Cookie Cutter Art

Purpose: To help patients create something that is uniquely theirs, and to understand their worth and identity.

Materials:

   Canvas (or paper) for each person

   Cookie Cutters

   Paint

Cover the area with newspapers.  Let each participant choose a cookie cutter and two colors of paint.  Paint one color the background.  Pour the other color paint  onto a flat surface (i.e. a Styrofoam plate).  Dip the cookie cutter into the paint, making sure it is completely covered, and then stamp it onto the canvas.  Repeat over and over (make sure to dip it in the paint each time).  Afterwards, if you want, you can choose a third color and fill in a final stamp.

Finished project

Processing:

   Talk about how it felt to create something.  Talk about how we can use common "cookie cutter" experiences to create our own unique experience in life.  Talk about how sometimes the world doesn't recognize us for who we truly are, but those who know us and love us will see that.

   Ask each participant what made them choose the particular cookie cutter they did (i.e. what does that shape represent for them).

Modified from http://kimboscrafts.blogspot.com/2010/05/in-case-you-missed-it.html