{"id":1192,"date":"2026-06-10T14:20:22","date_gmt":"2026-06-10T13:20:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/be-well\/?p=1192"},"modified":"2026-06-10T20:49:39","modified_gmt":"2026-06-10T19:49:39","slug":"making-art-making-friends-why-art-for-wellbeing-might-be-the-best-two-hours-of-your-week","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/be-well\/2026\/06\/10\/making-art-making-friends-why-art-for-wellbeing-might-be-the-best-two-hours-of-your-week\/","title":{"rendered":"Making art, making friends: why Art for Wellbeing might be the best two hours of your week"},"content":{"rendered":"

Maria Chueca, Psychology student and Wellbeing Ambassador, shares her experience of running Student Support's Art for Wellbeing course \u2013 and why you don\u2019t need to be \u2018arty\u2019 to show up.<\/em><\/p>\n

University life is a lot. Between lectures, deadlines, and trying to figure out where you even belong, it\u2019s easy to feel like you\u2019re running on empty. As a Wellbeing Ambassador, I help run Art for Wellbeing<\/a> \u2013 a six-week creative journaling course on Wednesday afternoons \u2013 and watching students come through the door each week, I see just how much a space like this is needed.<\/p>\n

Art for Wellbeing is facilitated by Bath-based art therapist Samantha Hickman<\/a>. Over six weeks, you build your own creative wellbeing journal using a different technique each session \u2013 collage, painting, lino printing, scribble drawings, blackout poetry, and more. Sam creates a space that genuinely feels warm and low-pressure. There\u2019s tea, there are biscuits, and no one is judging anyone\u2019s scribbles.<\/p>\n

Each week has a loose theme that gently nudges you to reflect, but there\u2019s no pressure to share anything you don\u2019t want to.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

One week, we chose an inspirational quote and worked it into our art however we liked. I picked \u201cDo what they think you can\u2019t do\u201d. Another week, we tried blackout poetry. Sam brought in a selection of poems, and we each chose one to make our own, blacking out the words that didn\u2019t speak to us and leaving the ones that did. What\u2019s left is something personal that feels entirely yours.<\/p>\n

Art has a quiet way of doing what nothing else quite can. When you\u2019re focused on filling in a leaf or layering a collage, your brain gets a break from the loop of deadlines and self-doubt. You\u2019re present in a way that\u2019s hard to manufacture.<\/p>\n

But beyond the art itself, what makes these sessions special is the community that builds around the table. People may arrive a little nervous, but leave having made friends, feeling more confident, and smiling. Over six weeks, something shifts and you start to feel less alone, more capable, more yourself. One student, Stella, captured it in a poem she wrote at the end of the course:<\/p>\n

Art for Wellbeing by Stella Deugo<\/p>\n

At the University of Bath I joined a Wednesday art class,<\/em>
\nI went to meet new people, hoping nerves would pass.<\/em>
\nWe worked with stamps and collages laid out on the table,<\/em>
\nWith tea and biscuits shared quietly simple and stable.<\/em>
\nA calm midweek space to unwind, talk, and learn new art,<\/em>
\nTrying real techniques while keeping things light art heart.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"
Artwork and poem by student Stella Deugo<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

So, you may be wondering, who is this class for? It is for everyone. Art for Wellbeing is designed for students who are curious about using creativity to support their wellbeing \u2013 whether you are navigating social anxiety, finding it hard to connect at university, or simply want somewhere welcoming to decompress mid-week. You don\u2019t need experience. You don\u2019t need talent. You just need to show up.<\/p>\n

Art for Wellbeing is one of many 6 week wellbeing groups that Student Support runs each semester. Take a look at what else they offer through Social prescribing at Bath<\/a> and follow Student Support on instagram @bathstusupport<\/a>. If you have questions, feel free to reach out to Hannah Moore via groupsforwellbeing@bath.ac.uk.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"
Sam Hickman (art therapist) and Maria Chueca (wellbeing ambassador) running the sessions! We hope to see you there!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Maria Chueca, Psychology student and Wellbeing Ambassador, shares her experience of running Student Support's Art for Wellbeing course \u2013 and why you don\u2019t need to be \u2018arty\u2019 to show up. University life is a lot. Between lectures, deadlines, and trying...<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2058,"featured_media":1194,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1,7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1192","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorised","category-wellbeing"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/be-well\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/144\/2026\/06\/Media-4-1.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pd4PsN-je","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/be-well\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1192","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/be-well\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/be-well\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/be-well\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2058"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/be-well\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1192"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/be-well\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1192\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/be-well\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1194"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/be-well\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1192"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/be-well\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1192"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/be-well\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1192"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}