Progressive Group Drawing

Submitted by Mallory Diepen, CTRS, Adventist Glen Oaks Hospital, Behavioral Health Department


Materials Needed: Paper, art supplies (markers, colored pencils, crayons, etc.)

Group size: 4-12

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Instructions: Give each participant a blank sheet of paper and pass out art supplies. Have everyone take turns being the “leader”, giving a directive to the rest of the group. The directive will be to draw one picture on their sheet of paper. For example, the first participant might say “draw a house” and everyone, including the leader, will draw a house. The next person might add to that “draw a purple tree next to the house.” The directive can be as simple or detailed as the leader wants (with consideration to the ability level of the group). The activity will end when each person has had a chance to be the leader. Have everyone share their picture when complete.

Processing:
• How did you feel during this activity?
• Did you like being the leader or the one receiving the directive better and why?
• What skills did you need to participate in this activity?
• Discuss how each person gave input to complete the activity
• Talk about how each picture is different and that everyone has their own point of view
• How can it be helpful to be able to view things from multiple angles?

There are several directions you can go with this activity. It can be related to leadership skills and self-esteem, communication and being assertive, creativity and self-expression, following directions and focusing, etc. This activity can be adapted for all populations; however, I have found it to work well with a lower functioning population or those who have difficulty staying focused.

Thanks again Mallory!

Mandala Coloring Therapy

From Donica

Mandala Coloring Therapy

Size: Any size, any age

Equipment: Printer or digital graphics program like Paint Shop. For printed copy you'll want coloring gear like felt markers, watercolor paints, pencil crayons, glue and sparkles etc. Good posture is highly recommended while coloring; find a coloring location/posture that supports this.

Objective: Many people find meditation incredibly hard to get into, even though the benefits are well documented. With Coloring Therapy, a state of meditative awareness is easily attained, because the focus needed to gain observation of our inner dialogue occurs in the coloring.

SUMMER TIP FOR PARENTS: Going on a roadtip this summer? Looking for something to entertain the kids on those summer days when it's too hot to send them outside? Download some of these coloring pages and have a contest of who can color them the most elaborate. Or color it with only three colors. The possibilities are endless! 

http://www.free-mandala.com/en/start.html

http://www.doodle-art-alley.com/

P.S. Post some finished Mandalas in the comments so we can enjoy your artwork!! :)

Advertising

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From Donica

Advertising

Size: 2-10

Equipment: Magazines, Scissors, Glue, Construction paper, Markers, Pencils

Objective:

• To promote increased self-esteem
• To identify positive personality traits

Description: Introduce the group to advertisements. Talk about their purpose and the method in which ads get the message across - visually and with words. Ads promote the positive aspects of a product, the finer qualities. Ads also persuade a person into buying the product. The individual's task in this project is to come up with and advertisement persuading someone to be their friend. Individuals should depict positive aspects of themselves through pictures, words, or a combination of the two.

If an individual has a difficult time thinking of reasons someone would want to be their friend, have them think of characteristics they look for in a friend. At the end of the session have participants share advertisements with one another. Let other participants confirm the positive qualities of the presenter.

Bubble Art

Here's another fun project!  Found here.

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Materials:

White Paper

Bubbles

Ink (or possibly paint?!?)

Newspaper to cover table

Description:

Mix the bubbles and ink in a container.  You could mix different ratios of ink to bubble mixture in different containers if you'd like.  Cover the table with newspapers.  Blow bubbles onto the white paint to create an abstract painting look.

"My Life" Art Project

I saw this image on Pinterest and knew there had to be a way to incorporate it into an RT group.  Here's what I came up with.

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Materials:
Art supplies of every kind - paint, watercolors, colored pencils, markers, collage stuff, crayons, construction paper, etc.
Large white paper for each participant

Description:
Ask patients to think about their lives.  What defines them?  How would they describe their lives?  What parts do they share with others and what parts to they keep hidden?

Instruct patients that they are to use the various art supplies to create a visual representation of their lives.  Give them lots of time and independence to do this.

Process the final results with patients.  Are they happy with the project they created?  Why or why not?  Does their artwork accurately portray their lives?  Are they happy with their lives?

