Ultimate Guide to Nature Inspired Art and Mindful Living

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What is nature inspired art? In 2023, UC Davis Health published an article about how going outside and being a part of nature improves your health. Benefits like improved thinking skills, stress reduction, and even lowering anxiety. Happily, these are also benefits you can get from making and sharing art. Do you think that doing both will double the benefits? Recreational Therapists use leisure activities and medical treatment to help people with depression, stress, and other mental health struggles. One of the variety of techniques they use is ART!

So in honor of Recreational Therapy Month, I am going to teach you all about nature inspired art and mindful living for your mental health. Read to the end for tips on how to gain the benefits of nature art without being an artist.

What is Nature Inspired Art?

The definition is in the name. Nature inspired art is the combination of the natural world and art. This can take many forms, from a drawing of a leaf to using a branch as a paint brush. As long as you are connecting with the outdoors to create your next masterpiece, then it can be called nature inspired art.

Benefits of Nature Inspired Art

Nature inspired art has many benefits from simple and elegant home decor to improving mental health. Here are a few ways that adding nature art to your lifestyle will give you a balanced life.

Physical Wellness: To make nature art, it is encouraged that you go outside and get active. A simple walk through the woods can increase your vitamin D level, which is important for your bones, blood cells, and immune system. Naturally, increasing your physical activity by going outside can aid in weight maintenance or even weight loss. A relaxing stroll can even help you get a good night’s sleep.
Stress Reduction: Nature inspired art is a Mindful Art activity. Mindful art is the practice of creating art while fully present. Artists have stated that being fully immersed in nature puts them in a meditative state, which calms them and allows them to be completely creative. This calm, meditative state is the goal of mindfulness and is linked to lower stress, anxiety, and mental fatigue.

Types of Nature Inspired Art

Several types of art forms, crafts, and activities can connect you with nature and have you reaping the many benefits of nature art. The three main ways art and the natural environment collaborate are as a subject, a medium, or as a studio. Here are some examples of how you can give nature art a try:

Nature inspired art: Nature as the Subject

The first and most obvious type of nature art is when the natural becomes the focus of the art you are making. Ever walk onto your balcony, see the amazing view, and become inspired to put that view on a canvas? That is nature inspired art with nature and the subject of your art. Here are some typical ideas for artists (and art enthusiasts) to give it a try.

Watercolor Landscape Paintings– Paintings of beautiful sunsets, beaches, and forests to capture the beautiful scene you are witnessing in that moment.
Botanical Illustrations– drawings of leaves you find on the ground, flowers in a meadow, or a simple household plant.
Animal Photography– Taking pictures of the local wildlife counts as a nature art (double points if you find them in the natural habitat).
Leaf Prints– Take a piece of charcoal, paper, and a leaf and make a leaf print by rubbing the charcoal on the paper to copy the veins of the leaf.

Nature Inspired Art: Nature as the Medium

The next way to connect nature and art is to use pieces of the outdoors in your art. I used to read outside all the time. My favorite place was this field full of flowers. One day I took one home, dried it, and made a bookmark. That’s nature inspired art where nature is the medium, or what you use to make the art.

Seashell Jewelry– make a bracelet with seashells you find on your sunrise beach walk.
Twig and Pinecone Crafts: Every Holiday season, houses are decorated with wreaths. On your next hike, grab some twigs, pinecones, and tree trimmings to create your very own wreath to hang on the door.
Clay Modeling– Turn clay dirt into modeling clay and get to work on your pottery wheel. Believe it or not, you could be walking on your next flower vase.
Wood Carving– A piece of driftwood can turn into a beautifully carved paperweight or pendant for a new necklace. Wood carving takes old forgotten wood pieces and gives them a new life as something beautiful.

Nature Inspired Art: Nature as Your Studio

A truly immersive experience into nature inspired art is when Nature is your art studio. Simply put, this is when you make art with nature outside and it doesn’t come home with you. Sometimes these are permanent pieces for everyone to enjoy like Stonehenge or fleeting artworks like a drawing in the sand. The big outdoors is truly the greatest inspiration. Here are ideas for how to turn nature into your art studio:

Sand Art– Have you ever drawn your name in the sand? How about building a sandcastle? All those masterpieces you made on the family beach trip were nature artworks.
Snow Sculpting– Do you wanna build a Snowman? That’s right Jack Frost is nature art. So are the snowball and other cool shapes you made with packed snow during the last Snow Day.
Rock Balancing– The zen practice of taking rocks in an area and balancing them on top of each other is art. You may do it out of boredom, but the intention in your rock choices is mindful art.
Natural Mandalas– Mandalas are repeating patterns (usually circular) and can be made with almost anything. Including pebbles from the street or leaves that have fallen on the ground.

Nature Inspired Home Decor

Not all of us are artists. Another way to gain the benefits of nature and incorporate it into your mindfulness routine is to decorate your home with nature inspired art. My parents have an extra room in their house they used as an office. I recently turned it into a quiet room for journaling, reading, and my daily meditation. Here are some ways you can add nature to a room in your home to create a relaxing atmosphere as if you were in the woods.

Nature Inspired Decorations

Add some plants or plant-like decorations to give you the feeling of being in the forest. Some glowing lights and potted plants will help you relax in moments. Here are some good ideas:

hanging vines decoration — Buy Some Hanging Vines

potted plant decoration — Get a Potted Plant

table succulent decor — Use a Cute Table Succulent

Wall Art

Add some cute wall art of natural materials like Leaf Pressings or Flower Drawings. A Simple movable design choice to bring nature into any room in the house. These are some beautiful pictures for your walls:

autumn flower wall art — Red Flower Wall Art

Natural Furniture

Throw in some furniture that looks like it is made from trees and you have a complete room that brings nature indoors. I like wicker chairs and sturdy wooden bookcases. Here are some ideas for you:

Nature inspired art plays a big role in enhancing our well-being, fostering a deeper connection with the natural environment, and promoting mindful living. By engaging with art that captures the essence of nature, you can experience a range of benefits, from reduced stress and anxiety to improved focus and emotional resilience. Nature inspired art serves as the perfect breeding ground for mindfulness, encouraging a slowed-down, present-centered awareness that is crucial for mental and emotional health.

I encourage you to engage in art walks in your everyday life. Go to places where you can experience art. Visit galleries, museums, or outdoor exhibitions that feature nature-inspired art. Take your time to observe each piece mindfully, noting how the art makes you feel and what aspects of nature it highlights.

Incorporating mindfulness through nature-inspired art can be both rewarding and transformative. This mindfulness practice cultivates a sustainable and compassionate relationship with the natural world, inviting us to live more harmoniously within it.