Exploring Art Classes with Jo

Art as Mindfulness: How Creative Practice Supports Mental Wellbeing with Artist Jo Bryan

Join professional artist and teacher Jo Bryan for an inspiring conversation about how art naturally creates flow states, builds confidence, and supports mental wellbeing - even if you think you "can't draw."

What You'll Experience:

• How the philosophy of "mark-making" removes pressure and opens creative possibilities
• Why sketching creates deeper memories and presence than photography
• The natural flow states that emerge when completely absorbed in creating
• How art classes build confidence from "I can't draw" to gallery exhibitions
• The meditative quality of creative practice and intentional observation
• Community connections formed through shared artistic exploration

Episode Highlights:

• Jo's insight that "if you can write, you can draw" - challenging limiting beliefs about creativity
• How drawing forces you to slow down and really see in our rushed, snapshot world
• The difference between art classes and art therapy - important distinctions for mental health
• Why learning new creative skills keeps our brains flexible and resilient at any age
• Real stories of transformation, from rediscovering pencil on paper to exhibiting work
• The accessibility of art - any pen, any paper, anywhere can become a mindful practice

Timestamps: 

00:00 Introduction - Art as unexpected mindfulness gateway 

03:00 Jo's artistic journey and finding comfort in creative spaces 

04:00 "If you can write, you can draw" - the motor skill connection 

05:00 Mark-making philosophy - removing outcome pressure

09:00 Sketchbooks as visual journaling and self-discovery 

10:00 How sketching creates presence vs photography's quick capture 

12:00 Flow state experiences - time slipping away in creative absorption 

13:00 The meditative quality of calligraphy and intentional line-making 

15:00 Processing emotions unconsciously through artistic practice 

17:00 How entering creative space transforms mood and mental state 

22:00 Art classes vs art therapy - understanding the important differences 

24:00 Community building and social connections through shared creativity

27:00 Confidence differences between children and adults in creative expression

28:00 Art as regular wellness practice and natural stress management

Perfect for anyone who believes they "can't draw," those curious about accessible mindfulness practices, people seeking confidence-building activities, or anyone interested in how creative learning supports mental wellbeing throughout life.

Important Note: This episode explores art classes that offer wellness benefits, not art therapy. Art therapy is a regulated mental health profession where qualified therapists use creative processes in clinical settings to help people process trauma, emotions, and psychological challenges.

Connect with Jo: 

Facebook: Joanna Bryan's Art Classes 

Instagram: Joanna Bryan's Art Classes 

Courses available at Percival Guildhouse (Rugby) https://percival-guildhouse.co.uk/

This Week's Challenge: Make some marks on paper - any marks, with any pen. Notice how the simple act of mark-making affects your mental state and presence.

Remember: Sometimes the most powerful wellness practices are hiding in the simplest activities we can do anywhere, anytime.

Thanks for listening.

Transcript

Exploring Art Classes with Jo

​[00:00:00] 

What if I told you that making marks on paper, any marks with any implement could transport you to a completely different mental state that two hours could pass by without you even noticing, leaving you calmer and more present than when you started.

Welcome back to Exploring Ways To Wellness. I'm Sarah, and today I'm joined by Jo Bryan from Joanna Bryan's art classes for a conversation that's close to my heart. You see, I was one of those people who believed I couldn't do art, but Jo's classes completely changed my relationship with creativity and unexpectedly with mindfulness itself.

To be clear, Jo is a professional artist and art [00:01:00] teacher, not an art therapist. And what you'll hear today is as much about reflecting on thoughts I've had around art and how it's helped me slow down and appreciate the world differently, how it's supported my wellbeing, rather than Jo specifically teaching art as a wellness practice.

But the parallels are fascinating. From the meditative quality of mark making to how sketching forces you to really look at the world around you to the way that time simply seems to slip away when you're completely absorbed in creating something.

