CREATIVITY

EXPRESS
7 DAYS
Therapeutic Art practice 
CREATIVITY EXPRESS // DOODLECHA X KOIKOI

HOP ON!
WHAT IS THIS ABOUT?

Juliana (from @doodle.cha) and Dipshikha (from

@koikoinepal) came up with this 7-day
therapeutic art practice in June 2020, to share
their personal experiences and learning of
managing their anxieties through art.

We rarely use art as a way to truly express our

feelings. So, in this 7-day challenge, we urge you
to embrace your emotions without judgment, and
express it with your chosen form of art. The
reward: a transformative personal and creative
experience of mindfulness.
CREATIVITY EXPRESS // DOODLECHA X KOIKOI

BEFORE WE BEGIN

"Every child is an artist. The

problem is how to remain an
artist once he grows up."
- Picasso

We are very excited to have you here in this

challenge. Each of these art activities is carefully
designed after going through endless podcasts,
blogs, and videos. We hope that this practice will
help you understand yourself better through art
and embrace your emotions without judgment.

As the day progresses, you have to really look

into yourself and feel everything deeply. You can
only express yourself without any resistance and
heal from your pain after you allow yourself to
feel everything deeply for once. So, are you ready
to practice self-care through art?

Remember, this is about you and your emotional

experience. Don't worry about external factors
for once and tap into your inner self. :)
CREATIVITY EXPRESS // DOODLECHA X KOIKOI

HERE ARE SOME TIPS TO BEGIN WITH:

LET GO OF ‘I CANNOT
DRAW’ MENTALITY
So many people suppress their artistic self with a
false assumption of ‘I cannot draw.’ Humans were
born with this innate gift of expressing
themselves through art. And it’s about expressing
yourself rather than a competition of making it
perfect to the T.

RELEASE ARTISTIC
PERFECTIONISM
The notion of perfectionism stops people from
making art in general due to the fear of failure.
Don’t be hard on yourself when you are trying to
express yourself or heal through art.

We are practicing mindfulness without judgment

through these art activities, so release any kind
of artistic perfectionism.

And, it okay if your art doesn't turn out like you

want it to. Remember what Bob Ross says, 'There
are no mistakes, only hapy accidents.'
CREATIVITY EXPRESS // DOODLECHA X KOIKOI

DAY 1: EMOTIONAL CHECK-IN COLLAGE

Materials needed: paper, notebook, or board, some old magazines, newspapers, or
stickers, pens/ markers of choice, glue/tape.

SETTING INTENTIONS
Before starting art, let's invite mindfulness and become aware of
our physical body/self. Gently place your attention on your
breathing, in and out. Check-in with yourself and see how calm you
are right now. There is no right or wrong way to make art. Simply
focus on enjoying the process.

ART ACTIVITY
Creating a collage, instead of drawing or painting your emotions is
a great way to express yourself.

Follow these steps:

Take some magazines or newspapers and explore what pictures
define your emotions the best. 
Cut out all the pictures (or words) that are relevant to you and
stick them onto your notebook or paper. 
Be creative about the placement, place the strongest emotion in
the middle, and build around it.
Translate your emotions through these pictures.

POST-ART CHECK-IN
When you are done with your art, take some time to reflect on the
collage.
How do you feel after making the collage?
Have you expressed your emotions freely?

Please note that each individual's experience is different and it's

completely okay if it's hard for you to do so. Today is about taking a
step forward.
CREATIVITY EXPRESS // DOODLECHA X KOIKOI

DAY 2: RELAXATION THROUGH MANDALA

Materials needed: paper or notebook, your choice of pens/markers, colors if you
want

SETTING INTENTIONS
Before making art, invite mindfulness, and gently place your
attention on your breathing and your body. Breathe lots of love in,
and lots of love out. Also. set an intention to enjoy the creative
process without judgement.

ART ACTIVITY
Mandala, or Zentangle is a relaxing art activity that reflects your
state of mind!

