To make it easier to locate art projects according to whatever step you are currently working on, I've created a Table of Contents for this blog. As I continue to post more activities, I will update this Table of Contents. Eventually, there will be at least one project for each step. Please also take the time to explore the many other projects that are not specific to a particular step. Stay tuned!
Introduction
Step 1:
Step 2:
Step 3:
Step 4:
Step 5:
Step 6:
Step 7:
Step 8:
Step 9:
Step 10:
Step 11:
Step 12:
Projects that are not associated with a specific step:
Saturday, March 16, 2013
Step 4: Decorating As Inspiration
Step 4: Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.
For our group's 4th step project, I provided a column format of the 4th step. This column format was created by a step-group I was part of. We came up with this format based on the AA Big Book, but with modifications added from literature from various different 12-step programs.
For our creative 12-step meeting, I printed this table into small booklets:
During the meeting, our focus was on decorating the covers of the books.
The 4th step can be very emotionally-heavy and intense. In order to make this experience brighter and more pleasant, I have often made an effort to make the books that I write this step work in appear attractive. Here are some examples of the covers I've decorated:
BIG NEWS!
I've opened an Etsy shop at www.etsy.com/shop/Creative12Steps. Here you can purchase a blank version of the fourth step booklet described above. I will keep you posted as new items show up in the shop for sale.
What resentments are you ready to let go of today?
For our group's 4th step project, I provided a column format of the 4th step. This column format was created by a step-group I was part of. We came up with this format based on the AA Big Book, but with modifications added from literature from various different 12-step programs.
For our creative 12-step meeting, I printed this table into small booklets:
During the meeting, our focus was on decorating the covers of the books.
The 4th step can be very emotionally-heavy and intense. In order to make this experience brighter and more pleasant, I have often made an effort to make the books that I write this step work in appear attractive. Here are some examples of the covers I've decorated:
BIG NEWS!
I've opened an Etsy shop at www.etsy.com/shop/Creative12Steps. Here you can purchase a blank version of the fourth step booklet described above. I will keep you posted as new items show up in the shop for sale.
What resentments are you ready to let go of today?
Step 7: Card Project
Step 7: Humbly asked God to remove our shortcomings.
"My Creator, I am now willing that you should have all of me, good and bad. I pray that you now remove from me every single defect of character which stands in the way of my usefulness to you and my fellows. Grant me strength, as I go out from here, to do your bidding. Amen." We have then completed Step Seven.
-A.A. Big Book p.76
For our group, step seven was more of a writing project than a visual arts project. The only supplies we needed were:
-colored index cards
-Sharpie marker
-pens or writing instruments
On the blank sides of the index cards (unruled), we used the black Sharpie marker to write a character defect we identified ourselves as having. We wrote this one word in the middle of the card. I personally prefer the term "character defense." All of these "shortcomings," are behaviors that served me at some point in my life. These traits enabled me to survive stressful and/or traumatic circumstances when I was unaware of having an option to turn to another more positive tool. Where the term "defect," implies a degree of judgment, I prefer thinking of these behaviors as "defenses" that no longer serve me.
We then drew a line dividing the card into an upper half and lower half.
On the top half of the card, we added other words that represented character defenses or "shortcomings" that we believed we had that were somehow related to this main theme.
On the bottom half of the card, we considered the question: If I were to remove fear from this shortcoming, might there be a positive character trait that I might want to keep? For every "defect," we were able to identify some positive aspect to the trait, which had been corrupted by fear, turning it into a defect.
Then, on the backs of the cards, we used the black marker to write a positive character trait that represents the opposite of the shortcoming.
There were no right nor wrong answers for any of these writing exercises.
Finally, underneath that positive character trait, we wrote a prayer to our Higher Power, humbly asking God to remove this shortcoming.
I keep these cards in my God Box. This is a gesture of turning this process of character transformation over to my Higher Power. This also allows me to refer back to them. I can then read the prayer when I notice a character defense rearing its ugly head in my every day life.
What character defenses of yours do you believe you have outgrown? Which ones have already been lifted?