In this episode we'll explore how art can become an accessible form of mindfulness. Why keeping a sketchbook might be like visual journalling and how learning something completely new can boost both confidence and mental agility. [00:02:00] Whether you are someone who thinks you can't draw, curious about picking up a creative hobby, or wondering how artistic practice might support your wellbeing, this conversation will give you a fresh perspective on the simple power of putting pen to paper.

Sarah: I'm thrilled to have Jo Bryan with me this week from Joanna Bryan's art classes. She's here to talk to us about her experiences with art and wellness and the impact it's had on her and her students, over the years. So welcome, Jo. 

Jo: Thank you for inviting me.

Sarah: Thank you so much for coming on and talking to us today. What was it about art that attracted you in the first place to then go on and make a career of it? 

Jo: Firstly, I wasn't very good at maths, so that was always going to be a push [00:03:00] point.

And I went to quite a creative primary school. We were allowed to paint quite freely and get immersed in creative projects, and then I went up to secondary school. I liked the art department. It was the sort of place that I felt most comfortable and I suppose I was told I was good at it. And I think if you're told you're good at something, does it become a self fulfilling prophecy?

I don't know. I don't know. But it was just the trajectory that I ended up taking really. I feel really comfortable in an art studio. 

Sarah: I had the pleasure of doing some of Jo's um, art classes, and that does remind me of often you can come to your first class and people will be sort of either picking something up that they've not done for a very long time, or they were told they never could.

Absolutely and actually want to give it a go because I was certainly in the second camp of, I was always told I couldn't do art, but I wanted to challenge myself and trying something new. 

Jo: Yeah, [00:04:00] I get a lot, I hear this a lot that I can't do and I don't run, can't do classes. We are, can do classes. Um, I always think if you can write, you can draw because it is the same physical motor skill.

And it, there is a sense of, although you can technically get better at it while you are learning. Anybody can create a drawing of something. You can create a doodle, you can create a mark. It is totally accessible and it's so accessible. You can draw with a biro and a, any sort of paper. It doesn't have to be something that takes a huge amount of equipment.

Yeah, it's easy.

Sarah: The phrase that sticks with me is that, that you were saying about it being mark making and that just suddenly that took the pressure off immediately. All I'm doing is I'm making some Mark Marks. Yeah. And I would like them to, to look a certain way, whatever, but, but often you don't [00:05:00] really know when you start a piece what the outcome is really going to be like.

You will respond to your marks. Mm. You'll respond to the marks that you make. So, and sometimes you can make a mark in a drawing and you think, I, I, that's working. I don't wanna lose that. There's, you know, so you'll respond differently to the other element in your drawing. Yeah.

It is mark making, whether you're making them, with, um, a piece of charcoal or a Bic marker or, writing with a twig in the sand. It's all drawing. 

Sarah: Yeah. And I think that's what made me think of you to be a perfect, guest on this, is that in the process of making those marks and making that art, you are responding to the way it makes you feel or the way the environment makes you feel, and how you want to capture that.

That's what made me make that connection. But I guess you've been aware of that connection for a very long time because you, [00:06:00] you see that in yourself and in students. This link between the physical activity itself and the way it's making you feel. 

Jo: Absolutely. We do a lot of drawing exercises so people don't get bound up in a, a finished product.

We do do a lot of finished products as well in classes. But a lot of drawing exercises can be really fun and really freeing. And we even do blind drawing where you don't look at the paper you're drawing on, you're just looking at the subject. That's a really freeing exercise. You may not end up with something that.

You may want to show to people, but it's part of a process to get you from one place to another. Really. There's all sorts of ways you can play with drawing and that's really what what you're doing. You are having a very long look at something normally and then you're playing with it. Yeah. But I get a lot of students that had been told they weren't good at art.

How do you define good? Um, you know, if you're being playful with [00:07:00] something or they weren't allowed to study it because their family wanted them to study more academic subjects. 

Sarah: Yeah. 

I love that idea though, of it just being playful and just, it takes the pressure off completely, doesn't it? Yeah.