You can make a mandala of your choice or follow these steps:

Draw a circle and use your desired medium to begin to doodle
spontaneously.
Let the image take on a life of its own. Fill in the entire circle.
It might be filled with the images you have seen in your
meditation, or it can be filled with shapes and colors.
You may use colors to translate these feelings.
When you have finished the therapeutic mandala you will have a
holistic representation of what is going on within your ‘self’.

POST-ART CHECK-IN
When you are done with your mandala, take some time to reflect on
the collage. Bring a pen and paper to write down the answers to
these questions:

Are there hidden patterns or themes in your mandala? If so, what

do you think they signify?
Are there any hot spots, or ignored spots within the mandala?
CREATIVITY EXPRESS // DOODLECHA X KOIKOI

DAY 3: MINDFUL BODY SCAN

Materials needed: paper or notebook, colors of your choice (preferably watercolors)

SETTING INTENTIONS
Start with mindful breathing and a body scan to get in touch with our
physical self. Become quiet and listen to the silence. Hear your breath
as you breathe into your lungs, and as air leaves from your nose/
mouth. Begin noticing your body, from the feet, legs, hips, belly,
shoulders, neck, face and so on to the top. Notice any sensation you
feel there. Remember to breathe!

ART ACTIVITY
Draw an outline of a human body. It doesn't have to be perfect.
Color the body outline to represent how you feel right now -
physically and emotionally, and indicate where you feel it in your
body.
As you do this, remember to notice how your body feels and
whether there are changes in any physical sensations. 
Be mindful of your body and your breathing as you color. 
If thoughts or judgments come up in your mind, gently come back
to your breath and your drawing.
Bringing our attention to the body is a common way to practice
mindfulness and self-care. Instead of thinking, we simply notice and
feel any physical sensations. It's very easy to neglect our body and
paying attention to it is a way to practice deep self-care. Take as
much time as you need to fill in the body outline.

POST-ART CHECK-IN
Look through every detail and read through your drawing. Write
answers to this in your journal or a piece of paper:

What physical sensations did you feel during the mindful body
scan (part 1)?
What are other places in your body where you feel certain
emotions? What did you learn from this drawing?
CREATIVITY EXPRESS // DOODLECHA X KOIKOI

DAY 4: HEALING EMOTIONAL PAIN

Materials needed: paper, notebook  or canvas, pen/markers or colors of your choice

SETTING INTENTIONS
First, breathe deeply and try to relax your body. If you are in pain,
notice where you feel pain in your body the most. Drop into it. Notice
what this pain or sensation feels like to you? Now imagine what this
sensation would look like if it were a physical object. What shape and
size would it be? What color? Texture?

ART ACTIVITY
Remember, we want to release our painful emotions and practice
non-judgmental art-making. There’s no right or wrong way.

Take your paper/canvas and colors and start drawing/painting the

image you have in mind. 
Remember to practice gentle but deep breathing throughout this
process. 
Try to visualize your emotional pain and paint it with as many
details as you’d like.
You may try ‘talking’ with this object after you have completed
painting and release all your emotions out.
This exercise is really about getting in touch with your emotion and
physical sensation and looking at it from a little bit of a distance.

POST-ART CHECK-IN
Check-in with how you feel this moment: Do you feel calm? How did
you feel about visualizing your painful sensation into an object? What
was it like talking to this object? Was it freeing?
The main goal of today's session is to identify your emotional pain,
visualize it, and possibly befriend it. You can also turn this visual
image into a character and make it encourage you.
CREATIVITY EXPRESS // DOODLECHA X KOIKOI

DAY 5: SELF-EXPLORATION THROUGH ART

Materials needed: paper, journal, or sketchbook, colors/ pens/ markers of your
choice

SETTING INTENTIONS
First, invite mindfulness by checking in with yourself and becoming
aware of how you feel. Can you identify what emotions normally make
you up? What are the 3 emotions that you have let define yourself?
Just notice without judgment or resistance. Simply be aware. Breathe
in through your nose and breathe out through your mouth.

