Improve Your Health Through Art – Summer Class Sessions Starting July 1 at RoCA
Are you looking for a creative arts experience for your
self this summer? Kids shouldn’t be the only ones to have playful experiences during the summer months. Or, perhaps you want to calm your mind and improve your health through the process of creating art.
Scientific research shows that art can promote health and healing (although the dynamics of this process are not yet fully understood). The Creativity and Aging study, conducted in 2006 by The George Washington University in cooperation with the NEA, examined whether creating or experiencing art can help people live longer and healthier lives. The two-year study of aging patients found engagement with the arts was associated with “true health promotion and disease prevention effects.” Patients engaged with the arts reported significantly better health than those in the control group, with fewer doctor visits, a decrease in over-the-counter medications, and a decrease in falls.
Art can be the vehicle through which we find purpose and meaning especially during tough times. It can bring a form of healing for the mind, body, and spirit in this fast-paced, technology-driven world we live in and further increase our understanding of that world. Through the act of creation, art brings substance to our internal life and all we experience, internally and externally. It is an effective way to shift energy and increase physical, emotional, spiritual and social well-being.
This summer relieve some stress and relax while engaging in a creative process. RoCA’s summer classes start July 1st. Whether you are a beginner or honing a skill, you can try a six week pottery class of wheel throwing or handbuilding. Maybe you’d like to try an Intro to Dynamic Pastel class learning the basic elements of using pastel in both drawing and painting with Diane Rosen. Margery Threroux will help you examine the composition of your work by breaking down the images to the most abstract elements and how color can work for you. Create lampworked glass beads on the torch for jewelry or ornaments with Stephanie Maddalena. Perhaps you prefer some of RoCA’s other courses including creative writing, collage and photography.
Most of the classes are in the late afternoon or evening so you can attend after work in the longer summer days. Need to find a class for the kids? We have classes in pottery, summer portfolio development, painting & drawing, Anime, and Claymation for the kids.
Rockland Center for the Arts is located at 27 S. Greenbush Rd., West Nyack, NY. Regular hours are: Mon-Fri 10-4; Sat and Sun 1-4 pm. For more information visit www.rocklandartcenter.org or call 845-358-0877.
