Up: [[Creating a Body of Work]] Related: [[Expressive Art]] Created: 2025-06-18 Updated: 2026-03-02 Expressive art is also variously referred to as intuitive art or spontaneous art, but it turns out that these are subsets and the term “expressive art” is the common and overall one. Expressive art bypasses the rational mind (or left brain) and focuses on feeling and expressing the impulses, emotions, and inner guidance of the right brain. Nothing is pre-planned in expressive art making. There’s no destination in mind when you begin. This allows for exploration without boundaries, although that can be problematic. [[Even Expressive Art Needs Direction]]. “What does this piece want next?” is a good question to ask throughout an expressive art session. This question speaks to another key feature of expressive art, namely that ideally there’s a bit of a mystical feel to it where the artist is not in complete control, but is more of a conduit for the choices that are made from within. This really appeals to me and will emerge, I hope, with reliable consistency once I’m settled into daily expressive art making, such as in the Season of Art Play. The benefits of expressive art are many, including: - self-expression - relaxation, meditation, mindfulness - self-reflection, personal insights - stress relief - exploration of inner world including spirituality The products of expressive art may be abstract, semi-abstract, or simple mark making, but they don’t have to be.