You don't need to be creating something you're going to sell at the end of it and No, and just,

Jo: absolutely not. And I think as well, there's a lot of students I see just to have a hobby where you don't have a pressure to do anything with. And don't get me wrong, some of my students do exhibit work and sell their work, but some of them just have it as a hobby, as a space every week to draw.

Yeah. Um, you know, and the reason that a lot of. People aren't good at something is 'cause they don't practice it. Well, if you practice something every week, you will naturally become better at it. Um, you know, I don't play the piano well because I don't practice it. But I'm sure if I did practice it, I [00:08:00] would become better at it.

Yeah, there's always an element of that sort of thing as well. 

Sarah: Definitely. So you sort of free yourself from the outcome to begin with, but over time you will naturally get to a point where, yeah, you're proud of what you are 

creating. 

Jo: So yeah, I see 

it happen all the time. So yeah, I take students from total beginner students to, through quite a technical process with some of it.

We do some fun exercises, but there's um, you know, show them how to actually show people how the equipment works. I think that's quite important. You know, how do you layer graphite without getting a shine effect? That sort of thing. Um, all the pages that the people buy these art books and they look through them and they think, yeah, I can do that, I can do that.

I don't need to do that. But just, just do those bits. It's all practice. It makes you improve, it builds your confidence. Keep a sketchbook. Sketchbooks are amazing. Keep a sketchbook. 

Sarah: Yeah. Yeah. And that can be so personal, can't it? It's almost like [00:09:00] journalling. It's like a visual, um, medium of journalling almost.

Jo: Yeah, collect things in it. Even it is just you discovering what you like. I set themes for my sketchbooks because otherwise I can, they can go a bit all over the place. Um, so, you know, you can theme a sketchbook. It's just a really lovely way of, it is like a i, a diary, I sketch on holiday and.

I can look at one of my sketchbooks and I can go back to that moment in a way that a photograph won't take me back to that moment. 

Sarah: Wow. 

Jo: Because you are really immersed in the looking of the scene. If you're sketching something you can't sketch something without looking at it, and you have to slow down.

If you're just taking a photo, you're just clicking and moving on very often. Not all the time, but very often it's a snapshot. There's a reason it's called a snapshot, but if you are sitting and taking the [00:10:00] time to draw something, you are looking at it. So if I look at one of my holiday sketchbooks, I'm taken back to that place in a way that I'm not with a photograph.

Sarah: Yeah, that's really interesting, isn't it? 

Jo: It's a different experience. You're immersing yourself in a different way. 

Sarah: And you can't rush art, I guess, can you, 

Jo: I mean, me and you could sit there and look at the same scene and I might think, oh, actually I really want to focus on the colours and that, so I'm going to use this particular palette when I'm drawing the scene.

And you might think, oh, I really want to focus on the texture. So what you get in your sketchbook will be two completely different things. You know, it's that sort of thing. Your emphasis will be on something different in a very personal way that you probably don't get as much with a photograph. A photographer will hear this, there'd be, no, you're wrong, but this is just my take on.

Sarah: Of course there's gonna be, um, pros and cons to anything for any individual, isn't there? But yeah, [00:11:00] it's, it's so lovely to hear what you get out of doing that. I remember another thing I always found interesting was the sort of almost the layers of the artwork.

Starting with this sort of wide view of what it is, but then going right down into more and more detail, and when the class would end and you'd zoom back out again to see fully what it was that you'd created, it was almost like you'd transported yourself somewhere. Do you know what I mean?

Yeah. Yeah. Just the whole of the rest of the world disappeared for those couple of hours. And it was all about you and the medium and the subject 

Jo: and that immersion in it. Um, I do, I can start a drawing and think, oh. Yeah, I'm, I'm just gonna do this quickly and then I'll get really immersed in it and a couple of hours will pass.

Oops. [00:12:00] Whoops. Um, when the, when the children were small, I used to have to set timers, so I'd definitely make school run. Uh, so, because if I started drawing it could be, oops, I forgot to stop. Uh, yeah. So, you know, you can. Time can go somewhere else. I think there's a slippage when you are really immersed in any in my case, it's during your painting.

