As someone who has always had trouble coming out and saying exactly what I feel in words, over time I have come to understand that using an alternative way of communication (in this case art) can be extremely beneficial. I believe it is important for everybody to have the means and capability to express what they are feeling and that's why I'm going to give you a few ways how can achieve that.
1. Painting
Painting can be a really fun way to learn to express yourself. It is a form of art that allows you to experiment with all different kinds of color and texture. This is a good medium for those who relate color to emotions as it is common practice that artists use these specific colors to tell stories in their work. Pablo Picasso had an entire blue period, pieces that provoke many feelings when viewed.
2. Singing
For some people, the way that lyrics portray thoughts in a more abstract way than conversation allows listeners to leave things up to interpretation. Listening to certain songs-- for instance “I Got You (I Feel Good)” by James Brown-- can you make you feel happy or confident while others like "Say Something" by A Great Big World featuring Christina Aguilera make you feel something completely opposite.
3. Dancing
Sometimes the best way to tell the story of how you are feeling is using your body. Dance is an extremely expressive form of art that allows viewers to interpret movement as well as emotion with nothing but the dancer's body. Many ballets have major emotional themes and do not use words, such as Firebird, and Giselle. Instead, the scores picked for specific dances as well as the type of movement the performer adopts says the whole story.
4. Ceramics
If you are the type of person who can see what you're feeling or relate it to something physical that you can touch and see, ceramics could be a great outlet for you. Sculpture, especially abstract, allows you to mold nothing into something that is representative of your inner thoughts. Many people argue the validity and integrity of abstract art but if it means something to the artist then it shouldn't matter if the viewer sees it as something different or doesn't understand it the way the creator does.
5. Photography
Photography can be the most literal of any of the art forms I have mentioned or it can be one of the most abstract. Photographers are able to capture moments in time, whether it be an original moment that may have caused them feeling and memory or a moment that brings up old memories and feelings. People who edit or manipulate photos either physically or on computer software can create surreal images that provoke internal connections and can be just as powerful as reality. Out of all photography though, I feel that film photography is an extremely personal way of photography, as you physically have to put in time and work in order for your pictures to exist. It makes you value each shot more as well as bring you even closer to the subject you are capturing, as you literally watch it develop before your very eyes.
Whichever form of art is for you, it can help you experience feelings and emotions as well as allow others to do the same and that is so much more inclusive than words that not everybody could understand all at once.