Addiction Art Activity

Talk about various things that people can be addicted too (drugs, alcohol, gambling, shopping, sex, etc.). Then have patients draw what their addiction looks like.  Process with patients about the addictions and how learning about who their addictions make them feel can help them work toward overcoming those addictions.  Help patients come up with a realistic plan for overcoming addiction in their lives.

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Toothpick Fireworks

Here's an art activity that would be great for a patriotic project!  Taken from this website.

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Material:

Toothpicks

Paint

Construction Paper

Description:

Dip the toothpick in the paint and stamp it on the page.  Continue until you have the firework scene you would like.  This would be really cool on dark blue or black construction paper, similar to night sky.

Watercolor Trees

Thanks Heidi Bolster for this awesome activity!  It works great with some of our lower functioning geriatric patients.

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Give each Pt. a copy of a silhouetted tree. Instruct the pts. to water color the different sections of the tree (as divided by the branches), into different colors. Allow the Pts. to use whatever colors and styles of painting that they want in order to foster creativity and expression. If a Pt. wants to add more detail, show them how to add texture to their painting through different strokes and styles of painting. 

Emotion Wheel

I originally found this art therapy project here, and modified it slightly to meet the needs of my patients.

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Materials:

Copy of Emotion Wheel for each participant

Crayons/Markers/Colored Pencils

Description:

Give each patient a copy of the emotion wheel.  (A circle divided into 8 pie sections).  Have them write above each of the eight sections with an emotion they have felt over the last few days, week, etc.

Then, instruct the patients to come up with a color/picture to decorate each section of the pinwheel to match the emotion they listed.

Processing:

Have the patients share their emotion wheels.  Consider the following questions:

*When did you feel that emotion this week? What was the situation?

   *When else in your life have you or will you feel that emotion?  How can you cope with it?

*What made you choose that color/picture to represent that particular emotion?

*How do the emotions you chose differ from those selected by another patient?

*Did you include more positive or negative emotions in your emotion wheel?  What does that say about your overall mood?

*Are there any emotions that you feel regularly that you did not include on the will?  

   *What would those emotions have looked like?

*How does the way you experience a particular emotion differ from the way someone else experiences it?

Here was our finished product!

Straw Blown Paintings

Here is an activity submitted by Heidi Bolster, CTRS.

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Materials:

·         Paper (preferably thicker paper for painting

·         Acrylic paint

·         Water mixed with acrylic paint to thin the paint for the straw-blowing portion of the activity

·         Paint brushes

·         Drinking straws

Description

·         Patients will paint a background using whatever creativity they like onto the paper until the whole page is painted

·         Patients will use straws to blow the “water thinned” paint across the background painting

·         Patients can create trees with this technique, or they can make spiders/monsters, etc. for a Halloween activity.

Processing questions:

·         How well were you able to control the paint when you were blowing it with the straw? Was it frustrating when it didn’t go the way you wanted? Were you able to create the image in your mind, or did it turn out different than expected? Was it frustrating, and how did you deal with those emotions?

·         Does this happen in life sometimes? (When things don’t go as planned?) How do you deal with this in your life? What are emotions you feel when things don’t go as planned? How do you deal with those emotions? How do you want to deal with those emotions? What can you do right now, while you are in the hospital, to help you manage your emotions and choices when life seems to go a different way than planned?

A Rainy Day

This is a fun art project submitted by Heidi Bolster, CTRS.

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Materials:

·         Paper with printout of people with umbrella

·         Painting (canvas) paper

·         Border colored paper (construction paper)

·         Paints (acrylic is best but you can use watercolor too)

·         Brushes

·         Water

·         Paper towels

·         Plates for each patient

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Description:

      1.       Talk with patients about times when they have had a negative (or rainy) day

a.       Ask patients how/if they were able to see the good in all the negative parts of the day

b.      Discuss with patients how one might be able to see the brighter side of life (being positive, etc)

2.       Instruct patients to begin rainy day activity:

a.       Show them an example, have them glue the small cut out of the people standing with the umbrella in the rain to the canvas paper

b.      Instruct patients to choose at least three colors to use to depict the rain in their painting

c.       Show patients how to do small strokes down on their paper in order to create raindrops, and instruct them to paint the rain drops all over the canvas except under the umbrella

d.      *Extra step if patients want: After patients are finished painting, allow them to pic a background color for their border and help them glue the background onto their painting.

