Art therapy is an interesting field of mental health care based on the premise that creatively expressing yourself can enhance well-being and promote emotional healing. It can also boost self-awareness.

You don’t have to be a great artist to receive the benefits of art therapy. Anyone can draw, paint, color, sculpt, or create a collage. Some can do these things better than others, but skill is irrelevant in art therapy. The act of creating is what’s important.

Here are ten creative art therapy exercises to try at home right now.

10 Creative Art Therapy Exercises:

1. Take a pottery/ceramics class. Explore your creativity while playing in the wet clay with a ceramics class. You can try this activity solo or with a friend. While learning a new pottery-making skill, you will have the opportunity to create a lasting piece of functional art you can keep in your home.

2. Make a collage with photographic memories you love. Go through your old photos and make copies of some of your favorites. Create a collage that exudes the emotions that those photographs stimulate in you. You can do this digitally through a website like Canva.com or the old-fashioned way. Buy a nice photo album or scrapbook kit and create a collage of photographs of memories.

3. Draw a picture that represents your perfect world. What is your version of an ideal life or a perfect world? Draw it. Explore your wildest dreams and put them on paper. What we think about eventually will manifest itself in our lives. So, dream big!

4. Create a painting that represents your childhood. What are the most critical moments of your childhood? Will you include only positive memories or negative ones? Think about painting a most pivotal scene for you that you wouldn’t mind sharing. Perhaps think about creating a painting that best describes your overall experience as a child.

5. Make a vision board that represents your intentions. Instead of making a new year resolution, try creating a vision board or digital wallpaper. Create an image board of intent for the year. You can create both short-term and long-term goals to achieve this year. What we continuously focus on daily will become part of our subconscious mind. And what we focus on mentally and spiritually will manifest itself over time in the physical.

Do you want to achieve better health? Save an image representing fitness and strength. Are you looking to get rid of clutter? Save a picture of minimalistic lifestyle living. Try attaining images that represent your goals so you can visualize where you want to be in the future.

I created a sample vision board below using Canva. It’s great for your PC desktop. Try making your own for yourself here or clicking on the image below.

6. Make a dreamcatcher and find a place to hang it in your room. Create your version of a dreamcatcher and put it in an appropriate place. If you don’t know what a dreamcatcher looks like, check out the image below. You can learn about the purpose of dreamcatchers here.

7. Draw a scene from one of your dreams/nightmares. Since we’re on the subject of sleep and dreams, recreate a scene from a recent bad dream. One of the best ways to overcome fear or something terrible is to face it head-on. You can start this journey by expressing it artistically by drawing or painting your nightmare. You often hear people writing down their dreams in a journal by their bedside.

Try recalling the dream visually by drawing a scene from your imagination. Then you can proceed to explore interpretations of what happened for yourself.

8. Create a map of all the personal connections. Put yourself in the center and diagram all the relationships you have. You can do this in many ways. For example, you can draw a large tree in the center of a page or canvas with long branches that extend out. Each component and leaf can represent a friend or connection in your life.

9. Create your own blog/ website. There are plenty of places to create a free website, like blogger.com or wordpress.com. Build a website that represents your interests and allows you to express your thoughts to share with the world. By having a blog, you can create a community of followers and readers that share your interests and value your perspective. I guarantee you are not the only one who feels the way you do.

10. Draw your safe place. Create a place that makes you feel safe from the world. Use any medium you like. It can be through drawing, painting, or sculpture.

 Final Thoughts

Art therapy is a gift that you can give yourself. These are just ten different art therapy exercises to explore. Pick one exercise and give it a try. Experiment and see what happens. These ten exercises are just the tip of the iceberg for exploring your creativity.

As a person who loves learning and trying new ways to create art, I value exploring all avenues. Trying digital graphic design, painting, and sketching are all mediums I’ve explored. I’m not perfect at all, but I enjoy the process. Creating art is healing and therapeutic.

Let me know your thoughts. Have you tried any of these art therapy exercises before? Is there anything on this list you are interested in exploring? Comment below.

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