I'm sure it's other activities that have the same effect on people. It's just, um, yeah, I, I know that people that have come to calligraphy classes, they are sort of, it's much more immersive than what you expect it to be. 

Yes. I think we were talking earlier, weren't we? About how you've had some comments about it almost being like a meditative state that you get into when it's 

Yeah.

Um, so I've had, um, a yoga teacher come to calligraphy class before she was quite surprised at how slow the process was. Because she's seen a lot of things on Instagram [00:13:00] and they're all sped up, aren't they? Whether you're aware of it or not to fit into the reel time. And she's sort of, every loop and line is like a small meditation.

But I thought that was quite interesting coming from a yoga teacher. 

Sarah: Yeah. Yeah. That's beautiful though, isn't it? To think that you can just take yourself away of the chaos of your day and just focus on creating a line. Yeah. Yeah. Just to slow everything down and just enjoy the moment if you like.

Jo: Yeah. Yeah. 

You do you have to create a space and a time to create. It's not gonna come from nowhere. You need to, you know, I book myself in studio time. In my, in my own studio, because obviously I'm a working artist, so a lot of my working life gets taken up with admin and planning and all the things that go with being self-employed.

Um, but to actually make my work, I have to think I have to give it [00:14:00] time and space, otherwise it's not gonna get made. 

Sarah: Yeah. And how do you choose what it is you're going to draw?

It works in several ways. Partly for me, it depends on what I'm working on at work. What classes do I have going on, right? What prep I have for classes. Sometimes that could be my drawing time. If I'm working out a class how I want them to, I don't know, draw a particular thing in still life.

I may have done a few experiments of that before, but it could be a mornings worth of drawing. Um, so the subject can be something that I'm going to be doing in class. The subject can be something that's themed. So for example, I've just created an A to Z of Still Life Sketchbook.

And that's had little spinoffs. Like I'm making a very small book of small things. And I'm making a book of balls. And so, which is really, it's, it's so well, it, it is really good fun. Um, so certain things I'll do and they'll have spinoffs for certain things. [00:15:00] Um. You kind of work through. I've got a whole series.

One of my children would have quite a turbulent teenagehood. Um, so I have a whole series of drawings that I did of them I don't think I was consciously doing it, it's just my way of working through it, oh, that's interesting. So, yeah. Yeah. Um, I don't think I realised at the time what I was doing, but on reflection, you think, oh, this is actually quite a big series over that particular couple of years yeah.

Jo: Yeah. 

I dunno how it comes. Yeah, I keep a holiday journal for example, and it is very often things aren't finished in these sketchbooks, but it might be a series of colours because when you are looking at, say, I don't know a sunset, your camera isn't going to pick up all the colours that are there.

It will filter them, right? So if you can just even get the colours down and take a photograph, that becomes my source material. Okay. So I may do that. I may do that in my holiday journal, and it may be [00:16:00] that that then goes on to be developed for something I'm teaching. So what I draw depends on what I've got going on.

Sarah: Yeah. And do you find though that the the mood that you're in then affects the painting that you're doing? So if you've just had an argument, you're more likely to be sort of reaching for darker colours and looking for a darker subject 

Jo: Um, do you know, I've always got something I'm drawing, so I've always got something that I can possibly come back to or a series that I'm working on.

And I actually think if I'm in a bad mood and come into my studio. Probably within 10 minutes of drawing. I'm just in a drawing place. I'm immersed in that. So my bad mood sort of would go, um, yeah, yeah. Um, and you just very quickly sink into a, the place you need to be to draw. But I think that comes with practice and time that you can very quickly just sink into that place.

Sarah: I can [00:17:00] imagine. And when you are looking at art, when you go to galleries and things like that, do you find that can have an impact on your wellbeing?

Jo: Yeah, because obviously you've carved out a space and you can just go and view.

