had another group learn art appreciation with an Art Historian and their tests declined. So there is something to be said for the “doing” part of art-making. While making art you need to get your hands, eyes, and brain to work together; and you’re looking at the small details as well as the big picture. This is called global thinking and it is much different than just looking and thinking, or art appreciation.  More detail can be read here. But don’t just read about it, be sure to draw about it or you won’t get any smarter!