A Quiet Power: Using Art for Emotional Balance

Next time you go to the arts festival, sculpture park, First Friday, or wherever you may go to experience art — use it as a tool, a living aid.

Almost all of us have had a moment where a piece of art truly captivated us. We didn’t have words for why. We didn't know the language of art history or critical theory. We just knew: this mattered. We connected with the art intuitively.

Here’s why:

Often, the art that calls to us most strongly is providing a counterbalance we need in our lives. If you can find a way to bring that art into your daily environment — and give it time, the way the sun gradually deepens a tan — it will begin to work on you, quietly but powerfully.

Over time, you may even start to understand why it creates such a soothing or stirring effect. It’s because it is offering something your soul craves to grow toward your higher self.

You can see some case studies here — specific examples, both from my own life and others', of how certain pieces of art have provided powerful psychological counterbalances to life circumstances.

But for you, for now, I would say this:

Pay attention to the art that stirs something personal in you — even if it feels shy, embarrassing, or oddly emboldening. That’s the art to bring into your world. You don’t need the original. You don’t even need a full-size print. A postcard will do. A notepad. A screen saver. Anything that gives the piece a meaningful presence in your private world: your bedroom, your personal reading nook, your own bathroom mirror.

This art isn’t for public display. It’s for you. It’s a quiet companion and a mirror.

I keep a postcard from Samantha Box's Caribbean Dreams exhibition tucked in my bedroom closet mirror, with my own writing on it "I have already begun."

A few simple examples:

• If you spend most of your day in a fast-paced, high-intensity environment, you might be drawn to minimalistic, serene works — quiet landscapes, subtle abstracts — as a restorative counterbalance. (See my article on Minimalism for Millennial Women for more.)

  
  

  

  Water Lilies (from series), Claude Monet 1903. Dreamy, slow and meditative. Monet intentionally wanted people to feel as if they were enveloped in an endless horizon of calm. Are you seeking stillness and peace to balance chaos?

  
  

• On the other hand, if your daily life feels humdrum, monotonous, or under-stimulating, you might find yourself craving wilder, more intense, even chaotic artwork — pieces that wake up a dormant fire inside you.

  
  

  

  The Dance, Henri Matisse 1910. This raw painting embodies wildness and unrestrained joy. Matisse painted this in a feverish burst after a visit to Russia. Great for someone needing more energy, boldness, or permission to take up space.

  
  
  
  

You can choose intuitively — by simply noticing which pieces you’re drawn to — or you can choose intentionally, thinking about the energy you are surrounded by every day and seeking art that brings the opposite.

This is a small but powerful way to start interacting with art differently — in a way that doesn’t require any specialized knowledge or training. It reminds you: Art is for you — right where you are, right as you are.

When you feel that pulse of recognition — that "this is me" — honor it.

Take that art home with you, into the spaces that matter.

Let it whisper to you over coffee, or stand quietly behind you while you work, or greet you in the soft light before bed.

You don't have to understand it yet. You just have to start. This is how art impacts emotional well-being.

That’s how you build a life that's truly your own.

What piece of art has ever stopped you in your tracks? I’d love to hear — send me a note or tag me.

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