"My Creator, I am now willing that you should have all of me, good and bad. I pray that you now remove from me every single defect of character which stands in the way of my usefulness to you and my fellows. Grant me strength, as I go out from here, to do your bidding. Amen." We have then completed Step Seven.
-A.A. Big Book p.76
For our group, step seven was more of a writing project than a visual arts project. The only supplies we needed were:
-colored index cards
-Sharpie marker
-pens or writing instruments
On the blank sides of the index cards (unruled), we used the black Sharpie marker to write a character defect we identified ourselves as having. We wrote this one word in the middle of the card. I personally prefer the term "character defense." All of these "shortcomings," are behaviors that served me at some point in my life. These traits enabled me to survive stressful and/or traumatic circumstances when I was unaware of having an option to turn to another more positive tool. Where the term "defect," implies a degree of judgment, I prefer thinking of these behaviors as "defenses" that no longer serve me.
We then drew a line dividing the card into an upper half and lower half.
On the top half of the card, we added other words that represented character defenses or "shortcomings" that we believed we had that were somehow related to this main theme.
On the bottom half of the card, we considered the question: If I were to remove fear from this shortcoming, might there be a positive character trait that I might want to keep? For every "defect," we were able to identify some positive aspect to the trait, which had been corrupted by fear, turning it into a defect.
Then, on the backs of the cards, we used the black marker to write a positive character trait that represents the opposite of the shortcoming.
There were no right nor wrong answers for any of these writing exercises.
Finally, underneath that positive character trait, we wrote a prayer to our Higher Power, humbly asking God to remove this shortcoming.
I keep these cards in my God Box. This is a gesture of turning this process of character transformation over to my Higher Power. This also allows me to refer back to them. I can then read the prayer when I notice a character defense rearing its ugly head in my every day life.
What character defenses of yours do you believe you have outgrown? Which ones have already been lifted?
Saturday, February 23, 2013
Step 12 Puzzle Project
Step 12: Having had a spiritual awakening as a result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to the addict who still suffers.
For our Step 12 project, we used the following supplies:
My instructions to the group were to first think about what tools have helped them in arriving to a spiritual awakening or to the 12th step. Write or draw one tool on the backs of each of the puzzle pieces. Just as there are twelve steps to recovery, there are many tools that when used together can aid us in staying sober. These puzzle pieces all work together to create a whole self. Here is what I wrote on the backs of my puzzle pieces:
Next, I asked the group to think about the terms "spiritual awakening" and either draw or write about what that has looked like or if you haven't had a spiritual awakening yet, think about what you hope that spiritual awakening will look like.
I experienced what I consider to be my spiritual awakening about 3 years into my recover. One night, I woke up from a dream that I was in a hurry to get to a female friend, to see her before she went away, possibly died. I was rushing and was nearly giving up hope of getting to see her when I finally arrived. I saw an old woman (apparently, the woman I was searching for). She was outside, squatting down, tending a garden. She looked up at me with a beautiful look of peace on her face. In that instant, I knew that she had been waiting for me, and for a long time, and that she would have waited no matter how long I took to get there.
Although I never had a goddess image of my Higher Power prior to this dream, immediately upon awaking, I recognized that the old woman represented my Higher Power. I recalled when I first hit a bottom, at only 13 years of age. At that time, I had felt abandoned by God and felt very angry about having been abandoned. I gave up on the religion that I had been raised under up until that point. And I realized in this moment, waking up from this dream, that I was the one who had turned away from my Higher Power. My Higher Power had not been the one to abandon me after all. Afterwards, I realized that I had also abandoned myself. When I woke up, this realization felt so profound, I was moved to tears and sobbed for several minutes before going back to sleep. This dream would forever change my life, my recovery and my feelings about my Higher Power.
So here was what I put on my puzzle:
What will you put on your puzzle?
For our Step 12 project, we used the following supplies:
My instructions to the group were to first think about what tools have helped them in arriving to a spiritual awakening or to the 12th step. Write or draw one tool on the backs of each of the puzzle pieces. Just as there are twelve steps to recovery, there are many tools that when used together can aid us in staying sober. These puzzle pieces all work together to create a whole self. Here is what I wrote on the backs of my puzzle pieces:
Next, I asked the group to think about the terms "spiritual awakening" and either draw or write about what that has looked like or if you haven't had a spiritual awakening yet, think about what you hope that spiritual awakening will look like.
