10 Creative Prompts to Manage Stress and Mental Health

Art and creating have gotten me through many of the tough spots of my life. Science is also catching up to what we’ve known since we first drew on cave walls (I’d like to think so at least): engaging in the arts has a massive positive effect on our mental health.

That’s why I’ve started the Stress Less Pencil – a weekly creative prompt designed to improve mental health.

Here are the first 10 prompts that will help you connect with yourself, manage stress, and have fun while you’re doing it.

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Journal, Bullet Journal, Planner, Art Journal, Junk Journal, Scrapbook – What’s the difference?

You’ve seen people create wonderful journal pages on YouTube and Instagram. You’ve bought yourself a notebook, some Washi tape, and some pastel markers. You’re ready to go.

You start looking around for more inspiration. Bullet Journal videos eventually lead you to to #plannernerds and to Art Journaling Facebook groups where people happily show off their Junk Journals. And some of this sounds vaguely familiar. Didn’t your aunt talk about this stuff when she got into scrapbooking? And whatever happened to keeping a good old diary? Or is that a journal now?

For those of you who are, like me, a bit confused with all these different brands of artsy journaling, let’s break down the difference.

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30+ Art Journal Prompts for your empty Planner Pages

art journal prompts

Do you also like to fill up your empty planner pages with some original art work? Every month, I leave some spreads empty on purpose between my weekly spreads, so that I have some space to let off some creative steam. My planner is therefore a nice hybrid between a bullet journal and an art journal.

But staring at those empty white pages can be tough don’t have any inspiration. I’ve therefore created this list of prompts to kick start you to get your creative juices flowing.

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Meet the Female Pop Art Artists Nobody is Talking About

best-female-pop-art-artists

Pop Art is an artistic movement that ranged from the late 50s to the 70s and well beyond. Pop Art’s imagery focuses, as the name says, mostly on popular culture. Everyday life, commercial products, celebrities, advertising, the mundane items of everyday life.

Pop Artwork uses bright colours, outlines, and features visually often inspired by comics. When asked to name some famous Pop Art artists, most people will probably name Andy Warhol, Keith Haring, maybe Roy Liechtenstein.

But as so often, I ask myself, where the women at? Surely the whole movement wasn’t exclusively run by male artists?

Of course it wasn’t! So let me introduce you to some of the best female artists of the Pop Art movement.

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The Top 10 Happy Hardcore Songs from the 90s

I was a teenager in the 90s. I was extremely cool (or so I thought) getting a tribal tattoo on my lower back, smoking, and listening to rock and punk music. Okay, so the last part I still stand by.

Despite my perceived 🤟, I’ve always had a love for the happy clappy beats of Happy Hardcore. It is one of the signature elements of 90s culture, just like platform shoes, bleached hair, inflatable furniture, and plush-everything.

It also seems to have left a deeper impression on me, since many things I draw these days look like Happy Hardcore sounds. You just can’t resist the joy, so I’m happy to share with you my ultimate top 10 Happy Hardcore tunes from the 90s.

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5 Extremely Satisfying Nature Time Lapse Videos

Nature is truly fascinating. It can be destructive, creative, and playful, all at the same time. Sometimes it moves at the speed of lightning, or it can take for millennia amazing mountain ranges to emerge. These nature time lapse videos capture some of nature’s amazing moments, featuring flowers, storms, snow, and more.

Take a minute, sit back and relax with these satisfying nature time lapse videos. #nature #timelapse

So sit back and relax with these super satisfying nature time lapse videos.

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6 Most Dramatic Landscapes by Expressionist Painter Emil Nolde

Emil Nolde, born in 1867, was a German-Danish painter who stands out for his bold use of colour. He was part of a group of expressionists called “Die Brücke” (the Bridge) who were all about using bright colours to convey strong emotions.

6 most dramatic landscapes by expressionist painter Emil Nolde #art #expressionism

Nolde’s work has always fascinated me, especially his landscapes. I mean just look at those dramatic skies!

Here is a collection of my favourite landscape watercolours.

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10 Awesome Pieces of Nature-Themed Street Art

Street art, loved by many, misunderstood by more. Living in a big city means we’re constantly surrounded by endless amounts of grey – grey asphalt, grey concrete, people in grey suits, grey rainy skies.

Street art, whether in the form of graffitis or the increasingly popular yarn bombing, is a great way for artists to break through the grey and add some much-needed colour to our city landscapes.

10 Amazing Pieces of #Nature themed Street Art #streetart #graffiti

The following is a collection of amazing pieces of street art found on Instagram, all inspired by nature.

I hope these will add some colour to your day as well… Continue reading 10 Awesome Pieces of Nature-Themed Street Art