Nature Art Therapy Activity
Nature Art Therapy Activity
Hello friends, today, I'll show you how to make expressive art with natural materials.
This exercise will help you feel more connected to nature and the environment, and feel more grounded and understand what you emotionally need at this moment.
I’m Youhjung and I do art therapy with people and make art for myself. I have been helping people through art therapy for years and I am sharing this with you and invite you to do some self art therapy.
There are two ways to go about this exercise - you can go outside in nature and gather materials mindfully, respecting the environment, or you can choose to get things from stores (pine cones, pebbles, moss, shells, cinnamon sticks).
I picked up some things from outside my home and used what I already had at home.
If want to watch the step by step video where I show you a demo you can see it here:
Art Materials You Need
The materials you need are:
Natural materials (pebbles, moss, twigs, leaves, etc.)
Box, paper plate, or cardboard (I used cardstock)
optional: felt or fabric
Mindfulness and Intention
Before making art, invite mindfulness and gently place your attention on your breathing and your body.
When you think of nature, what feeling or thoughts come to mind?
Also set an intention to make art today without judgment on your artwork and instead enjoy the creative process.
The Art Therapy Prompt
Now that you are ready, here is the prompt:
Create a place of sanctuary where you can feel protected and nurtured
It can be a place you imagined or somewhere you’ve actually went to. Remember, there is no right or wrong way to do this.
Nature has a way of giving us what we need to heal feel nurtured. This exercise helps you to go outside, make that connection to nature, fill our soul up, become more active and resourceful.
Using natural materials also lets us release our perfectionistic tendencies because nature itself is imperfect. We work with imperfect things which helps us to let go of the need to make this perfect.
Reflective Writing
After you have finished your art-making, let’s do some reflective writing, which can help us explore more about our creations, understand ourselves, and get more out of the creative process.
Write down the answers to these questions in your notebook/journal:
What is this place like?
What do you like about this place?
If you could guess what it is that you emotionally need at this moment by looking at this sanctuary, what would this need be?
That’s it for this nature art therapy exercise. Thanks for following along and trying out this self art therapy practice. If you have any questions or comments, leave them below.
See you next time!
P.S. Curious about therapeutic art and want to learn how to facilitate it or incorporate it in your work to help others? Then I’ve got the ✨perfect✨ resource for you. My Therapeutic Art Facilitation School course is THE place where you can learn the foundations of therapeutic art work. I teach you my step by step signature method of using therapeutic art to help people, even if you’re just starting (no artist or therapist background needed). Want to learn how to do this? Check out my therapeutic art course here.
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