If you’re looking to pick up an interesting general education class for the upcoming semester and aren’t sure which one, ARTS 101 would be a solid choice. This studio class usually brings a mix of 2 to 3 different arts styles to the table for you to try and requires no prior art experience. Obviously, every section will be different based on what your professor decides for you, but it will certainly give you a taste of what artists do for a living.
I took this class in the summer this year, and because of the short duration of the course, my experience was limited. Nevertheless, whatever little time I got with it really opened my eyes to what art can offer beyond academics. We took up three projects over a span of seven weeks and tried our hand at charcoal drawing, kaleidoscope painting, and cut-paper drawing. Each project began with a short lecture on the art theory that goes behind the style we were using, followed by two weeks of work. My instructor had us take a short final exam too and provided multiple extra credit options to bump our grade up.
It had been years since I had done any art before this course, and I was surprised at how refreshing it could be. I am pretty sure this could be the case for so many other people given the fact that the world gets increasingly competitive every year and people forget to explore options like these that are beyond their line of work. The visual stimulus this course provides and the creativity it draws out of you is so calming you’ll probably want to take your assignment back home just as a fun pastime. I did so a couple of times myself and I was amazed at the way it makes you lose track of time. I’d be working on my painting with a plan to start cooking in an hour, fast-forward to 2 hours later, I am still painting, trying to perfect that last flower petal.
I wondered why that was so and found some actual evidence. The science behind art. Activities like drawing and painting can transcend you into a ‘flow state’ where you lose track of time and become deeply focused on what you’re doing. There is increased activity in the frontal areas of the brain and which can induce relaxation. It can also activate reward pathways in the brain and trigger the feel-good factor associated with such art or expression.
When you draw, you engage the visual and motor centres of your brain more and this boosts thinking and memory. The process pushes you toward making novel connections between stored information and also helps your communication skills significantly. Over time, drawing can refine your intuition and promote development of newer synapses in the brain.
Engaging in fine arts like painting or sketching improves the cognitive, functional, and emotional well-being in humans. Art can change our outlook toward life, and it has been established that artists generally suffer less loneliness and depression. Furthermore, people find art to be therapeutic and it has gone as far as helping many deal with mental trauma.
Keeping the science aside, working with colors, charcoal and cartoon collages is just a fun exercise in general. It is a memorable experience to share with your friends and classmates and satisfying to see what you achieved by the end of the course. It is interesting to look at what other people can come up with and what they are capable of.
All in all, if you are someone who’s looking to get serious value out of the effort we usually have to put into Gen Eds these days, this art class can be a great start or simply a breath of fresh air.
