Making Stuff, Feeling Stuff: Reflections on Art & Wellbeing

(A love note inspired by this podcast episode from Understanding Society)

At The Ugly Art Studio, we’ve always believed that making art isn’t just about expression—it’s about connection. With yourself, with others, with the quiet parts of life that don’t always get a microphone. So when we stumbled across this podcast episode on Arts and Wellbeing, it felt like someone else had been scribbling notes in the margins of our studio walls.

The episode features Karen Mak, a researcher digging into how the arts impact our mental health, and Nicky Goulder from Create, a charity that brings creative workshops into places that need them most—hospitals, prisons, community centers. Together, they explore a big, beautiful question:Does making art help us feel better? Or do we turn to art when we already do?

(Short answer? Both. Long answer? Listen to the podcast—it’s worth it.)

Here’s what stuck with us: creativity isn't a luxury. It's not an add-on, a reward for those with extra time or tidy handwriting. It’s a basic human need. A way to process, to relate, to be seen—even if what you’re making is weird and wobbly and doesn’t fit in a frame.

That’s exactly why we do what we do.

Our Wellness Workshops and Together Time sessions aren’t about making “good” art (weird concept, honestly). They’re about slowing down, playing with materials, and letting your nervous system catch its breath. They’re about marking time, mapping feelings, and getting a little lost with others in the best possible way.

This episode reminded us that what happens around the table—those small moments of shared silence, laughter, surprise—is just as important as anything that ends up on paper.

So here’s your gentle nudge: make something today. Not to impress anyone, not to post, not to get it “right.” Just to feel your hands move. To see what comes out. To remember you're alive, messy, and wildly creative—exactly as you are.

🎧 Listen to the podcast here🎨

See you (and your weird, wonderful art) in the studio.

—The Ugly Art Studio

Where making ugly things makes us feel beautifully human.