Why our brains love arts and crafts

Huotilainen, Minna; Rankanen, Mimmu; Groth, Camilla; Seitamaa-Hakkarainen, Pirita; Mäkelä, Maarit

doi:10.7577/formakademisk.1908

Cited by 28 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 31 publications

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“…Unlike mental tasks, handicraft activities involve many physical tasks due to the use of tools and objects and associated coordination of eye and hand movements. Performing craft activities requires intimately intertwined, multi-purpose cognition and embodied processing (Huotilainen et al, 2018). In addition, attention is required to successfully complete sequences of performance processes, which likely partly underlies Fmθ induction.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Changes in Electroencephalography and Cardiac Autonomic Function During Craft Activities: Experimental Evidence for the Effectiveness of Occupational Therapy

Shiraiwa

Yamada

Nishida

et al. 2020

Front. Hum. Neurosci.

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Occupational therapy often uses craft activities as therapeutic tools, but their therapeutic effectiveness has not yet been adequately demonstrated. The aim of this study was to examine changes in frontal midline theta rhythm (Fmθ) and autonomic nervous responses during craft activities, and to explore the physiological mechanisms underlying the therapeutic effectiveness of occupational therapy. To achieve this, we employed a simple craft activity as a task to induce Fmθ and performed simultaneous EEG and ECG recordings. For participants in which Fmθ activities were provoked, parasympathetic and sympathetic activities were evaluated during the appearance of Fmθ and rest periods using the Lorenz plot analysis. Both parasympathetic and sympathetic indices increased with the appearance of Fmθ compared to during resting periods. This suggests that a relaxed-concentration state is achieved by concentrating on craft activities. Furthermore, the appearance of Fmθ positively correlated with parasympathetic activity, and theta band activity in the frontal area were associated with sympathetic activity. This suggests that there is a close relationship between cardiac autonomic function and Fmθ activity.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Changes in Electroencephalography and Cardiac Autonomic Function During Craft Activities: Experimental Evidence for the Effectiveness of Occupational Therapy

Shiraiwa

Yamada

Nishida

et al. 2020

Front. Hum. Neurosci.

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“…The lack of attention to well-being contrasts with the evidence, across a variety of fields, that participation in creative activities is associated with significant wellbeing benefits for participants, including through improved physical health (McDonald et al 2018) and psychological well-being (Saavedra et al 2018). Examples from among the wide-ranging literature include: participation in art workshops promoting recovery of persons with mental illness (Saavedra et al 2018) and stimulating intergenerational learning and well-being (Burke et al 2021) (Burt & Atkinson 2012;Huotilainen et al 2018). Many of the tools and techniques used in co-design practices are generative (Sanders & Stappers 2012) and use creative processes, including collective making, as strategies for exploring issues, problem spaces or specific challenges (Langley et al 2018).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The therapeutic benefits of engaging in creative and making practices are well‐documented (Burt & Atkinson 2012; Huotilainen et al . 2018); however, much of the knowledge in this area is focused on using creative and making practices as an intervention that is outside of everyday practices. Co‐design practices offer an opportunity to embed these well‐being delivering creative and making processes into engagement and collaborative projects.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Understanding Co‐Design Practice as a Process of “Welldoing”

Davis¹,

Tuckey²,

Gwilt³

et al. 2023

Int J Art Design Ed

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Co-design and other associated design approaches often deploy creative and making approaches in facilitating collaborative practices. In a therapeutic setting, engagement in creative and making activities have been associated with improvements in people's wellbeing, yet when deploying these as part of co-design practices, these outcomes are often overlooked. This paper presents the results from a series of workshops that focused on the well-being benefits of participating in co-design practices. The research uses Max-Neef's (1991). Theory of Needs to explore how innate human needs might be satisfied through participation in co-design practices, and demonstrates how this framework might be used for planning and evaluating co-design practices through a wellbeing lens. Finally, it suggests that future generations of design practitioners would benefit from exposure to the consideration of co-design as a process of "welldoing. "

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“…There is increasing awareness of the value of traditional healing practices, including narrative storytelling (Gotschall, 2013;Duff, 2018) and integrating cultural practices like sweat lodges in medical hospitals (Center for Mental Health, 2019). Huotilainen et al (2018) highlighted the role of arts and crafts in building community and feelings of wellness through flow states (Csikszentmihalyi, 1990) induced during art making. James (2019) further highlighted the return to traditional artistic practices like embroidery as a means to cope, for example, among migrant women facing adversity and despair.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Indigenous and Traditional Visual Artistic Practices: Implications for Art Therapy Clinical Practice and Research

Kaimal

Arslanbek

2020

Front. Psychol.

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In this paper, we present a review of research on the role of traditional and indigenous forms of visual artistic practice in promoting physical health and psychosocial well-being, particularly as it relates to the discipline of art therapy. Using extant literature we present an overview of how art making has historically had a therapeutic role in human lives and how it can inform the modern interpretation and profession of art therapy. Thereafter, we provide a critical review of specific studies that reference traditional and indigenous art forms in art therapy in order to invite discussion, dialogue, and awareness of the role of the arts in human development and the therapeutic role of the arts. Gaps in research areas for further study are proposed. Implications for clinical practice including expanding the scope of traditional forms of creative self-expression and promoting an informed and respectful understanding of the role of these artforms in the profession of art therapy worldwide, are also discussed.

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Why our brains love arts and crafts

Cited by 28 publications

References 31 publications

Changes in Electroencephalography and Cardiac Autonomic Function During Craft Activities: Experimental Evidence for the Effectiveness of Occupational Therapy

Changes in Electroencephalography and Cardiac Autonomic Function During Craft Activities: Experimental Evidence for the Effectiveness of Occupational Therapy

Understanding Co‐Design Practice as a Process of “Welldoing”

Indigenous and Traditional Visual Artistic Practices: Implications for Art Therapy Clinical Practice and Research

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