I would say it, it's always lovely to go around a gallery and look it's lovelier to make, I think than right to do that though for me personally. Um, and so yeah, I've been around a lot of galleries. Quite often I'll take a sketchbook round a gallery but it's. Preferable to me to make work or think about my work rather than look at other people's work.

Sarah: Yeah. 

Jo: I think it's really important that you look at work and feed your own creative practice visually and intellectually, but, um, you've ultimately, you are making the work. That's the really nice thing.

Sarah: It's definitely something different. You get from both things, isn't it? Yeah. I was thinking about how [00:18:00] art galleries, they tend to be large, open spaces that are very quiet. And whether that has an i mpact on the way that you then consume that art

Jo: it's really lovely to go and see paintings and drawings to actually see them and not just something on a computer screen because it's a whole different experience.

It's completely different. You can't get the texture, um, of something, and I don't even, for me. When you look at a painting, you can see through the layers. You can experience a sense of time by looking at something in a way that I don't get from a screen. There's a luminosity say that paint has to it, that I, I just don't get through a screen.

It's a different sort of viewing you, I don't get a sense of scale through a screen, even if I can see the scale it's in, even if say there's a, a photograph of a painting with somebody next to it, and I can see that sense of [00:19:00] scale, I'm still not gonna get it until I actually physically go and see it.

Jenny Saville on at the National Portrait Gallery at the moment, and. I've not seen a lot of her work for about eight years as the last show of hers I went to. And I'm definitely planning on going to see that. And some of the paintings are immense. They're, wow, they're huge, huge, huge portraits and they sort of, you don't get that sense if you don't go and see them.

Sarah: Yeah. Yeah, definitely. I went to see, uh, Grayson Perry. Exhibition a couple of months ago in London, uh, which was absolutely fantastic. It was one of these where you had the headphones and so Grayson was in your ears as you were, as you were looking at the pieces. When you go to an art gallery, often there's an audio guide that's available, and I do think you have a different experience.

And again, I don't know whether it's for better or for worse. With Grayson, I think it brought something new because it wasn't just [00:20:00] him describing how he made the object with him. There's always a big story around it, which I think really added to it, um, as opposed to, you know, listing off the dates that things were made and that kind of thing.

I do wonder why art galleries are always just

so quiet 

Jo: To be alone with your thoughts. It's quite an unusual thing in our lives. It's really, yeah. Um, so, you know, yeah, a lot of the time we are surrounded by people and, or screens, um, computers, um, noise everywhere. It's, um, I think there's, has been quite lovely about going into a quiet space for me.

I really like it. 

Sarah: Yeah. Yeah. Nothing else demanding your attention and No. 

Jo: Other than what you're looking at. 

Yeah. And I think lots of, um, exhibitions as well. They are sort of very, you get a lot of family friendly exhibitions as well. Mm-hmm. Um, so there was the Quentin Blake [00:21:00] on at Crompton Verney a couple of years.

Brilliant ago. Yeah. But there's so many children in that. It was really funny. I really, I really enjoyed that exhibition. And listening to families go round. Seeing what the children said about it. I thought that was really quite fun.

Sarah: Yeah. Yeah. I would agree that I went to the same one and it was as much about people watching as it was about enjoying the art.

Yeah, absolutely. The children were taking completely different things often. Yeah. Taking things from the images. 

Jo: Yeah. Love that. And again, it's that lovely thing. It was going to an exhibition that I've grown up with his illustrations, seeing them, but I still wanted to see them in real life. Yeah, his working drawings, it was, it was really lovely to see how that ink scraped across the texture of the paper.

It was, yeah, it was great. 

Sarah: Fantastic. One thing I wanted to pick up on is people talking about it in terms of therapy these days, and I thought it was probably worth us just touching on [00:22:00] what the difference is between going to an art class to develop your skills and it.

May be useful as a sort of mindful practice versus art therapy, which is something completely different. 

Jo: Yeah. So if you come to one of my classes, they are informal classes. I work very much with children and adult education but not in a formalised way. We don't have exams to pass, for example. So it is recreational.