I experienced what I consider to be my spiritual awakening about 3 years into my recover. One night, I woke up from a dream that I was in a hurry to get to a female friend, to see her before she went away, possibly died. I was rushing and was nearly giving up hope of getting to see her when I finally arrived. I saw an old woman (apparently, the woman I was searching for). She was outside, squatting down, tending a garden. She looked up at me with a beautiful look of peace on her face. In that instant, I knew that she had been waiting for me, and for a long time, and that she would have waited no matter how long I took to get there.
Although I never had a goddess image of my Higher Power prior to this dream, immediately upon awaking, I recognized that the old woman represented my Higher Power. I recalled when I first hit a bottom, at only 13 years of age. At that time, I had felt abandoned by God and felt very angry about having been abandoned. I gave up on the religion that I had been raised under up until that point. And I realized in this moment, waking up from this dream, that I was the one who had turned away from my Higher Power. My Higher Power had not been the one to abandon me after all. Afterwards, I realized that I had also abandoned myself. When I woke up, this realization felt so profound, I was moved to tears and sobbed for several minutes before going back to sleep. This dream would forever change my life, my recovery and my feelings about my Higher Power.
So here was what I put on my puzzle:
What will you put on your puzzle?
Saturday, February 9, 2013
Affirmation Boards
When I started out in recovery, my sponsor encouraged me to write affirmations to help get me through withdrawal. I would write the affirmations using a Sharpie on a piece of blank paper and tape them to my bedroom walls so I'd see them as I fell asleep and when I woke up in the morning. Here are just a few of the affirmations that I posted on my walls during those first months:
Over the years, the affirmations I needed to tell myself have changed according to my needs of the day, month, week or year. But I still find them to be an essential tool for my recovery.
Thankful to my recovery, my life has become more abundant and I have moved into a new, nicer home. I've been resistant to taping pieces of copy paper onto my walls.
In preparing for my wedding (another gift of working my program), I saw these little chalkboards people were making to use as signage at their weddings. Although I didn't do this for my wedding, it occurred to me that they would be perfect for my affirmations! I have multiple chalkboards in different rooms of my home and can change the affirmations whenever I want. And they just look like home decor.
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That quote is not mine. And I'm afraid I do not know the author. But I have been sick lately, so that is the message I've been needing to hear. It's reminded me I can do phone meetings, even if I am too sick to get to a live meeting.
For the art project for my meeting, I decided to turn this into a group project. I prepared the chalkboards in advance and had the project focused on decoupage for the frames. But the actual conversion of a standard picture frame into a chalkboard could have been the art project, too. But I wanted to focus on the affirmation aspect of the project. I will describe both processes, but you can choose to do one or the other or both.
Tools needed:
1. Find a space to work and lay down your protective surface.
2. Wash the picture frames, especially if they are used. I just used Lysol wipes. You simply want to get off any debris that would get caught in the paint.
2. Separate the glass from the frames. As you can see in the photo, the bottom frame was glass, but the top frames actually contained some artwork that I was willing to sacrifice to the cause. Since they were painted on wood, that surface worked well for the chalkboards.
3. IF you are planning to decoupage the frames, you may want to sand any of the frames that are painted in a gloss paint to help the primer and decoupage adhere to the frame. If you are satisfied with the appearance of the frame and don't plan to decoupage it, then you can skip this step.
4. Before painting, be sure your pieces are all laid out on the protective surface with room between them to get to the sides of the frames and to avoid spraying on any nearby surfaces you don't want painted. If you are using spray primer, as I did, add more room than you think you need. I ended up spraying our patio carpet. So again, add even more room than you think you will need. The spray paint went beyond the paper you see in the photo below, so use MORE space than this.
5. Read the instructions on the paints you purchased. My paints may be different from yours, so follow the instructions on your specific paint supplies.
6. Primer: If you are not decoupaging your frames, you can simply apply the primer to the glass or area you will be applying the chalkboard paint. But if you plan to decoupage your frames, you will want to apply primer to the frames as well.
