Art therapy is a great tool to express yourself, cope with a variety of issues, and improve your mental health. Some people hold the misconception that art therapy is only for those good at art. Not so! If a blank canvas isn’t your style, there’s plenty of other simple art therapy activities that you can try.
Build off an existing painting: Print out the Mona Lisa, American Gothic, or any other picture you like. Now add to it. Be creative and make the piece your own.
Make a color collage: What emotion are you currently feeling? Now assign a color to it. Cut out photos predominantly that color from magazines and junk mail to make a collage. You don’t have to create any of the individual pieces, and you still are creating something new and expressive.
Color a mandala: A mandala is a form of art involving a circle with a patterned design. Many religions, cultures, and therapy practices use mandalas for meditation. Simply print out a mandala from online and color it in.
Draw in darkness: Gather your art supplies and then turn out the light. Focus on creating something without worrying whether it looks like you imagined. Express yourself without allowing yourself to criticize what you made.
Black out poetry: Find a newspaper or magazine article and a pen. Now black out words you don’t like. After a while you are left with a poem you created. Nonsensical poems are fine, just focus on creating.
If concerns about your artistic ability are keeping you from art therapy, remember art therapy is for everyone! You can try one of these activities to get the benefits of art therapy without worrying about what you created. If you’re interested in learning more about art therapy, check out our art therapy services.