3.       After the patients are finished congratulate them on the uniqueness of each of their paintings and discuss how these paintings will help them to remember to see the brighter side to life; even on the darkest and most rainy days.

Name Art

I did this with our geriatric patients a few weeks ago.  It was a lot of fun, and gave us a lot of things we could process.

Materials:
Paper
Colored pencils, crayons, markers

Description:
Explain to patients that we will be making "Name Art" projects.  They will use their names to create a unique piece of artwork that describes them.  Emphasize that there is no "right" way to do this, just use the letters of their name to describe something about themselves.  Encourage patients to fill the whole paper.

Here are a few examples you can show them to get their ideas flowing:

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Afterwards have patients share their pictures.  Talk about things that make each person unique and the importance of developing a positive self-concept and identity.

Q Tip Paintings Part 2: Templates

This is a follow up post to the Q Tip Painting activity posted a while back.  While on Pinterest the other day, I saw these cool templates that are designed specifically designed for Q-Tip paintings.

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The original templates are posted here.  I thought this would be very helpful for lower functioning groups, or groups who were a little more resistant to the art groups because they believe they aren't "creative" enough.

Coloring with Emotions

This is a great art therapy activity!

Description:

Discuss with patients how emotions relate to color.  Consider the following chart.

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Next, have patients fill out the following emotion grid. Instruct patients to choose one color to represent each emotion and color in the square. After all the squares are complete, discuss the choices as a group. What color did each patient choose? Why? What emotions did the patients choose similar colors for?  Etc.

Feel free to add/change emotions as needed

Then give each patient a blank piece of paper. Have the patients identify some of the emotions they are currently feeling. Using the colors they chose to represent those particular emotions, have the patients create a new drawing. Explain that they can express their emotions by the colors they choose. They do not have to draw objects in the typical colors, although they can. For example the sun could be yellow for you or black for hatred. Afterwards process the pictures with the patients and talk about how color can be helpful in expressing emotions.

*Sorry about the poor quality of the pictures...hopefully you get the idea!

Expand an Image Art Project

Here's another idea, taken from this website.

Materials:
Various pictures cut out of magazines
Glue
Paper
Art Supplies (Pencils, crayons, colored pencils and/or markers)

Description:
Give each participant a picture that you have previously cut out of a magazine.  These pictures should just be part of an image--not the whole image.  For example, in the picture above, just the head of the giraffe is cut out.  Begin by gluing the magazine picture onto the larger art paper.  Each participant must then "finish" the drawing, based on the image.  In the example above, the student finished drawing a giraffe.  The idea is to be creative and use your imagination as you complete the drawing.

After everyone has finished, have each person share their drawing.  Talk about perspective and how each person sees things differently.  It might be fun to cut one of the magazine images in half (i.e. the giraffe head and the giraffe body), and give each half to different participants.  Compare the two drawings and what makes each unique.

Tag Team Drawings

Don't forget to check out this post to see if you're the winner of the giveaway!!

I found this idea on Pinterest, and it's a great activity to process through because it is different every time you run the activity.  The original idea was found here.

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Materials:
Paper for each person
Art supplies (Markers, crayons, or colored pencils)
Timer

Description:
Each person gets one piece of paper and one writing utensil.  Set the timer for 30 seconds.  Each player gets to start a drawing (i.e. of a tree, a face, a house, etc.).  At the end of the 30 seconds, each player must put their marker down and pass their paper to the person to their left, and rotates the paper 90 degrees to the left.  This person has 30 seconds to continue the drawing the first person started.  After 30 seconds, the paper is again passed to the left and rotated again.  Drawing continues as such until the papers have all been passed around and everyone has the paper they started with.