7. Apply chalkboard paint. Do NOT apply to frames; only apply to surface you want to be able to use as a chalkboard. Again, follow the instructions on your paint can.
8. Allow to dry (again per your paint can's instructions). My chalkboard paint had to dry for 4 days before the chalkboard surface could be used. So be sure to allow time for this before presenting your project to a group or as a gift.
9. Unfortunately, I didn't take photos of the decoupage process, as this was all done within the anonymous walls of my meeting. But here are some basic instructions:
- I will be okay. God still loves me. Be curious.
- Ask for what I want and turn the outcome over to HP.
- Thank God for one thing that I'm grateful for today.
- Feel worthy from within. Other's behaviors and opinions are not my business.
- The struggle is the blessing.
Over the years, the affirmations I needed to tell myself have changed according to my needs of the day, month, week or year. But I still find them to be an essential tool for my recovery.
Thankful to my recovery, my life has become more abundant and I have moved into a new, nicer home. I've been resistant to taping pieces of copy paper onto my walls.
In preparing for my wedding (another gift of working my program), I saw these little chalkboards people were making to use as signage at their weddings. Although I didn't do this for my wedding, it occurred to me that they would be perfect for my affirmations! I have multiple chalkboards in different rooms of my home and can change the affirmations whenever I want. And they just look like home decor.
.JPG)
That quote is not mine. And I'm afraid I do not know the author. But I have been sick lately, so that is the message I've been needing to hear. It's reminded me I can do phone meetings, even if I am too sick to get to a live meeting.
For the art project for my meeting, I decided to turn this into a group project. I prepared the chalkboards in advance and had the project focused on decoupage for the frames. But the actual conversion of a standard picture frame into a chalkboard could have been the art project, too. But I wanted to focus on the affirmation aspect of the project. I will describe both processes, but you can choose to do one or the other or both.
Tools needed:
- picture frames: I just picked up a bunch from thrift stores and gathered some from around my home that I wasn't using, to keep the cost low. As photos become more and more electronic and less and less physical, frames seem to be showing up more and more in thrift stores. Any frame will suffice, so long as it has glass or a wooden surface to convert into a chalkboard.
- primer paint (I used a spray primer, but you can use canned primer, as well).
- chalkboard paint
- mini paint roller or paint brush
- paint tray (if you are using the roller)
- protection for surface you'll be painting on: I used a roll of heavy paper I picked up at a thrift store and a large box that I broke down into a large surface. A disposable tablecloth would also work.
- chalk
IF doing decoupage on the frames you will also need:
- glue to apply the images to your frame
- Mod Podge to cover the images with when you are done. This will hold the images in place, prevent them from peeling off and harden them into a sturdier surface.
- paint brush to apply Mod Podge with
- OPTIONAL: Sandpaper and sander, if your frames are painted with a gloss paint
- images to apply to frame may include:
- old magazines that can be cut up
- images printed from a laser printer
- images printed from an ink jet printer and then covered with hairspray to fix the ink in place
- stickers
- fabric or ribbon
- anything else you want to use to decorate your frame that can be glued to its surface
- scissors to cut the images out with
- OPTIONAL: an Exacto knife to cut images out more precisely - only if you are doing this project at home alone (not recommended for group activities)
1. Find a space to work and lay down your protective surface.
2. Wash the picture frames, especially if they are used. I just used Lysol wipes. You simply want to get off any debris that would get caught in the paint.
2. Separate the glass from the frames. As you can see in the photo, the bottom frame was glass, but the top frames actually contained some artwork that I was willing to sacrifice to the cause. Since they were painted on wood, that surface worked well for the chalkboards.
3. IF you are planning to decoupage the frames, you may want to sand any of the frames that are painted in a gloss paint to help the primer and decoupage adhere to the frame. If you are satisfied with the appearance of the frame and don't plan to decoupage it, then you can skip this step.
4. Before painting, be sure your pieces are all laid out on the protective surface with room between them to get to the sides of the frames and to avoid spraying on any nearby surfaces you don't want painted. If you are using spray primer, as I did, add more room than you think you need. I ended up spraying our patio carpet. So again, add even more room than you think you will need. The spray paint went beyond the paper you see in the photo below, so use MORE space than this.
