100 Art Therapy Exercises - The Updated and Improved List!

"The healthiest form of projection is art"

(Fritz Perlz - Gestalt Therapist)

Here is a list of popular internet art therapy activities originally posted up until a few
years ago by the School of Nursing blog, and over time more than half of the links
have become defunct or updated. I have researched the current links that reflect
the most vibrant and inspiring art therapy guidelines on the internet today, while
aiming to keep them as close to
the original list as possible.

Emotions
Deal with emotions like anger and
sadness through these helpful
exercises.
 1. Draw or paint your emotions. In this exercise, you focus exclusively on
painting what you are feeling.
2. Create an emotion wheel. Using color, this activity will have you thinking
critically about your emotions.
3. Make a meditative painting. Looking for a creative way to relax? Having
trouble sitting still to meditate? Meditative painting could be just what you're
looking for. No painting skill or experience needed - just a desire to relax
and be more creative.
4. Put together a journal. Journals don't have to just be about words. You can
make an art journal as well, allowing you to visually express your emotions.
5. Explore puppet therapy. Puppets aren't just for kids. Make your own and
have them act out scenes that make you upset.
6. Use line art. Line is one of the simplest and most elementary aspects of
fine art, but it can also contain a great deal of emotion. Use simple line art to
visually demonstrate how you feel.
7. Design a postcard you'll never send. Are you still angry or upset with
someone in your life? Create a postcard that expresses this, even if you
don't have to ever send it.
8. Create a family sculpture. For this activity, a clay representation of each
family member is made - mother, father, siblings and other close or
influential relatives to explore the emotional dynamics and roles within their
family.
9. Paint a mountain and a valley. The mountain can represent a time when
you were happy, the valley, when you were sad. Add elements that reflect
the specific events as well.
10. Attach a drawing or message to a balloon. Send negative emotions or
spread positive ones by attaching a note or drawing to a balloon and setting
it free.
11. Heart Collage. Collage your childhood memories into a heart formation.

Relaxation
Art therapy can be a great way to relax. Consider these exercises if you are looking
to feel a little more relaxed.

1. Painting to music. Letting your creativity flow, in response to music is a

great way to let out feelings and just relax.
2. Make a Doodle Drawing. With this activity, you turn a doodle into
something beautiful, using line, color, and your creativity.
3. Finger Painting. Finger painting isn't just fun for kids-adults can enjoy it too.
Get your hands dirty and really have fun spreading paint around.
4. Make a mandala. Whether you use traditional sand or draw one on your
own, this meditation symbol can easily help you loosen up.
5. Drawing with your eyes closed. Not being able to see what you are
drawing intensifies fluidity, intuition, touch and sensitivity.
6. Draw something huge. Getting your body involved and moving can help
release emotion as you are drawing.
7. Use blocks of color. Colors often come with a lot of emotions associated
with them. Choose several pieces of paint to work with and collage, paint
and glue until you have created a colorful masterpiece.
8. Let yourself be free. Don't let yourself judge your work. If you think your
paintings are too tight and controlled, this collection of tips and techniques to
try should help you work in a looser style.
9. Use only colors that relax you. Create a drawing or painting using only
colors that you find calming.
10. Drawing in the sand – Much like a Zen garden, this activity will have you
drawing shapes and scenes in the sand, which can be hugely relaxing and a
great way to clear your mind.
11. Make a zentangle. These fun little drawings are a great tool to let go and
help reduce stress.
12. Color in a design. Sometimes, just the act of coloring can be a great way to
relax. Find a coloring book or use this mandala coloring page.
13. Draw out. Working en plein air can be a fun way to relax and get in touch
with nature while working on art.

Happiness
Art can not only help you deal with
the bad things, but it will also help
you appreciate and focus on the
good. Check out these activities all
about reflecting on your personal
happiness.

1. Collage your vision of a

perfect day. Think about
what constitutes a perfect
day for you and collage it. What about this collage can you do today?
 2. Take pictures of things you think are beautiful . No one else has to like
them but you. Print and frame them to have constant reminders of the
beautiful things in life.
3. Make a collage related to a quote you want. Take someone else's words
of wisdom and turn them into something visually inspiring.
4. Creating a drawing that represents freedom. The Surrealists embraced
automatic drawing as a way of incorporating randomness and the
subconscious into their drawings, and of breaking free from artistic
conventions and everyday thinking.
5. Document a spiritual experience. Have you ever had a spiritual
experience in your life? Paint what you felt intuitively.
6. Make a stuffed animal. Soft, stuffed objects can be very comforting. Use
this project to create an animal from your intuitive drawings.
7. Work on a softness project. Using only soft or comforting objects, create a
work of art.
8. Build a “home.” What does home mean to you? This activity will create a
safe, warm place that feels like home to you.
9. Document an experience where you did something you didn't think
you could do. We all have to do things we're scared or unsure of
sometimes. Use this activity as an opportunity to commemorate an occasion
in your life.
10. Think of a wild invention. This invention should be something that can
help make you happier, no matter what it is.
11. Make a prayer flag. Send your prayers for yourself or those around you out
into the universe with this project.

