ART Therapy Exercises

“The arts, as media of the imagination, 

are disciplines which give form and substance 

to our capacity to be who we are. 

Each artistic medium embodies 

the imagination in a 

concrete and specific way.” 

Stephen K. Levine

What is art therapy and how this movement can help you? I am meditation therapist and my specialization is art therapy. Using art I can read your emotions and feelings and help you to leave all negativity and inner demons on the white paper. Art therapy is very connected with art meditation. It’s a great way not only to understand yourself but also to relax and renew your emotions through some easy art exercises.

Here are some very powerful therapeutic and relaxing exercises which you can try to do. Some of these exercises will help to understand you better, some will help to remove negativity and another just to relax yourself and a little bit meditate.

1. Make a zentangle. These fun little drawings are a great tool for letting go and helping reduce stress.
2. Make a mandala. Whether you use the traditional sand or draw one on your own, this meditative symbol can easily help you to loosen up.
3. Paint to music. Letting your creativity flow in response to music is a great way to let out feelings and just relax.
4. Collage your vision of a perfect day. Think about what constitutes a perfect day to you and collage it. What about this collage can you make happen today?
5. Build a "home." What does home mean to you? This activity will have you create a safe, warm place that feels like home to you.
6. Create a past, present and future self-portrait. This drawing or painting should reflect where you have been, who you are today, and how see yourself in the future.
7. Create a body image sketch. Practice life drawing to fall in love with all of the varieties of the human body, including your own.
8. Create a collage of your worries. What worries you in your life? Cut out pictures from magazines to represent these worries.
9. Make art that is ephemeral. Sometimes we have a hard time letting go, but this project will teach you that it's ok if something doesn't last. Use materials like sand, chalk, paper or water to create art that you will destroy when it's done.
10. Create a motivational collage. You can hang this collage somewhere you'll see it every day. Filled with images you find motivating, it'll help you keep pushing on.
11. Draw the different sides of yourself. In this project, you'll explore the different aspects of your personality, giving each a visual representation. You might only have one or two, or maybe even twelve.
12. Build a personal altar. This is a highly personal project that will help connect you with your spiritual side and honor your resilience.
13. Paint a window. Windows let you see in and see out. Paint yours with things you want to hide or show to the world.

More exercises are here