Why your brain loves you to sketch-the benefits of sketching

When I was at university you were expected to use a sketchbook daily but no one ever explained about how to use it! Over the years occasional attempts have sat gathering dust, but over the past few years that has changed. One thing in particular has had more benefits than I anticipated, and that is being a part of urban sketchers. Sketching with others is beneficial but gaining confidence to sketch in general also has massive health benefits.

I will often be found in a cafe with my sketchbook in hand!

Join our workshop here

This March I get to work with Su Melville who will be leading a Sketching workshop at the home of my studio York House in Stony Stratford. It would be wonderful for you to join us.

Coming along to a sketching workshop isn’t just about learning to draw and gaining confidence.

• Sketching is a chance to slow down, rest your nervous system, and give your mind a proper break from everyday life.

• The gentle focus of drawing helps calm anxiety, ease stress, and brings you back into the present moment

• Just as importantly, you’ll be doing this alongside other people in a warm,

  welcoming space.

  
  

Perhaps we should look at this workshop as a health spa with some drawing!

Sketching gently trains our focus and mindfulness, a boost for your mental wellbeing. For the time you’re drawing, your attention is anchored to what’s in front of you — not your to-do list, not your worries, not the noise of the world. In this way, drawing works very much like meditation, but in a way that many people find more accessible. By focusing on the doing everything else falls away....

There are also real cognitive benefits. Drawing improves hand–eye coordination and strengthens connections in the brain between seeing, thinking, and movement. It’s a form of gentle mental exercise that’s particularly valuable at any age, and especially good for keeping the brain active and engaged. No one wants cognitive decline as we age and maintaining activities that engage hand eye co-ordination reduces that risk.

And then there’s the social side. Sketching in a group creates connection without pressure. You’re together, but not required to perform socially. Its well documented and researched how anxiety and depression are aided but this no pressure group intereaction. Conversation isnt necessary but it flows naturally, especially when people share their drawings afterwards, and a real sense of warmth and belonging develops.

Perhaps most importantly, a sketching workshop helps people reconnect with their own creativity and confidence. So many adults believe they “can’t draw”. Watching that belief gently dissolve is incredibly powerful.

You wont just leave with a sketch. You will leave feeling calmer, more grounded, more confident, and more connected.

No materials are required for this workshop everything is provided and you will be taking home your sketchbook, a sketching kit and new found confidence.

Ready to find out more?

Discover the Joy of Sketching- In Person Workshop in Stony Stratford, Milton Keynes

Join us for a full day immersive sketching workshop at York House. Ground floor accessible room with parking outside.

Whether you are a complete beginner or an enthusiast the workshop will help you build confidence in your sketching while creating a handmade sketchbook to take home.

Su have both been teaching for many years and are delighted to be holding this workshop together.

Date Saturday 21st March

Time 10am -4 pm

Location: York House Centre, Stony Stratford, Milton Keynes, MK11 1JQ