Today is National Inspire Your Heart with Art day! A day to experience and appreciate art in your life.

Participation in art has a profound impact -on who we are and how effectively we learn and think. Along with social and emotional development, and a much needed creative outlet, participation in the arts has been proven to increase academic and career performance. Art helps us develop essential learning skills and out of the box thinking; and when we learn about master artists, different cultures and ways to express ideas, we become more tuned into our own ideas. Art helps us think for ourselves, consider multiple viewpoints and explore a wider range of possibilities, while providing a safe environment to explore and share our unique ideas.

Here are some great ways to fit art into your life today and everyday!

• Go to an art museum or gallery. I am willing to bet there is one in your hometown that you might not have even known was there.
• Browse through an art book at the library or bookstore. It’s amazing what others are able to create.
• Enroll in an art class. It is much less intimidating when someone shows you how to make art.
• Read your favorite poem out loud. Share it with your kids or special someone.
• Color something. Filling pre-drawn shapes and patterns with color may not make you the next Picasso, but it gets your creative juices flowing by using your right brain.
• Go to a concert or play. Local bands and theater groups would love your support.
• Sign up for dance lessons. What a great way to get moving and enjoy music together.
• Read a book. Enjoy the artistry of words.
• Start your masterpiece. Get those brilliant ideas out of your head and into the world.
• Watch a movie. The film industry has come a long way but the old stuff is also amazing in what they could create with so few resources.
• Do less of what you ‘should be’ doing and more of what you love to do. Do you love Legos, cooking, gardening, interior design, reading, etc? Go do it!

Food sustains us as humans; art inspires us to be divine. How does art inspire your heart? Let me know in the comments.