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Anything Goes Self Portrait – Art Therapy Activity 1
This is a simple art therapy activity to execute – The Self Portrait. There are many ways to do a self portrait. For this instance, we will leave it as wide-open as possible. Create anything, however you want with whatever you want, that speaks to who you are as a person. For this activity, any art goes here. You can draw, paint, sculpt, collage, collect…it’s totally up to you. Just come up with some way of communicating how you see yourself. There’s no mirror here, just an open canvas, your imagination, and the process by which you are creating your art.
What did you end up with? Look for any patterns within what you have. Are there any themes that you can come away with? As you’re putting your self-portrait together you can think of why you’re choosing what you’re choosing or you can reflect on your creative process later.
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[...] Art therapy activity 1 – Anything Goes Self Portrait. [...]
I’m really glad I found this website.
I am interested to know if the activity itself is ok to implement with a group of teens who experience a variety of mental health issues and allow them to exolore the art without diving into the therapy aspect. I am not an art therapist (yet) and I am afraid of getting in too deep with an issue I may not be able to resolve.
@Deb,
I’d go with your inclination here and, as you said, allow them to create a self-portrait and just enjoy the activity and process of creativity. If you’re not a certified art therapist, I’d be careful not to get into the “therapy” aspect too much as you mentioned…especially if you’re a teacher, for example. After they’ve created their self-portrait, you can also tell them to reflect on their art an/or share it with their parents.
good afternoon.:)do you have an article from which you based this blog? we would like to explore this therapy for our thesis. thank you.:)
I am a high school senior at sussex tech. Our stem project is basically most of our grade. and i am putting together an intergenerational program between volunteer high school students from my school and elderly in a long term care facility. I was searching to find a good lesson to do on the first day, kind of like an ice breaker. I came upon this idea, and feel as though it will be great. Without getting in depth with it, i feel as though it is a way for the student and elder pair to get to know one another to start a relationship. Thanks tons
@Alexandria: Thanks for sharing…and happy to hear you found it useful