Hoping you find this useful to supporting your professional and personal practice. If you wish to add to this collection please email Gayle brizcats@bigpond.com
October 2017 BrizCATs Gathering
Ideas from our speed sharing of our favourite go to activities.
Please use your professional integrity when applying these techniques with clients.
Mobile Phone Pics (Courtesy of Pam Blamey)
Take out your phone and share a recent pic with the person next to you. Great for building rapport/safety/connection and story telling.
Reminder that you are a Child of the Universe (Courtesy of Tess Elliot)
Give each person a small cut out hand about the size of a child's hand (available $2 shops)
Invite participants to decorate their hand using art materials. Invite the participants to then hold it in their own hands. Remembering their child self, the innocence, the joy, and the nurturing that small one had/ or needed, offering a safe place in their own hands now. This might be accompanied with the Life Angel Cards as an added inspiration to the offering of nurturing.
Calm and Comfy Cubby House (Courtesy of Tania Budd)
Invite clients to create a miniature Calm and Comfy Cubby House that can be used again again when resourcing is needed. Materials: nature sticks, leaves art materials, containers... Prompts could include: Does it need around it: a fence, a moat, animals? What is inside: people, pets, what will be comfortable? Exits? Entrances? Does this place need a name: a sign?
Teen Journals entry:Mini Inside/Outside Mask (Courtesy of Tania Budd)
Create miniature cardboard masks showing what is inside of you on one side of the mask and what is the outside you show the world on the other or two separate masks. These can be kept in a CD sleeve inside your journal.
The UnGame (available (Courtesy of Gloria)
Play the game and make art in response to what arrives.
Working with nothing; We never have nothing! (Courtesy of Mandy Adams)
Oops you forget to bring your resources: what do you do?
Mandy offered some ideas for when she was caught out with out her trusty tool kit.
- Use the body: create a gesture for this feeling/ experience....and body sculptures with clients
- Use what is on hand: anything...what is available where you are.....cutlery, what is in your handbag, nature, .....
Using images of artwork as a starting point for conversations invites storytelling. Remembering that story telling when done with attuned listening can be healing in itself: offering a sense of being seen heard, understood and validated.
Connect with Indigenous (Courtesy of Christine)
Storytelling is an intricate part of Indigenous Culture. If there are Indigenous people within your group who hold cultural or life stories they wish to share, you might like to invite them to tell a story as an authentic way to reconnect participants to this valuable human skill.
Story Bowl: or a story Stick (Courtesy of Tess Elliott)
Tess reminded us that when working with women and doing story telling that perhaps a bowl (think womb) is more gender friendly as Story sticks are more traditionally male symbol (think phallus), That a bowl could offer a nurturing holding that viscerally feels more aligned to women's experiences. ( we had a singing bowl both stick and bowl....mmmm which invited a chorus of laughter and ideas...use your imagination for that one)
Nest baskets/Bowls (Courtesy of Gayle Crisp and Tania Budd)
Thinking about bowls led to a conversation about making soft textile nests from coiled cloth and simple stitching. Offering the rhythm of sewing, the comfort of touch and the creation of a nurturing place. Sggestion to make a heart representing what needs to be held in the nest.
Paint Swatches from Bunnings (Courtesy of Rochelle)
Prompt: 'Take what you need'. And pass around a bundle of colour paint sample swatches. Invite participants to cut, teat, fold, write, embellish in what ever way is needed. Prompt: 'Focus on what you need'. A nice opening or closing activity.
Group Jigsaw (Courtesy of Jen Chester)
Take a large sheet of paper and invite participants to pass it around the group and have each person draw a line in what ever way they like from what edge to another. WHen this is done, pass the paper again around and invite each person to take what they need by cutting out a section that they will decorate. The pieces are then reconstructed like a jigsaw puzzle and reflected upon.
Chalk Circle Story (Courtesy of Margaret)
Sitting on the ground ( concrete) around a large chalk circle. Invite participants to draw and speak one at a time within the circle creating a group story.
Scribble Chase: leading and following (Courtesy of Helen)
In pairs take a piece of paper and each person chooses a colour pen/felt, pencil. Chose who will be the leader and the follower for this turn. The leader draws a continuous line on the page and the follower is asked to try to follow and keep up. Get a new piece of paper and repeat with the opposite roles. Each person is invited to take the piece of paper in which they were the leader and loo at it. Find three images with in the scribble and embellish. Cut out your 3 images. In your pair create a story on a new piece of paper using the pieces you each bring. Reflections on experiences of leading/following.
Letting Go ( Courtesy of Tania E)
Take a sheet of paper and draw (offer a choice of materials that might lend themselves to expression of different feelings) on it anything you wish to let go. ( images, colours, textures, lines, feelings). Invite the client to tear it up ( or other way to interact with it) Ask what do I do with it now? what do you want to keep? what do you want to throw?
Get a new piece of paper and glue any of your pieces you want to keep into a new image. You can also draw into it or add watercolour or embellishments. What is your new perspective? Notice how time is played out in this: how much time is needed?
Soul Collage (Courtesy of Kate Stimson)
Kate shared her collection of Soul Collage cards that she has created over time. Each piece being A5 size card with images from magazines collaged in meaningful ways. Kate is a Soul Collage Facilitator . Upcoming workshop click here
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