Here is an excellent article by art therapist Cathy Malchiodi about the relationship between practicing and learning about art and its effect on happiness, resiliency, and the brain. My favorite quote:
"Repetitive satisfying art making may actually mediate depression and anxiety by stimulating the "accumbens-striatial-cortical" connection in the brain."
I do not claim to know what that part of the brain really does or why it is important, and really I don't need a study to tell me that making art can make you a happier person. Still it is good to know that research is being done to prove what an artist's soul knows intuitively, doesn't it?
What are you going to make today?