Why Art Matters (Especially When the World Feels Like a Circus on Fast-Forward)

TITLE: THE BUSTED SIDE SHOW Artist: GILLAM

Some days, the world feels like it’s spinning so fast that if you stepped off the curb too quickly, you’d just fly into space like a human helium balloon. Between 24-hour news cycles, political plot twists no one asked for, social media chaos, and the constant struggle of trying to remember why you walked into a room… again… it’s no wonder we all feel a little fried.

How are we supposed to be balanced humans in society with all THAT? ART! CREATIVITY! Seriously.

I’m an artist and emotionally dependent on it the way some people depend on iced coffee. Okay… so the iced coffee works for me too!

Let’s Be Honest: The World Is Exhausting

We live in a time where everything is “breaking news.” Even if what’s breaking is someone’s opinion about someone else’s opinion about… I dunno...cereal. Everyone is yelling, no one is listening, and the political landscape feels like a never-ending improv show where the performers have forgotten the script but committed anyway.

It doesn’t matter what “side” you’re on—everyone looks tired. Everyone. Even the politicians look like they need naps and a snack.

In this whirlwind, creativity isn’t just cute. It’s not a luxury. It’s survival.

Art as a Lifeline (AKA Why I Haven’t Lost My Mind Yet)

Let me tell you a truth about myself: if I didn’t make art regularly, I would be an unhinged, feral version of myself. Stop laughing! I’d be wandering grocery stores shouting into the void, “WHERE ARE THE GOOD BLUEBERRIES?” and bursting into tears when I see a crooked picture frame.

Creating keeps me grounded. It gives my brain a quiet corner to hide in. It helps me process life’s chaos in a way that makes everything feel… well, if not normal, then at least artfully interpreted.

Art is my “mental gym membership. ”Except I actually use this one.

Creativity Belongs in Your Health Routine

We talk so much about self-care, but somehow that always gets reduced to bubble baths and drinking water. Sure, hydration is great—10/10, highly recommend—but your mind and heart need just as much attention as your biceps.

Think of creativity like exercise:

• Drawing: Emotional stretching

• Painting: Weighted mental endurance training

• Playing with clay: Low-impact mindfulness with accidental upper-body workout

• Encaustic: Art + fire = a full-body experience that definitely burns calories (emotional ones)

• Photography: Cardio, because you WILL run to catch the light before it disappears

Adding creative time to your routine isn’t indulgent. It’s maintenance. It keeps the soul from rusting.

And no, you don’t have to be “good” at art. You just have to show up.

Art Helps Us Make Sense of the Nonsense

Globally, locally, personally—things shift daily. Sometimes hourly. The world feels like it’s running Windows 95 and desperately needs an update.

Art helps us slow down. It helps us see beauty in chaos. It helps us say things we don’t know how to say out loud. It helps us process grief, joy, confusion, hope, and everything in between.

And really, when everything feels unpredictable, art reminds us that we can still create something meaningful.

It’s a small rebellion. A quiet revolution. A tender, necessary act of claiming your humanity.

Without Creativity, We Get… Weird

Have you ever met someone who insists they’re “not creative at all”? They usually say it with the same energy as someone bragging that they’ve never eaten a vegetable.

Creativity isn’t about talent. It’s about expression. And when people don’t express themselves, they get… strange. Like “I alphabetize my canned goods for fun” strange. Like “I don’t trust birds” strange. (Okay, fine, maybe I am projecting a little. But I'm just saying… creativity is cheaper than therapy.)

The World Needs More Art Right Now

We need softness in a hard world. We need imagination when things feel unimaginative. We need color when everything feels grayscale. We need playfulness when the headlines make us want to hide under a weighted blanket.

Art brings people together—across beliefs, backgrounds, and all the things the world uses to divide us. Creativity is one of the few universal languages. You don’t need a political stance, a debate team, or a fact-checker to enjoy a painting.

You just need to feel.

If You’re Feeling Overwhelmed… Try Creating Something

Buy a sketchbook. Grab some clay. Doodle. Paint badly on purpose. Try encaustic if you want to feel like a fire sorcerer. Take a class. Go to a studio. Sit somewhere quiet and just make something.

Be messy. Be curious. Be five years old again.

Let art be the place where you’re allowed to exist without explaining yourself.

One Last Thing…

If you’ve ever thought, “Art isn’t for me,” let me lovingly and gently tell you: You’re wrong.

Art is for everyone. ESPECIALLY in a world that keeps throwing mental dodgeballs at us.

So next time life feels overwhelming, try creativity before you try doom-scrolling. Your brain will thank you. So will your heart. And if you see me in the corner painting like my life depends on it? It kinda does.