Valentine

For Valentine's Day, I made my husband a coupon book using art journaling techniques. I used an old note pad, and created various images on each page using collage images, glitter, and other craft items. It was a nice way to be creative and make a meaningful Valentine.

Paint Chip Directive

This directive can be used in groups, supervision, or your own altered art/journal. I used it during Art Therapy supervision, and asked everyone to choose a color from one of the paint chips that I had gotten from the hardware store. You can choose based on the color or the name of the color, depending how you feel at the moment. Then, everyone created an image based on the color they chose. Some were abstract, others were more literal. This can be a creative way to express current feelings or past memories.

Altered Book/Art Journaling Idea

My mother recently sent me some old sheet music of my grandmother's from the 1920s-1950s.  Most is in too poor condition to sell or even use, so I told my mom that I could use it to do art work.  I brought it to supervision this week and found a song called "Paradise."  I used magazine images and paint to create a collage to fit the title of the song.  This idea can be used as an Art Therapy directive or just a way to start your project.  The authentic quality of the sheet music adds a nice touch to the art piece.

Art Journaling

I recently covered the Art Journaling group for a colleague. The group addresses high risk factors for sex offenders, and the day's topic was addressing how this population views women as deceptive. The directive was to create an image about a time that a woman did something genuinely nice for you. The responses were varied, including one man who had a hard time thinking of any time that had happened to him. He had difficulty in his relationships because he never felt love and affection from his parents. Another patient talked about how he felt when his fiancee had bought him gifts. Others talked about the love they had felt from their mother and grandmother. Though one man said that his mother doted on him so much that he used to compare the love of all women to that of his mother, and that adversely affected his relationships with women. The technique the group participants used was silhouetting, and they all seemed to enjoy the creative process.

Round Robin Art Journal

One of the Art Therapists at the hospital suggested we do a Round Robin Art Journaling project. Whoever wanted to participate could bring in or make an art journal/altered book. Then, whenever you had time, you could "check out" someone's journal and fill up a page for that person with art, writing or both. This was a nice way to share something positive, supportive, or meaningful to the other person. During supervision one week, we all took the time to work on one another's art journals. It was fun and creative and nice to have diverse art work in your own journal.

Directive--A Time You Felt Threatened

Once during my Empathy through Art Therapy group, I asked the group members to depict a time they had felt threatened. One patient drew about the first time he was in prison. There had been a riot and the correctional officers were firing shots. The patient was afraid and feared for his life. He was then able to relate his feelings to the feelings that his victims had. This directive helps the sex offender identify his own feelings, so he can better understand the feelings of others in similar situations. It is important for the patients to be in touch with their own feelings if we expect them to be able to feel for other people. This exercise helped them practice exploring their own feelings and experiencing empathy for others.