Activity 2 : Creating the world
- Enrich and enhance participants' confidence, experience and abilities with the art therapy technique.
Acting according to values
Acting independently and showing initiative
Managing negative factors in life and work
Dealing with change
Engaging in self-development
- Materials for one person: one sheet of white paper A3, two sheets of A4, several sheets of colored paper (different colors), watercolor or gouache, brushes, glue, water, napkins. If there is no paint, participants can use crayons, colored pencils, etc.
This art therapy technique engages learners in self-exploration and acting on changing their perception.
1.Ask participants to cut out a circle from a white sheet of A4 paper. This is going to be the world with all its pain, fears, unfairness, difficult experience, toxic people etc. Encourage participants to express it on a circle of white paper in the colours that resonates with them, and convey their emotions in colour. Then participants choose from the sheets of colored paper one which colour corresponds tou00a0 their attitude to that world. Ask participants to put that circle-world on the chosen piece of paper and be with it for a while observing their own feelings, how do you feel?
2.Next ask participants to cut out another circle from a sheet of white A4 paper. It will be a world filled with joy and positivity, happiness and love, our ideal world. Express these emotions and feelings with colours and fill in the circle. Then choose one piece of coloredu00a0 paper which colour symbolizes your relationship to this world. Place the circle on that piece of paper and stay with it for a white, observing how you feel.
3.And now ask participants to tear the circles with their worlds (both positive and negative) up in different pieces. Then they do the same with the coloured paper.
4.The last step. On a sheet of A3, put together and create one new world from all the pieces. From the pieces of colored paper that correspond to the relationship to these worlds create a space around this new world as you wish. Examine what you get, you can fix these pieces with glue (if you wish).
What have you noticed? Anything that touched you in particular in this activity?
What is alive in you at this moment? What has moved in you?
What was the most challenging for you in this activity? Why do you think it was so?
What did you discover about yourself?
It is an exercise that is performed individually, hence it can be realised with people of different ages. However, it is not recommended to do this exercise with little children.