ART &

FEELINGS
Express and Understand Your
Emotions Through Art
“Emotion is often what we rely upon to carry us across the unfathomable voids in our intelligence.”

Bryant
H. McGill
 • Dr. Paul Ekman identified 6 basic human emotions
• Emotions guides reasoning, they are not simply disruptions of
life that needs to be controlled; rather, they are organizing
process that needs to attend to.
• Most of our childhood experience towards expression of
emotions, especially negative emotions were often
unaccepted, dismissed or forbidden by adults around us.
• From that we learned that it is inappropriate to feel or
express what we are feeling.
Emotions  • Avoidance, masking of emotions, or repression of emotions
may not be healthy in the long run.
• It is not wrong to admit and allow oneself to have emotions.
As real emotions helps you to get what you really need, both
from self, and others
Creative
expression
through art
“Our emotions makes us human”

“Let’s take a moment to sit with our feelings today”

 Emotion Expression through Art: A Six step process

6. How am I feeling today?

4. Fear

2. Happiness

3. Anger
5. Sadness 

1. Free Scribbling
Step 1: Free scribbling
(5 minutes)

• Let’s start with some warming up.

• Try scribbling with the art materials that
you have, then choose one that you feel
most comfortable with today.
• Come out with as many types of lines or
strokes or shapes as you can make.
• Just have fun, create big or small strokes as
you scribble, there is no right or wrong way
here to scribble.
Step 2: Happiness
(5 minutes)
• In another page/ piece of blank paper
• Choose colours that you can connect the
feeling of joy and happiness with
• Think of lines and shapes and strokes
that you may associate happiness with
• You have 5 minutes to create an abstract
art of your happiness.
• You don’t need to feel pressured to
create something that is fantastic to your
eye. Just create according to your instinct
and draw out your version of happiness.
Step 3: Anger
(5 minutes)
• Start again with a piece of blank paper
• Think of the colours that you can connect
the feelings of anger.
• Think of strokes or shapes that you can
connect with the feelings of anger
• Again, take another 5 minutes to create
an abstract image of your anger on your
blank paper.
• Draw on~

Image retrieved from www.creativityintherapy.com

 Image retrieved from www.creativityintherapy.com

Step 4: Fear
(5 minutes)

• Choose the colours that you can connect

the feelings of fear with
• Think of lines and shapes and strokes that
you may associate happiness with
• In another page/ piece of blank paper,
create an abstract art of your fear.
• Enjoy expressing your fear =)
 Step 5: Sadness
(5 minutes)

• Choose the colours that you can connect the

feelings of sadness with
• Think of lines and shapes and strokes that you
may associate the feelings of sadness with
• Draw your version of sadness
Step 6: How I feel today (15 minutes)
• Close your eyes and put your focus on your breathing, try to recall about
your day and the emotions that you are feeling now.
• Some emotions you felt may not have been expressed in the previous
steps.
• When you are ready, on a blank piece of paper, create an expression of
how you are feeling today.
• You may use the strokes or colours you used / created earlier or come up
with new strokes as you draw to represent how you are feeling today.
• At the back of your drawing, write down the emotions expressed and write
a little note to yourself about how you are feeling today
• What are your emotions telling you? What are your needs? =)
• Try to write in a kind voice and avoid any criticism towards the emotions or
feelings felt.

Image retrieved from www.creativityintherapy.com