5. Read the instructions on the paints you purchased. My paints may be different from yours, so follow the instructions on your specific paint supplies.
6. Primer: If you are not decoupaging your frames, you can simply apply the primer to the glass or area you will be applying the chalkboard paint. But if you plan to decoupage your frames, you will want to apply primer to the frames as well.
7. Apply chalkboard paint. Do NOT apply to frames; only apply to surface you want to be able to use as a chalkboard. Again, follow the instructions on your paint can.
8. Allow to dry (again per your paint can's instructions). My chalkboard paint had to dry for 4 days before the chalkboard surface could be used. So be sure to allow time for this before presenting your project to a group or as a gift.
9. Unfortunately, I didn't take photos of the decoupage process, as this was all done within the anonymous walls of my meeting. But here are some basic instructions:
- OPTIONAL: Separate chalkboard from frame again. We skipped this step and just did our best to avoid getting glue on the chalkboard surface.
- Cut out images you like
- Glue images to the frame
- Smooth the images out as best you can on the surface of the frame
- Using a paint brush, apply Mod Podge to entire surface, again, avoid getting it on the chalkboard. It will look white, but don't worry. Mod Podge dries clear.
- Allow to dry. Mod Podge should dry in approximately 15 minutes.
10. Prep your chalkboard surface before writing on it. Read the instructions on your paint as to how to condition the surface. For my paint, I was instructed to run the chalk length-wise over the entire chalkboard and erase, leaving a layer of chalk dust on the board. Then I could write on the board. If I wrote on the chalkboard without conditioning it first, I was informed the words may not erase completely.
Here is my final Affirmation Board:
Saturday, December 29, 2012
New Year's Vision art project
For this week's art project, we focused on creating a vision for what we want to accomplish in 2013. To get our creative juices flowing and to break through any limitations we impose on ourselves, we used a couple of exercises from the book, Wreck This Journal by Keri Smith.
NOTE: This is not conference-endorsed literature.
I find New Year's resolutions to be very restrictive. I often resolve NOT to do something. Last year, I resolved NOT to eat sugar. One year, I resolved NOT to spend more than $50 a month on-line shopping. I have nothing against these sorts of resolutions. But for 2013, I want to move past what NOT to do and move towards bigger dreams. In some programs, they refer to these positive actions as "top lines" or "outer circle" behaviors. So this week's exercise was about thinking big in envisioning a life-changing 2013.
The exercises I used from Wreck This Journal (and yes, I bought multiple copies to protect copyright) included:
I also came up with my own "Wreck This Journal" type of exercise. I printed out a very simple mandala:
And provided the instructions to: "Intentionally color outside the lines."
Interestingly enough, that latter exercise, coloring outside the lines, was impossible for at least one member of our group.
But these exercises helped me to break through expectations and other people's rules to help me to envision what I want for myself. I hope it did the same for the other members of the group.
Finally, I provided a table to write out some visions.
Not only was there space to commit to some actions to take towards our specific visions in 2013, but also space to acknowledge steps we already took in 2012 towards that vision. That column, acknowledging progress we've already made, was very powerful for me and I filled that column up the most.
If you'd like to break through some of your own limitations, I highly recommend Wreck This Journal, though again, it is NOT specific to 12-step nor endorsed by any 12-step program.
WARNING: Although there are four different appearing covers with the same title, "Wreck This Journal," they all contain the same material. So if you purchase this item, select the cover you like best. But unless you want to repeat all of the same exercises, do NOT order all four, as the content is identical in each.
What are YOUR visions for 2013?
NOTE: This is not conference-endorsed literature.
I find New Year's resolutions to be very restrictive. I often resolve NOT to do something. Last year, I resolved NOT to eat sugar. One year, I resolved NOT to spend more than $50 a month on-line shopping. I have nothing against these sorts of resolutions. But for 2013, I want to move past what NOT to do and move towards bigger dreams. In some programs, they refer to these positive actions as "top lines" or "outer circle" behaviors. So this week's exercise was about thinking big in envisioning a life-changing 2013.
