Written by Rita Lazaro, Bath Artists Studios
Most of us are trying to “relax” in the modern way: jaw clenched, scrolling, whispering affirmations at our email inbox like it’s a wild animal that might back away.
But here’s the inconvenient truth: your brain and body don’t calm down by thinking harder. They calm down by movement and sometimes by making – moving your hands, squishing a lump of clay, noticing texture, colour, rhythm.
That isn’t just woo-woo waffle. A recent UK study led by King’s College London study found that viewing original artworks in a gallery was linked with lower stress signals in the body, including cortisol. Wider research reviews also point in the same direction: art engagement (including simply looking) is often associated with reduced stress. Even brief art experiences have been shown to lift mood and reduce state anxiety in controlled research settings.
So yes, looking at art can help. But here’s the part I care about most:
Making art is a powerful way to reconnect with yourself. Not because you’re trying to be “good” at it. Not because you’re trying to become an artist. But because it’s a rare moment where your attention stops living in 47 tabs at once.
That’s exactly why I’m excited that Bath Artists’ Studios has partnered with Bath BID and the ReBalance Bath – Festival of Wellbeing (28 January – 16 February 2026). The festival is a giant permission slip to try something new, especially if you’re the kind of person who’s great at caring for everyone else, but mysteriously “too busy” to have a hobby.
Clay is a fast track to calm. There are several clay sessions in the programme, and for good reason: working with earth is naturally grounding. It’s slow, tactile and physical – a gentle way to come back into your body.
30th Jan – Therapeutic Clay at Bath Artists Studios
13th Feb – A Quiet Valentine: Clay Sculpting for Self-Care at Bath Artists Studios
Can we make self-care chic? Absolutely!
This brooch-making session is a rebellion against grey weather and beige living. While your hands get busy with colour, texture and sparkle, your brain gets a much-needed hit of dopamine. Turns out your nervous system has been quietly begging for sequins.
31st Jan – Wearable Joy – Mindful Brooch Making for Wellbeing at Bath Artists Studios
An art session with an aromatic upgrade. Calm Lines at Bramley Products let you sketch among locally made botanicals; a world of scent, texture, and small daily rituals. With slow, continuous lines and an aromatic backdrop, it gently shifts you out of busy-brain mode and into something calmer and more present.
11th Feb – Calm Lines: Mindful Drawing for Busy Minds at Bramley Products
Fancy a passport-free trip to India? Make it Madhubani. This folk-art tradition is all about striking patterns and symbolic motifs, a visual meditation you can take home on paper. You’ll experience something new nd gie your brain a fresh visual language to enjoy.
8th – 10th Feb – Indian Folk Art for Wellbeing at Bath Artists Studios
ReBalance as a local life-hack. This festival gives us permission to visit the places in Bath we usually “save for tourists!”. Instead of treating museums, galleries and landmark spaces as somewhere you only go when you’ve got out-of-town guests in tow, the programme invites you to step inside them for something hands-on: lino-cut at Victoria Art Gallery, origami at the Bath Medical Museum, needle felting at the Roman Baths, and sketching in the majestic Abbey. It’s art as a reason to re-enter your own city with fresh eyes, and to reconnect with your nervous system while you’re at it.
That’s the bigger wellness argument, really not “self care” as another thing to tick off your to-do list, but a culture where creativity is normal – woven into our everyday lives, our work, and the way our city functions. The goal is that we don’t need a special invitation to make things, slow down, and feel more human… but until that glorious day arrives, ReBalance is a pretty brilliant start.