ART ACTIVITY
You do not always have to know what it looks like or visualize the
feeling. All you need to do is be willing to work with this feeling. 

Now, follow these steps:

Keep in touch with how you feel. What is the emotion that’s
coming up for you? 
Draw a preferred shape on your paper (eg: circle).
Now think of this circle (or shape) as YOU. What do you want to
put inside it?
Use your colors or markers to fill in the circle. Take a moment to
analyze which colors you reflect with the most and what they
mean to you.
After you feel like you finished your circle, give it a title. 

Trust your intuition with this process.

POST-ART CHECK-IN
After the art-making process, bring a pen and journal and write down
the answers to these questions:

What feeling do you get from this circle?

What is this circle trying to tell you?
CREATIVITY EXPRESS // DOODLECHA X KOIKOI

DAY 6: GROUNDING THROUGH NATURE

Materials needed: paper or board, natural things you - leaves, flowers, pebbles,
twigs, sand, etc.

SETTING INTENTIONS
Before making art, let’s invite mindfulness. Gently place your
attention on your breathing. When you think of nature, what feelings
or thoughts come to mind? Also set an intention to make art today
without judgment and instead enjoy the creative process.

ART ACTIVITY
First, go out and collect things from nature. It could be pebbles,
leaves, flowers, sand, twigs, or pressed flowers and leaves if you have
them. When you are ready, do this using your supplies:

Create a place of sanctuary where you can feel protected and

nurtured.
This can be a place you have visited before or an imaginary place
that makes you feel safe.

This exercise helps us ground ourselves in nature and be connected.

It nurtures your soul as you become more grounded with the healing
power of nature.

POST-ART CHECK-IN
If you want to get more out of this grounding exercise, it’s actually
super beneficial to do some reflective writing or post art check-in.
Bring a notebook and answer these questions:

What is this place like?What do you like about this place?

Do you feel more connected with nature?

If you could guess what it is that you emotionally need at this

moment by looking at this sanctuary, what would this need be? Let
this be your safe place to come back to and feel at home.
CREATIVITY EXPRESS // DOODLECHA X KOIKOI

DAY 7: LOCKING INTENTIONS ON VISION BOARD

Materials needed: paper, notebook, or board; magazine, newspapers, stickers

SETTING INTENTIONS
Before making art, invite mindfulness, and gently place your attention
on your breathing. When you think about your future, what feelings or
thoughts come to mind? What do you want your future to look like?
Enjoy the creative process and be creative with it!

ART ACTIVITY
Making vision board is a powerful tool. Take magazines, newspapers,
or your drawing cuts out and follow these steps:

Pick out the images and words that represent what you would like
to experience or have in your future, any day from now.
Take time to visualize your future and realize what’s important for
your well-being.
Cut and paste them onto paper, journal, or board, arranging the
photos/words in the way you feel right. 
You can also add your favorite quotes that inspire you to work
towards your ideal life. 

Remember, there is no right or wrong way to do this. It’s your

personal experience and you have full control.

POST-ART CHECK-IN
Reflect and write answers to these:

Why are these things you included so important to you?

What’s the most important thing in your vision board?
How would you feel when these things actualize in your life?

REMEMBER to put this vision board up on a wall where you can see it
every day. Reflect on the experience few times every we
CREATIVITY EXPRESS // DOODLECHA X KOIKOI

HOW DID IT GO?

LET US KNOW VIA EMAIL OR DM US!

We can’t believe that this is over! We hope that

you have progressed, even at least a little, from
this challenge and hopefully continue to use
these practices whenever you feel like you need
them.

Again, this isn't a professionally made practice,

nor are we experts in therapeutic art. We are
sharing what has helped us overcome our mental
problems and hope that it does the same for you!

Stay happy, stay creative!

CONTACT
Email:
doodle.cha@gmail.com / koikoinepal@gmail.com

Facebook/Instagram: 
@doodle.cha and @koikoinepal