I do get people that show, exhibit and sell coming to classes to have either regular practice or a bit of mentoring. But I do also offer quite technical skill building classes.

Really think about that when you are signing up, what level you are at and what what you want to get out of it.

Sarah: Yeah. 

And if 

you are doing it purely for mental health reasons, then look for a class that is 

Yeah. Maybe run by an art therapist. 

Yeah. Somebody who is more [00:23:00] skilled in that area. Um, I do get a lot of feedback from students saying that it is a pocket of time for them, um, that, that time passes very quickly.

They're totally immerse in it, but it isn't art therapy.

Sarah: Yeah, definitely. That's what I 

offer. 

Sarah: Huge mental health benefits to, yeah, to doing something like that, but it's not the same as therapy. Um, and I think that is a important distinction to make. The other thing that, um, you touched on there is of course the classes.

So there's the social aspect as well. 

Jo: Yeah. Yeah. Most of my classes have a sort of informal WhatsApp chat going on. And, I include everybody's invited to be included in that if you are in the class. Um, and students offer each of the support and there's, you know, they go to exhibitions and share exhibitions that they've been to and they meet up and, you know, it's really lovely.

[00:24:00] It's really, really lovely. 

Sarah: Yeah, so that's great. The way it, it sort of extends beyond the classroom walls. 

Jo: Yeah, I think so. I think you see lots of friendships formed. Um, it's really nice. And they support each other as well. If somebody's exhibiting a piece of work, the rest of the class generally take the time to go and support them and see, you know, somebody, one of their students works in a different context.

Sarah: Fantastic. I had the privilege during lockdown to discover how, having that, that social connection could continue online. So classes do work online as well as in physical. 

Jo: Quite skeptical about art classes working online. Initially. I did resist it for as long as I could and then went online and we just worked out the glitches as they went.

And again, I think that's the importance of the. Making sure it's not just an online thing, that you do have a supported chat going on as well. So a, I can see students work rather than them [00:25:00] holding something up at a screen, shaking it at me, you know, they can send, send me a shot of it. And I'm, I still teach online now.

I still teach one class a week online. Um, that's a more advanced class bit of mentoring. Mm-hmm. And I teach a monthly art group online. Um, and they have. You know, periodic meetups, but predominantly we are online classes and yeah. Then we made the transition so well where nobody will go back.

Sarah: Fantastic. So that's so lovely to, to know that you don't have to, you know, if there is some physical reason why you can't get to 

A class or get to a physical location, then there's that opportunity as well, to 

Jo: Yeah, absolutely. And, and I think that's one of the reasons that my weekly painters don't want to go back. They don't want the hassle of carrying everything and parking. Um, they can just do it from their own home. It's or in some cases, canal boats, cruise ships, wherever they happen to be, fantastic. If they sign up for a 10 [00:26:00] week course, they, and they're away. Quite often, they'll just take their art supplies with them and join in.

Yeah, we've had people in foyer of hotels before. Oh, I love that. That sort of thing. Yeah, it's really nice. I remember someone was in a car 

in one of, in a layby

and Yeah. They weren't actually 

driving. 

Sarah: Yeah. And even from an age perspective, I know you work with children.

Jo: Yeah, yeah. I do children's classes from age eight to about 12. I do private tuition from the studio and I do adult education. So probably 18 to 85, I would imagine.

Mm-hmm. 

Sarah: Do you see there being a difference in how children approach art versus people that are older? 

Yeah. There's usually not so much nervousness about showing their work with children. Children love showing their work.

Adults tend to be a little bit more hesitant and self-critical. Um, yeah. And again, it's partly that thing that if you went to a piano class, the notes [00:27:00] would just go. You would just gradually get better, whereas you have your drawing in front of you that you can then criticise or spend a bit more time tweaking.

Mm-hmm. Um, so it's a slightly different thing, but I would say the majority of my students do at least show their work in an annual exhibition. If nothing else, I do persuade them. I do. I am quite persuasive, but just show it. It'll be fine. Yeah. Yeah. 

