Self Care + Your Studio Practice

Self-Care + Your Studio Practice

CERF+ and Wellness for Makers have partnered to launch a DIY video series to promote artist health and wellness. Each video focuses on some of the common problems faced by artists with an active studio practice and includes tips that help relieve strain and reduce the risk of injury. The videos feature Missy Graff Ballone, founder of Wellness for Makers, licensed massage therapist, yoga instructor (RYT 500), and metalsmith. In each video, Missy meets an artist in their studio and offers practical self-care techniques that can be added to their daily studio routine.

CERF+ and WELLNESS FOR MAKERS ARTISTS’ HEALTH + WELLNESS SURVEY

Did You Know?

41% of artists suffer from chronic pain
31% said that arthritis or joint pain affect the amount and type of work that they do
64% report that they have injured themselves in the studio
A majority spend at least 50% of their time sitting while making their art
62% perform physically challenging or laborious activities to make their art
24% have been injured while lifting a heavy object in relation to their studio practice
52% experience lower back pain
50% experience neck pain
41% experience wrist pain
88% work in their studio 3-4 hours without a break

CERF+ and Wellness for Makers’ Artists’ Health and Wellness Survey, March 2017. More than 300 artists from different craft disciplines responded.

“As an artist, I understand the physical toll that an active studio practice can take on the body. I know what it’s like to work long hours, get into a groove, and not realize that I’ve been working in the same position for an extended period of time. The Self-Care + Your Studio Practice video series provides accessible techniques that help artists address these kinds of issues and feel good in their bodies.”

Missy Graff Ballone

Founder, Wellness for Makers

Neck and Shoulder Strain

A visit with weaver and fiber artist Jillian Zoltner Wolf highlights a few ways to address tightness in the neck and shoulders.

Standing in Your Studio

A visit with mixed media artist Cheryl R. Riley focuses on how to stand in a way that relieves pressure on your joints.

Conscious and Sustainable Studio Habits: Prolonged Sitting

A session with Loren Abbate, a printmaker and co-curator of Deep Space Gallery, addresses the common issues that artists experience in their hands as a result of excessive phone and computer usage.

About Wellness for Makers

The mission of Wellness for Makers is to motivate and empower artists through education and mindful living. Wellness for Makers was created to make self-care, stretching, and massage techniques more accessible to artists everywhere. We strive to make it easy to find good resources, including interviews, articles, videos, and links to valuable organizations. Our workshops provide hands-on training in stretching and massage techniques that are easy to incorporate into an artist’s daily studio routine. These techniques are designed to help boost energy levels, alleviate pain, reduce the risk of injury, and improve posture. We collaborate with artists who have professional backgrounds in yoga, ergonomics, massage therapy, occupational therapy, and more, to provide a range of perspectives. We believe that by working together as a community, we can create more productive and sustainable studio practices that improve the longevity of our hands and bodies. For more information, contact [email protected].