Portraits
Often a great way to get to know yourself and your relationships with others is
through portraits.

1. Create a past, present, and future self-portrait. This drawing or painting

should reflect on who you have been, who you are today, and how you see
yourself in the future.
2. Draw a self-portrait bag. On the outside of a paper bag, you will create a
self-portrait. Inside, you fill it with things that represent who you are.
3. Choose the people who matter most to you in life and create unique art
for each one. This is a great way to acknowledge what really matters to you
and express your gratitude.
 4. Collage someone you admire. If someone has ever helped inspire your
career, collage them.
5. Create an expressive self-portrait. Paint in expressive colors. Select
colors for emotional impact.
6. Draw like a warrior. Start thinking of yourself as a strong person, capable
of drawing like a warrior in this activity.
7. Create a series of transformational portraits. Transform your perceptions
about yourself with this list of self-portrait ideas.
8. Imitate Giuseppe Arcimboldo. Using objects that have meaning for you,
create a portrait of yourself.
9. Create a Body Image Sketch . Practice drawing life to fall in love with all
varieties of the human body, including your own.
10. Drawing a mirror. This activity is based on a Piet Mondrian quote: "The
purer the artist's mirror is, the truer reality is reflected in it." It is about letting
die that which is not its true reflection, it is about returning to a certain
reflection of yourself in the mirror.
11. Draw yourself as a superhero. Many people like superhero stories. We
resonate with the themes of the stories, with the dilemmas and problems
that superheroes face, and we aspire to their noble impulses and heroic
acts.

Trauma and loss

These activities will ask you to
confront some unpleasant aspects
of life, but with the goal of
overcoming them.

1. Draw a place where you

feel safe. An art therapy
guideline for finding your
safe place for trauma
healing.
2. Create a mini-diorama. This diorama can display an important moment in
your life or some trauma you have experienced.
3. Create a collage of your worries. What worries you in your life? Cut out
pictures from magazines to represent these worries.
4. Draw something that scares you. Everyone is afraid of something and in
this project you will have the opportunity to bring that fear to light and
hopefully work towards it.
 5. Turn Your Illness Into Art . Struggling with a potentially terminal illness?
Turn your illness into something meaningful with the creative journal
method.
6. Paint a loss in your life. If you have lost a loved one or something, paint it.
This will help you remember, but also help you recover.
7. Make art that is ephemeral. Sometimes we have a hard time letting go, but
this project will teach you that it's okay if something doesn't last. Use
materials like sand, chalk, paper, or water to create art that you will destroy
when it's done.

Collaging
If you prefer cutting and pasting instead of drawing or painting, these projects are
for you.

1. Create a motivational collage. You can hang this collage somewhere you'll
see every day. Filled with images you find motivating, it'll help keep you
pushing forward.
2. Create a Face in a Mask Collage. We all wear masks of some sort. This
project allows you to showcase what is on your mask and the face you put
on in the world.
3. Create a clutter collage. Are there things cluttering up your life? In this
project, use words and images to show the clutter in your path.
4. Create a calming collage. Select images that you find relaxing, soothing or
even meditative and combine them to create an attractive collage that can
help you relax.
5. Collage of a painting. To complete this exercise, you first have to create a
simple, abstract painting on paper. Then, tear this painting up and create
another one. Think about how you felt when you had to tear up the first
painting and the one you like the most.

I
Examine aspects of who you are and how you see the world through these
stunning art projects.

