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| Dump out your feelings on a half sheet of construction paper. |
I used my art journal to continue the "Dump Sheet Self Portrait" theme and prepare for teaching the concept to a group of teens in a shelter for teens-at-risk. I titled mine "Garbage In; Garbage Out" in memory of a favorite expression used by motivational speaker Zig Ziglar who always said that if you put garbage into your mind then garbage will inevitably come back out in your lifestyle. Much better to fill your mind with good stuff so that good stuff will flow back out in your life.
Begin by "dumping" on a particular theme on the half sheet of construction paper. Write quickly without time to stop and think. Fill the entire page. Then "insert" yourself into the writing with a simple self-portrait. Draw a vertical oval for your head; add the neck; then shoulders. Fill in the facial features. Paint/stamp/ write words on the full sheet of construction paper to "counter" the negative dumping. In other words, write down the good stuff as it relates to the previous dumping. Then cut the bust and glue onto the full sheet of construction paper. Continue to paint, collage, stamp, and embellish the page to turn the dumping into a positive expression of possibility.
Optional after: I glued by construction paper collage into my altered book art journal (left) and continued embellishing (below).