The exercises I used from Wreck This Journal (and yes, I bought multiple copies to protect copyright) included:
- rub this page with dirt
- scribble this page wildly, violently, with reckless abandon
- poke holes in this page using a pencil
- tear strips out of this page - Rip it up!
I also came up with my own "Wreck This Journal" type of exercise. I printed out a very simple mandala:
And provided the instructions to: "Intentionally color outside the lines."
Interestingly enough, that latter exercise, coloring outside the lines, was impossible for at least one member of our group.
But these exercises helped me to break through expectations and other people's rules to help me to envision what I want for myself. I hope it did the same for the other members of the group.
Finally, I provided a table to write out some visions.
Not only was there space to commit to some actions to take towards our specific visions in 2013, but also space to acknowledge steps we already took in 2012 towards that vision. That column, acknowledging progress we've already made, was very powerful for me and I filled that column up the most.
If you'd like to break through some of your own limitations, I highly recommend Wreck This Journal, though again, it is NOT specific to 12-step nor endorsed by any 12-step program.
WARNING: Although there are four different appearing covers with the same title, "Wreck This Journal," they all contain the same material. So if you purchase this item, select the cover you like best. But unless you want to repeat all of the same exercises, do NOT order all four, as the content is identical in each.
What are YOUR visions for 2013?
Sunday, December 23, 2012
Step 5 Activity: Votive Candles
Step 5: Admitted to God, to ourselves and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.
December 21st, being the shortest day and longest night of the year, seemed the perfect day to do some candle art with our group. During our shares, we opened up about our own dark sides and what brings us hope and light when things get the toughest in our recovery.
Multiple sponsors have suggested that I light candles during various points of my step work. During my 5th step, where I admitted to God "the exact nature of my wrongs," I read my 4th step out loud to a candle. For this reason, candles have held importance to me throughout my recovery.
Supplies needed:
-clear glass votives with candles
-tissue paper
-glue
I was able to purchase the votives at a bulk rate. I washed the outside of the glass votives before setting up for the group, as I didn't want any potential greasy residue to impeded the glue from adhering to the glass.
We then ripped the tissue paper into small pieces and adhered the pieces with the glue to the glass. This created something of a stained glass effect.
We also used glitter glue, which you can see at the top edge of the votive on the left. though once the candle is lit, the glitter only appears in silhouette, so it didn't quite have the effect I was hoping for. I think the candles are lovely without the glitter glue. We also had stickers left over from our God Box project, which some people stuck on their votives, as well. But again, the stickers mostly appear as silhouettes of blocked light when the candle is lit.
Here is how the candles appear when lit. I definitely feel a much more personal relationship with these votives than with just an ordinary candle. For me, this personal touch helps to bring me closer to my Higher Power while reading my 5th step.
December 21st, being the shortest day and longest night of the year, seemed the perfect day to do some candle art with our group. During our shares, we opened up about our own dark sides and what brings us hope and light when things get the toughest in our recovery.
Multiple sponsors have suggested that I light candles during various points of my step work. During my 5th step, where I admitted to God "the exact nature of my wrongs," I read my 4th step out loud to a candle. For this reason, candles have held importance to me throughout my recovery.
Supplies needed:
-clear glass votives with candles
-tissue paper
-glue
I was able to purchase the votives at a bulk rate. I washed the outside of the glass votives before setting up for the group, as I didn't want any potential greasy residue to impeded the glue from adhering to the glass.
We then ripped the tissue paper into small pieces and adhered the pieces with the glue to the glass. This created something of a stained glass effect.
We also used glitter glue, which you can see at the top edge of the votive on the left. though once the candle is lit, the glitter only appears in silhouette, so it didn't quite have the effect I was hoping for. I think the candles are lovely without the glitter glue. We also had stickers left over from our God Box project, which some people stuck on their votives, as well. But again, the stickers mostly appear as silhouettes of blocked light when the candle is lit.
Here is how the candles appear when lit. I definitely feel a much more personal relationship with these votives than with just an ordinary candle. For me, this personal touch helps to bring me closer to my Higher Power while reading my 5th step.
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