Jo: And the massive boost that you can get from something like that, it's almost sort of, you give people permission to be proud of their work because Yeah, you're giving them that opportunity.

And again, it's about creating a space, isn't it? It's creating that space and getting, you know, a work that's suddenly framed and on a gallery wall has slightly more authority than something that's just in a tatty, old sketchbook, for example. It's, um, it can just give it wings really, when you elevate it like that.

Sarah: Yeah. Yeah. Beautiful. 

Jo: Art is such a regular part of my life. [00:28:00] Sketching is such a regular part of my life that I kind of almost, I don't even think about it now, but I, it.

And I think, I don't think I, I, 'cause I do so regularly have a check-in to have permission to spend two hours sketching. It is just something that I do. Without doing it I get a little bit twitchy I can feel myself now. I, I get a little bit twitchy if I'm not doodling away at something, maybe yeah, it's, I've just done it for so long and.

I think I, I do regularly have spaces where my mind isn't cluttered. And sometimes when I'm working, I have those of planning and, you know, jobs that you just don't really want to do. Your mind, my mind can get a little bit clit and a little bit stressed. So I can either go for a run or find a sketchbook.

They're my, probably my two go-to. Coping things. Um, yeah, yeah. 

Sarah: Can it be a bit of a reward to yourself, oh, I've just gotta get through [00:29:00] this thing I don't want to do, and then I'll squirrel myself away to the studio for an hour. 

I probably prioritise my studio time a bit more.

I would er on I'll do a drawing and then I'll do my paperwork. 

Sarah: Right. Okay. Yes, that makes sense. 

Jo: Um. Yeah. Yeah. There's, there's always time to draw, always time to, find something to draw, um, say, 

Sarah: well, that's 

it, isn't it?

We'll often say, well, haven't got time, but actually we all have the same amount of time. 

Jo: You think about it, we are time. You know. It's how you, what you spend, how you spend your time. Yeah.

Sarah: Lovely. And is there anything else that you do, um, on a regular basis to give your wellbeing a boost?

Jo: I exercise. That is quite important to me. I do create time to do that, um, regularly. Regularly. Um, I feel better when I'm regularly exercising. If I don't, I do. Find that [00:30:00] I can get quite tense. So I do a little bit of weights, a little bit of yoga.

I do a little bit of things, you know, I'm going swimming tomorrow, for example. I mix it up. There's not just one thing that I do. I cycle to work once a week, um, or to the bakery when I'm not at work in the holidays, which is definitely more rewarding in some ways. 

Sarah: Fantastic. Well, thank you so much Jo for talking us through, your experiences with art what's the best way for people to get in contact if they want to follow your artistic projects or if they want to be in touch about courses and things like that. 

Jo: Joanna Bryan's art classes is my Facebook and my Instagram, for work. So that's probably the easiest way. And just send me a direct message if it's something particular you want to find out about. 

Sarah: Fantastic. Well, I'll make sure that those links are in the show notes. So by all means, pop over there and have a look and follow Jo and see what [00:31:00] she's been up to.

Mm-hmm. And, um, if you are really lucky and you're in the Rugby area or in the the West Midlands, then have a look at what courses. I think we've got some courses coming out at the Percival Guildhouse in Rugby Yep. 

I'm starting, and my next round of 12 week courses all in drawing and painting. Lovely for beginners and advanced. 

Sarah: Do you do the calligraphy As workshops? 

Jo: As workshops, as a day school? Yeah. We, we do offer day schools as well. Um, some at the Percival Guildhouse and some at Newton Village Hall.

So maybe if you are undecided, if it's, you want to sign up for a whole 12 week course, you could try day school as a, as that short little taster option. Um, that's quite a nice way to see if it's going to be for you without making a massive commitment. 

Sarah: Yeah. Again, I would highly recommend doing something like that.

I'm pretty sure I did one of your workshops, 

Jo: oh gosh, yes. That was a long time 

ago. 

Yeah. 

