Activity: Brush Strokes
Themes/Issues addressed: Team building, reconnection, art expression
Target group:
People with difficulties (down syndrome or in verbal communication (shy, Closed, facing psychological and emotional difficulties etc.)
Aims and Objectives:
- To create a connection between participants
- To give them possibility to express their inner state with colors
- To see how they feel in a group where they need to create something common in silence
- To reveal difficulties in team work
Learning outcomes:
- Team building
- Challenges in work with other people comparing to the individual work
- Finding compromise
- Understanding and trusting each other
- Releasing tension and expression emotions through art
Group size: 4-5 ppl
Time: 40 min.
Instructions:
Participants work in small groups; 4-5 people in each group maximum.
Needed materials are flip chart papers and colour pencils, also can be gouache instead of pencils but not at the same time. The task is to make a group drawing. Each participant is allowed to use only 2 colours and once they choose colours they cannot change it. They can’t exchange pencils with others from their team either. Another rule is that drawing should be done in silence. Time for group drawing 20-25 min. Depending on the aim of drawing you can give different instructions. If your aim is team building you can say that you expect the drawing to be as harmonic as possible (like it was done by 1 person). If you want to have this technique for diagnostics in group relations better not to specify what you expect as a result.
Debriefing and evaluation:
- What was the most challenging?
- What was the easiest part?
- How did you choose the topic?
- Do you think we worked as a team, or everyone was doing its own thing?
- Was it comfortable to work in silence?
- What emotion is dominant after this activity?
- Why do you think each had only 2 colours? What is the metaphor behind it?
Space requirements and training materials:
A space where each small group can find their place not to disturb each other. Materials: Big papers (e.g. flipchart), colourful pencils or other colouring materials