Calm Corner with artist Anouk van Cleef
A series about anti-anxiety art
A Calm Corner is a small area, the size of a glance, that radiates peace. Sometimes a Calm Corner is just one that’s fastidiously clean. Others sport anti-anxiety art. These art pieces fizzle out my anxiety faster than a Headspace meditation.
After collecting a fair share of these pieces, I thought you might like to see them too. Calm Corner is where you’ll hear from the creative person behind the calm.
As a citizen of the internet, I check “breaking” news a non-trivial amount. More annoyingly, the news checks on me. News sneaks into Instagram Stories, Tik-Tok snippets, LinkedIn posts (whyyy am I still on that toxic site?!), and bombards my phone notifications. News is served up 24/7, hot and fresh. And, as you well know, the news is not good.
So should we ignore it? No. We should always do what we can to ease human suffering. A collective commitment to caring for each other, is the only way humanity will survive… IMHO.
But, in the same caring breath, we must also commit to celebrating life. We must allow the news of the day to stand alongside the news of our times.
Good things are happening everyday. It’s true, I swear. It’s also easy to forget.
The News of Today is a reminder of this precious truth. I love the concept of an imaginary good news paper where “nothing bad happened.” The illustration and writing are equally charming… “Mimi the cat has been found. Thank you,” fills me with joy! The gorgeous pink and red print hangs above our back door, sending me out into the world with a wink. I love it so much and wanted to hear from the artist, Anouk van Cleef about her inspiration. Thanks for chatting, Anouk!
The News of Today
1. What were you thinking about when you made this piece?
I was thinking about how I love the look and feel of a newspaper. People work all night writing, editing, designing - and by morning it lands folded on someone’s doormat. I love the paper itself, how it opens, and how people read it with their first coffee of the day.
But at the same time, I don’t love the news. It’s mostly bad news, and it makes me feel stressed and negative. So I wanted to create an image of a newspaper with only good news. Because these good things are still happening all the time, everywhere. You just need to note them.
2.How do you hope people will feel when viewing this art?
I hope it gives people a sense of lightness - a reminder that there really is a lot of good news out there. Like people smiling because the sun is shining. That park in your city that just planted wildflowers. Strangers helping the elderly cross the street. A bakery that gives away free bread to those who need it. These small things matter and deserve some front page space too.
3. Who is an artist or what is an art piece that amplifies peace within when view their art/the art?
For me, it’s the work of Félix Vallotton, one of my favorite painters. I think he is brilliant in finding balance between color, composition and storytelling. His work lets me step into this world of the soft and quiet, where you can notice the good things and which is not overshadowed by the bad.
Check out her work:
Anouk Instagram
on SubstackP.S. Who is an anti-anxiety artist you want to hear from for Calm Corner?
What a beautiful ode to calm, to small good things <3 Thank you so much for your kind words and I’m honored that this print has a place in your calm corner!