Processing:
 Discuss the activity with the group.  What happened?  What went well and what didn't work?
Talk about how this activity relates to our lives.  How does our behavior affect those around us?  Do our actions impact what others are capable of doing?  Is this a positive or negative thing?  How come?  Discuss areas where we could positively impact others.  Talk about ways to handle situations when other people's actions negatively affect our own behavior or possible actions.  You could also relate this activity to healthy relationships and the negative effects of codependency.  How does this activity highlight codependent relationships and what can we learn from it?  The possibilities for processing are endless!!  See how and what your group does, and just go with it!!

Sensory Snowmen

This idea was submitted by Rachel Munoz, CTRS in San Diego, CA.  She found it on Pinterest and it was originally posted here.  According to Rachel, this would be a great sensory activity, especially with kids who have never seen snow or older adults to reminisce about snow.  Really, it would be perfect for an art therapy group anytime during the winter!

Materials:
Shaving cream
Elmer's glue
Cardstock (blue, black, brown, orange)
Ribbon (for the scarf)

Description:
Mix equal parts shaving cream and Elmer's glue.  The mixture dries puffy as seen in the picture.  Have patients "paint" or spread the mixture with their fingers to create their own snowman on blue cardstock.  Before the mixture dries, add cardstock piece that have previously been cut out to form the eyes, nose, mouth, hat and arms.  Add the ribbon for the scarf.

 Thanks again, Rachel!  What a fun idea!!

Q-Tip Paintings

This is another idea I found on Pinterest and can't wait to try it out in my art therapy groups!

I think it will work really well with the geriatric psych patients who have trouble with fine motor skills needed to do most art activities.  I'm sure it won't look quite like the original image posted here, but I know they will still be great!!

Materials:
Paint
Q-Tips
Construction Paper

Description:
Have patients "paint" using the Q-tips as brushes.  Pour various colors of paint onto a surface (i.e. plate).  Dip the Q-tip in the desired color, and then stamp the Q-Tip to the colored paper.  Continue until the design has been created.  If patients are having a hard time coming up with ideas to paint, it might be helpful to have pictures from magazines or old calendars available as examples.

Don't worry about making the pictures as pretty as this example!  The key is to have the patients try something knew and complete a difficult or unusual task.  It's not about the final product--it's about the process!!

Don't forget about the giveaway... have you entered yet?!?!  :)

Hidden Messages

I saw this on Pinterest and thought it would be a perfect project for Valentine's Day!  It is similar to an art therapy project I like to do with my geriatric patients. The original idea was posted here.

Materials:
Scissors
White paper
White crayons
Watercolors

Description:
Cut out various heart shapes using the white paper and scissors.  Then, write a special message to a loved on the heart.  Give the valentine, along with the watercolors to the person.  When they paint over the heart, the message written in white crayon appears.

Adaptations:
This would also be a cool project to do in a rehab setting.  Have each client write down inspiring messages, notes of encouragement, or personal affirmations, each on a piece of white paper.  Then, when they are feeling down or discouraged, they can pull out one of the sheets of paper, color over it with watercolor and remember the message as a "pick me up."

You could also use this idea for a "graduation" from a program.  When a person successfully completes your program, have all the other clients write down positive notes and congrats.  Give the stack of white papers and a set of watercolors as a departing gift.

"Stained Glass" Coloring Project

This is one of my favorite projects to do with the geriatric patients.

Supplies:
Black Markers
Blank Paper
Coloring pencils or crayons

To begin, have patients draw a bunch of random lines on a piece of paper.  It could look something like this:

Afterwards, have the patients fill in the blanks with different colors.  The end result is something like this:

When I do this activity, I usually talk about coping skills or dealing with stress in life.  I usually lead a discussion something on the lines of... The first paper represents all the stress, frustration, and other negative emotions we feel.  Sometimes these emotions create chaos in our lives and don't make any sense to us.

However, if we practice healthy coping skills, we can begin to make sense of the chaos.  Each color I use in the final product represents a different coping skill I discuss.  When we utilize these coping skills in our lives, we can make more sense of the experiences we are having.  In the end, even difficult experiences can become meaningful, just like the picture we just created.

Idea taken from Provo Canyon Behavioral Hospital, Activity Therapy Department.