Do you ever feel like your emotions are too much? Or like you feel too many things at once? Making art helps many people think about their big and difficult emotions and find ways to heal. In this project, use your entire body to create an artwork that helps you meditate on those big feelings.

Time: 1 hour + | Skill Level: Advanced | Topic: Process Performance

Note to Teachers: Many contemporary artists work with complex ideas and issues in their art making. This project is inspired by an artwork in which Kiyan Williams takes aim at the complicated, messy, and often violent history of the founding of the United States. This artwork may be trauma-inducing for some people. Practice self care. If you feel overwhelmed: take a deep breath, take a pause, or talk to someone you trust.

Also, this is not a neat and tidy project. Work in a space you don’t mind getting messy, such as outside. If you are working inside, you can place a piece of cardboard inside a large plastic bin or place a large sheet on the floor under your canvas.

Materials needed:

• Background such as cardboard or cardstock

• Multiple pieces of paper for sketching and experimenting

• Mark-making tools (pen, pencil, marker, etc.)

• Messy materials that are important to you in a personal way (glitter, sand, ground up crayons, paint, dirt, or anything else that’s significant to the artist)

• Newspaper, drop cloths, or something to protect your work area