Judgement Free Art: Release Stress and Jumpstart Your Creativity

It's so easy to get caught up in the day to day stresses of life, get bogged down in the judgements of others and the judgements of ourselves. Even if you don't consider yourself an artist, this Art Tips is for you, because it applies to us all. When the world feels heavier than it should, look to what we like to call Judgement Free Art. We hope you feel inspired to share this Art Tips with a friend who could use the reminder to step back, process something in a different way, and hopefully let go of a little bit of stress.

Pick up a box of colored pencils, markers, or charcoal. Pick up some water colors or acrylics paints and a brush. Get your canvas, paper, or cardboard, and get ready to let go of the weight piling up in your mind. It doesn't matter what you want to use to express yourself. Grab some sidewalk chalk, the ink pen by your phone, or a hunk of clay. The medium doesn't matter as much as the message, so read on to release some pent up emotions and give yourself a freer, clearer, happier mindset.

Eliminate Guidelines
The first step to judgement free art, and the real benefit--releasing inner tension and stress--is to forget about rules. You don't have to color between the lines, or use green for the leaves. The prime idea is to release any need for regulation or expectations. Let your mind drift and wander, and allow yourself to go with instinct rather than thought, and with impulse rather than planning.

Access Your Inner Child
The next essential element to judgement free art is accessing a free flow of thought and inspiration, so in our professional opinion, it's important to act like a kid. Let the job titles, the responsibilities, and the self identifiers fade back from who you are in the present moment, and just be. Allow your stream of consciousness to flow, and drift through the thoughts that come to the forefront.

Focus on Feeling Now that you're practicing allowing your mind to flow without control, direct your attention to what you might be feeling. That knot in the base of your throat? A slight pressure in your jaw or temples. Tension in your back, or neck, or shoulders. Focus on your body and what it is trying to tell you. Find that feeling, and channel it into whatever you are creating, whether you are free drawing, or whether you are finger painting. Relieve negative body sensations by focusing them into your art. (Pssst: You can do this with good body feelings, too!)

Encourage Expressing Emotion
If you have more of an emotional issue taking your energy, practice the same focusing exercise as above, except with one difference: attempt to observe the emotion from an objective place. Give it a form in your art. Create a visual to represent the emotion, or bundle of emotions. Can't identify exactly what it is that is bugging you? Then reflect that in your art. Formless swaths, abstract shapes, and amorphous figures. Or, if you know exactly what is on your mind, give it a razor sharpness.

Splurge, Just a Little
Judgement free art doesn't have to be crap materials, especially when it comes to art tools that make your life easier. Maybe you have a favorite pen, or you love the way a certain kind of brush sits in your hand. Make it easier, and more enjoyable, to engage in spontaneous judgement free art by surrounding yourself with the support you need. This includes inspiration sources as well, such as a beautiful book, the artwork you place in your space, or just simple paint chip samples for color swatches.