Sarah: Before I, [00:32:00] um, committed to doing the full courses. So, uh, yeah, definitely recommend. Just go give it a go and try something out that you've maybe never done since school. 

Jo: Yeah. I do, I get a lot of that.

I get a lot of students that I've not done any drawings at school. I had one guy on the calligraphy course. Uh, he did a beginner's calligraphy 12 week course, and he just said he'd started sketching everything again with a pencil. And he just loved the feel of it because he'd not used a pencil since school.

Yeah. And he must have been in his fifties. Um, and he was loving it, absolutely loving it. So you'd never know what Yeah. What you gonna discover, do you? 

Sarah: It's funny that 

you don't, you don't realise what you're missing that, that physical sensation of the touch of pen to paper. Yeah, 

Jo: Definitely.

And it's a whole new shopping experience once you start getting new art supplies. 

Sarah: Yes. Yeah.

Lovely. Well, thank you Jo. 

Thanks Sarah.

[00:33:00] this This conversation with Jo has got me thinking about so many connections between art and wellbeing that we didn't even explicitly discuss, but that feel really important to highlight. First, there's the mindfulness aspect. When Jo talks about being completely absorbed in drawing, time slipping away, and having to set timers so she didn't miss the school run.

That's a textbook description of flow state, that meditative quality she mentioned where every loop and line becomes a small meditation in itself. That's mindfulness in action again, isn't it? Being completely present with what you are doing in that moment. Then there's a way that art forces you to really see. Jo's insight about holiday sketches taking her back to a moment in a way that photographs don't, that really struck me. When you are drawing something, you have to slow down. [00:34:00] You have to look properly. In our world of quick snapshots and rushing past everything. That kind of intentional observation feels like a radical act of presence.

 I'm also thinking about the confidence building aspect. Jo's philosophy that if you can write, you can draw because it's the same motor skill. That's about challenging, limiting beliefs that we carry about ourselves. How many of us have stories about things we can't do that are really just things we haven't practiced? Starting with simple mark making takes all that pressure off and opens up possibilities. And then there's that beautiful moment Jo described about seeing your work framed and hanging in a gallery.

How it suddenly has more authority than when it was just in your old sketchbook. That transformation from private creation to public display, sharing your work with friends and family, seeing [00:35:00] it in that elevated space, imagine the dopamine hit from that. It's about giving people permission to be proud of what they've created.

Which can be incredibly powerful for self-esteem and confidence. And there's something powerful about learning new skills as we get older. Neuroplasticity research shows us that challenging our brains with new activities, whether that's art, music, or any other creative practice, helps keep our minds flexible and resilient.

Jo's student who rediscovered the joy of pencil on paper in his fifties is a perfect example. The social connection piece was lovely too. Those WhatsApp groups and students supporting each other's exhibitions. Friendships formed around shared creativity.

Community and belonging are such fundamental aspects of wellbeing, and it's beautiful how art [00:36:00] classes can naturally create those connections. What really resonates with me is Jo's approach to starting with play with exercises that free you from worrying about that end result.

That takes the pressure off completely and lets you just explore Sometimes the most profound wellness practices are those that don't actually feel like hard work. You can find Jo at Joanna Bryan's art classes on Facebook and Instagram, and all her details are in the show notes. If you are in Rugby or the Midlands area, she runs courses at the Percival Guildhouse and offers day workshops if you want to dip your toe in before committing to a longer course.

So here's my challenge for this week, making some marks, grabbing a pen and paper. It could be a fancy sketchbook, could be the back of an envelope, doodling while on a phone call, [00:37:00] sketching the coffee cup. Trying that blind drawing Jo mentioned where you don't even look at the paper, just playing with the simple act of making marks and noticing how it feels.

Remember, as Jo says, art is completely accessible. You can draw with a Biro on any piece of paper. Sometimes the most powerful wellness practices are hiding in the simplest of activities. Thank you for joining me today. And remember, there are many paths to wellness and sometimes they start with something as simple as putting pen to paper and seeing what happens.