How to build a bedside Art Kit

Being creative helps fight depression and boredom while improving brain function and mood.

It's important to feed our creativity, especially when bedridden. Our thoughts can spiral and our situation seem hopeless and frustrating. Being able to do art and be creative in some way is a great way to combat this. But perhaps you are in no shape to make your way to a studio never mind sit at your kitchen table. So here is how you can bring your hobbies to you.

Start small and consider ease of use and clean up. Supplies should fit in a pencil case and be easy to store in a drawer, bedside table, or a cart you may already be keeping next to you.

As for supplies:

• Pencil crayons are great as they take up little space and you can keep shavings stored in a sharpener with a case.

• Markers and pens are even easier to use.

• As for paint the most manageable from bed are watercolours. You can use what is called a water brush that stores water in the barrel of the brush so you don't even need an open cup of water. Watercolours have little to no odor and require no clean up other than letting them dry before closing the lid.

• Paper towel for blotting off the brush.

• Water brush- the ones with water stored in the barrel.

• Pencil or pen for sketching with.

• Sketchbook. Best to get a mixed media or watercolour sketchbook if you are planning on using watercolours.

• Drawing board. You can transport your art from bed to couch.

• Pencil case for storing all your goodies in.

Important things to remember when creating your art kit. Keep it small, you don't want to be over whelmed by options or for it to take up much space by your bed. Reduce the amount of clean up it could generate. You may not want to have to leave your bed after every time you use your kit. Make it portable so that if the mood hits you, you can take it to the couch with you.

What to draw/paint?

I have sketched the view from my bed which was my bathroom door. Not too exciting I know. You can create a visual inventory your surroundings. Sketch the items on your bedside table. You can pull up images on google earth and sketch them. I sketched and painted Macs Fireweed Books and other places I wished to visit. A helpful exercise is drawing the people and things that make you happy. I drew my favorite mugs. Make miniture paintings to keep the amount of time needed to a minumu and reduce the presure for perfection.

Just the act of making art helps prompt healing and alleviates mood. For more information on the benefits of doing art see this post. I hope this post encourages you to make some happy little trees and get your fingers inky.