1. Draw pictures of your good features. Drawing pictures of your good

features will help you be more positive and build a better self-image.
2. Draw yourself as an animal. Is there an animal that you have a special
interest in or feel is a soulmate to? Draw yourself as that animal.
3. Create a timeline and journal of the most important moments in your
LIF e. This timeline will be the story of your life, with the most important
moments highlighted visually.
4. Put together a jungle animal collage. Choose jungle animals that you find
the most interesting, draw them, and then reflect on why you chose these
specific animals.
5. Sculpt your ideal self. If you could make yourself into the perfect person,
what would you think?
6. Draw the different sides of yourself. In this project, you'll explore the
different aspects of your personality, giving each a visual representation.
You may only have one or two, or maybe even twelve.
7. Make art with your fingerprints. Your fingerprints are as unique as you
are. Use ink and paint to make art that uses fingerprints.
8. Draw yourself as a tree. Your roots will be loaded with descriptions of the
things that give you strength and your good qualities, while your leaves can
be the things you are trying to change.
9. Design a box of fragments. In this project, I'm going to put fragments of
myself into a box, helping to build a happier whole.
10. Paint an important childhood memory. What was a key memory from
your childhood? This activity asks you to document and try to
understand why it was so important to you.
11. Write and illustrate a fairy tale about yourself. If you could put yourself in
a happy-ever-after situation, what role would you play and how would the
story go? Create a book that tells the story.
12. Design a Visual Autobiography - This creative journal project asks you to
look back on your life and make a visual representation of it.
13. Create your own coat of arms. Choose symbols that represent your
strengths to build your own special coat of arms.
14. Draw a comic strip about a funny moment in your life. Enjoy a moment
of frivolity with this exercise, which will focus on something even funny that
has happened to you.
15. Build your own website. Websites are very versatile ways to express
yourself. Build your own to express what is most important about you.
16. Create a values box. First, collage or paint a box that represents you.
Then, place objects inside the box that represent the things you value most.
 Gratitude
Here you will find a collection of
projects that will help you be happy
with what you have and express
your gratitude for it.

1. Document your gratitude

visually. What things are
you grateful for in your life?
Paint or collage a piece of
work that depicts these things.
2. Create a family tree of strength. This exercise honors those around you
who support you. Draw the people close to you who offer you the strength
you need.
3. Do something for someone else. Doing something for someone else can
be a great way to feel good and help someone else do the same.
4. Make art secure. Who are the anchors in your life? In this project, you
will make an anchor and decorate it with the people and things that
provide you with stability and strength.
5. Make use of all the positive things in your life. Everyone has at least one
good thing in life, so sit down and figure out what makes you happy, then
draw it.
6. Sculpt your hand in plaster. Once dry, write all the cool things you can do
with it right on your hand.
7. Paint a rock. This project is meant to offer resilience. You can approach it
in two ways. One option is to paint the rock with things that empower you.
The other is to paint it with the struggles you overcome.
8. Write on leaves to create a gratitude tree. What are you thankful for?
This project asks you to write those things on leaves to build a gratitude tree
or banner.
9. Collage Map Consciousness. Very often, in a single day, we can feel
conflict in our consciousness in several different ways. This guideline helps
to explore the dynamics of personality by mapping them out visually with
collage and spontaneous drawing.
10. Create a paper snowflake. Write down ideas about how you are unique on
the snowflake.
11. Build a personal altar. This is a very personal project that will help you
connect with your spiritual side and honor your resilience.
Inside the Mind
Take a look inside your mind to see what's going on with these projects.

1. Create a blot art. Much like a classic Rorschach test, fold the paper in half
with paint or ink in between and describe what you see.
2. Mind Mapping. Make a visual representation of your thoughts to
understand how your mind works.
3. Make a Dreamcatcher. Having nightmares? Create this historic tool to
capture your dreams with a few simple tools.
4. Draw your dreams. You can learn a lot from what happens in your dreams,
so keep a dream journal and use it as inspiration to draw or paint.

Diverse
If you are still looking for something to authorize, help or alleviate, these projects
may fit the bill.

1. Use natural materials. Leaves, sticks, dirt, clay and other natural materials
can help you get in touch with the natural world and the most primitive part
of yourself.
2. Building an Archetype Check out this series of projects to build a set of
archetypes, or ideal examples, that can help you explore how you see the
world.
3. Use your body as a canvas. You don't need paper when you have your
body. Paint on your hands and feet or anywhere else to feel more in touch
with yourself.
4. Carve spiritual figures. Connect with those who have passed away or your
own spiritual essence using these sculpted figures.
5. Make art from recycled items. You can reuse old items that have meaning
to you or simply repurpose something you have lying around. Either way,
you'll gain insight into how you can reshape and re-evaluate your own life.
6. Collage with old photographs. If you don't feel comfortable using old
photographs you can make copies, but with this project you will extract a
characteristic that you see in the person in the photos.
7. Create your own interpretation of a famous piece of art. How did you
paint the Mona Lisa? Using a famous piece as your inspiration, create your
own piece. It might help reveal more about your lens on the world.
8. Work collaboratively. Art can be better when two people work on it
together, so find a partner and collaborate on whatever it is.
9. Use a found or made object like a paintbrush. Whether it's something
sharp or something soft, make your own artistic tool and use it to express
what you feel.
10. Make Crayon Stained Glass Windows. Reflect on your spiritual side with
this project that allows you to create your own stained glass window.
11. Painting a Window. Windows allow you to see in and out. Paint yours
with the things you want to hide or show to the world.