The North Side Inside and Out

Posted April 19, 2012 - 3:02pm by Jenise Celestin

Unleash your inner artist...it's healthy!

How do you stay motivated on the job? Do you feel connected and supported by your co-workers? Well, each year, the Marketing/Community Relations Department from Swedish Covenant Hospital embarks on a fun, social outing. We've gone to restaurants together. We've gone bowling together. And now, we can say that we've painted together.

I'd venture to say that none of us are "artists" but we've been curious about the group painting parties at Bottle & Bottega in Lakeview, and it seemed that at the very least we'd get some good laughs out of the experience.

We arranged for a private party at Bottle & Bottega, but you can also sign up for any of their public events too. Some of them have a theme like Tapas & Art Tuesday, and...shh...some of them even feature a nude model for ladies night. Well, we chose to keep it clean :) and split into two groups to paint one of two images. An art instructor led each of the groups, and gave step-by-step instructions that were easy to follow and surprisingly empowering. Within two hours, we had each created our own 16x20 masterpiece. My daughter Molly named my owl friend here "Hootie." Cool.

Ya know, I couldn't help but think about some of the healthy benefits of engaging in this type of program. Dr. Danny Park, a neurologist from Swedish Covenant Hospital, recently spoke at a community event with Marbles: The Brain Store, and he explained that working your brain in different, novel ways can help keep it sharp and ward off signs of dementia. And actually, Marbles supports the statement by offering a number of unique, creative activities to challenge different parts of your brain on a regular basis.

And of course there's the emotional benefit. Dr. Katie Hanson, a health psychologist from Swedish Covenant Hospital, has also talked about the link between creativity, positive emotions and happiness. She once spoke at a community event, sharing that when a person learns a new skill, it allows him or her to feel more open and alive and can boost overall resilience and satisfaction with life.

Taking some risks and not being afraid to make mistakes can unleash creative impulses that may be lying dormant. Personally, I found the painting experience so rich that I can't wait to bring friends or family back for another outing.

So, how do you keep yourself mental and physically well?

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