10 Easy Art Therapy Techniques To Help You De-Stress
The Huffington Post
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By
Priscilla Frank
Art therapy is a form of therapy that encourages creativity and self-expression as vehicles to reduce stress,
improve self-esteem, increase awareness and help remedy trauma. While
many other forms of therapy depend on verbal language to express
feelings and overcome personal obstacles, art therapy allows for other,
more abstract forms of communication. This tactic makes room for
elements of the subconscious that perhaps are not yet ready or able to
be verbalized come to the surface.
You do not have to be an artist
to enjoy the benefits of art therapy. In fact, most of the exercises
rely not on the final product you create but on the therapeutic,
meditative ritual of the creative process. If you're intrigued by the
process of relaxation through artistic imagination, we've compiled a
starter kit to get you on your way.
The following 10 suggestions
are simple ways to explore your inner creative voice while turning off
the negative influences that so often get in the way. They may not all
work for you, but hopefully one or more of the following techniques will
serve as the artistic equivalent of a long, hot bath.
1. Design a postcard you don't intend to send
Whether
it's a love note to someone you're not ready to confess your feelings
to, or an angry rant you know is better left unsaid, sometimes
enumerating all the details helps deflate the issue at hand. While writing the text can be therapeutic
in its own right, designing the postcard gives even more value to the
object. It also allows you to activate different portions of your brain
while relaxing in a manner similar to coloring in a coloring book.
Once you toss that signed and sealed letter in the trash (or tuck it
away in a drawer), you'll find its message has lost some of its power.
2. Cut and paste a painting to create a collage
Create
a painting on a material like paper or cardboard. When you're finished,
cut or tear it up. Then use the pieces as building blocks for a new
artwork -- a collage. See how your original artwork transforms into
something new and exciting, something unpredictable. This exercise
illuminates the close proximity between creation and destruction,
encouraging us to take risks to push ourselves creatively and in other
aspects of life.
3. Build an altar to a loved one
Take
inspiration from folk art and create an altar honoring a unique
relationship between you and another person, living or not. Decorate the
shrine with photographs, letters and relics of memorable times spent
together, as well as new art objects you've created in their honor.
Anything can become artistic material, from gifts you've exchanged to a
candy wrapper you know your subject would love. Building a totem to
another person awakens memories and creates a physical manifestation of a
relationship that can provide comfort in tough times.
4. Draw in total darkness
So
much of the stress we experience when making art comes from the
judgments and criticism that seem unavoidable every step of the way. Try
creating artwork in total darkness to make art free from that inner art
critic inside your head. (Think of it as a form of blind contour
drawing.) You're suddenly freed up to create lines, shapes and patterns
simply because you feel like you should. When you turn back on the
lights, we suspect you'll be surprised by what you find.
5. Watercolor your bodily state
Lie
down and close your eyes. Visualize your body as you breathe in and
out. Try to imagine your breath as a particular color as it enters your
body, another color as it exits. What do you see? Draw an outline of a
body on a large sheet of paper, and inside, create a watercolor based on
your bodily state. Think about what these colors mean to you, where
they are densest, where they are most opaque. Think of this as the most
relaxing self-portrait you'll ever create.
6. Create a Zentangle-inspired creation
Zentangle
is a drawing method invented by Rick Roberts and Maria Thomas, designed
to make drawing meditative and accessible to all. To learn the official
method you must be taught by a Zentangle Teacher, but you can recreate
the basic idea on your own. Use a piece of paper, cut into a 3.5" square
piece, and draw a freehand border around the edge in light pencil. Then
use your pencil to draw a curved line or squiggle within the border,
called a "string."
Now switch to a pen and begin drawing a
"tangle," a series of patterns and shapes around your "string" and
voila! You got yourself a Zentangle. The process is designed to
encourage deliberate, ritual creation and allow room for human error --
no erasing, that's against the rules. Traditional Zentangles are always
black and white but we fully support experimenting with color. The
entire process shouldn't take more than 15 minutes, and can be repeated
whenever you feel the urge. Keep some 3.5" squares handy so you can
always create when inspiration strikes.
7. Produce a permission slip
Think
of the societal and self-imposed pressures you feel on a day-to-day
basis, the personal traits you see as faults, the natural slips you see
as errors. Choose one of these things and give yourself, in ornamental
detail, permission to do just that. Turning one simple defeat into an
accomplishment can minimize feelings of self-hatred, allowing you to
achieve more of your important goals. Remember, it's an art project, so
make it pretty.
8. 'Write' a found poem
Don't
consider yourself a poet? Let someone else do the hard part of coming
up with the words by grabbing your material from old books, magazines,
newspapers or even letters. Cut out words that jump out at or inspire
you. Collage your found materials just as you would a visual collage.
You can have a topic or story in mind at the beginning, or just get
started and see where your word collaging takes you.
9. Craft a mark-making tool unique to you
Instead
of spending the majority of your time on an actual painting, why not
focus a little of that attention on crafting an alternative paintbrush
all your own? You can make a mark-making tool out of nearly anything,
whether it's a row of toothpicks (glued to a cardboard base) and dipped
in paint, or a DIY paintbrush made from pom-poms and yarn. When you
finally get around to actually making a piece with your new tool, you
will have relinquished some of your artistic control to your distinct
artistic medium, which, of course, is a work of art in itself.
10. Make a forgiveness box
If
there is a certain person -- including yourself -- you don't want to
harbor negative emotions toward any longer, try making him or her a
forgiveness box. Decorate a small box with soothing images and words
that can be either specific to an individual or catered to your desired
inner state. You can write the person's name on a slip of paper and
include it in the box if preferred, and the name can be removed and
exchanged if needed. The act of making the box will bring up happy
memories of whomever the box is for, as well as help you physically work
toward a place of forgiveness.
For more enjoyable art techniques for non-artists, check out our childhood art techniques that adults should definitely revisit.
