There are many ways to deal with stress. Some people attend therapy sessions, listen to music, take it out through athletics or vent to friends. Others find relief through art.

Resources to Recover, a website dedicated to providing information on mental health, defines art therapy as an application of the visual arts in a therapeutic context. Listed benefits of art therapy include raising self-esteem, promoting stress relief and emotional release and fueling self-discovery.

“I think art can calm you down when you’re feeling stressed. It’s a way to relieve what you’re feeling. A lot of people I know make ‘relief’ art,” Eva Whittenburg, ‘22, said.

Angelina Backers, ‘20, said she commonly uses creating art as a coping mechanism.

“[Creating art is] really nice when you’re super sad. [It gives you] something else to focus on,” Backers said.

When asked about how he believes creating art can affect or benefit mental health, Gabriel Grimaldi, ‘22, said, “Creating art helps you face your inner struggles and holds up a mirror to how you see yourself. [You can] use creativity to face the insecurities you have in your head.”

One of Grimaldi’s most cathartic pieces is titled “Boiling Over.” The abstract colored pencil piece displays a girl in several pieces.

“[“Boiling Over” is] a piece just about feeling stressed out and wanting to just release yourself from your worldly stresses and just create a surrealistic view of what can be next for yourself,” Grimaldi said.

Grimaldi is an AP Studio Art student. As a freshman, he is one of the youngest students in the class. Grimaldi received a Silver Key for his drawing and illustration piece in the regional 2019 Scholastic Art Awards.

WHHS Art students have found a way to de-stress themselves while doing something that they love. Art therapy allows self expression through both creativity and emotion.