Week Six: Collaborative Art Activities

    The sound of this week's lesson had me really excited to come to class.  We discussed the potential benefits of collaborative activities. Some of these benefits include:

- can "go big"
-allows for creativity
-work in group setting
-different input/perspectives
- develop sense of "community
-address clients with diverse skill levels
-encourage peer support
-reduce anxiety toward trying a new skill
-communication skills

Collaborative activities are useful because they hold the opportunity for a group to come together which allows for an increase in opportunities.  Facilitation may be easier when activites are done collaboratively.

This class period, we specifically focused on collaborative art activities. Some potential benefits of collaborative art activities incude:

-address textures and other sensory input
- expression
- subjective, not "step-by-step"
-group identity
-fine and gross motor skills
-relaxation
-memory making
-endless possibilities

One amazing component of art is that there are so many possibilities.  Art is very therapeutic because it is not simply about the end result; rather, it is about the process.

  Some examples of art that we touched on were quilting, murals, graffiti walls, creative writing, structured art, movement/drama, and multimedia.  We watched a video demonstrating examples of "packing tape art".  I was shocked at how many creative art techniques have developed over time.  There really are endless possibilities when it comes to art.

  So now the fun, hands-on learning part of class was introduced. There were limited supplies in the front of the room : paper, paint, glue, scissors, tape, markers etc. We were to get into our groups and with a few chosen supplies come up with an art activity.  Our group chose cotton swabs, paper, and paint for our supplies.  We thought of dot painting with cotton swabs.  Each group came up with a collaborative art activity idea and got started on the project.  After five or so minutes, we were to rotate to the next group's art activity.  The different activities included our dot painting, pipe cleaner creations, packing tape art, duct tape quilting, nature drawings, and a picture/word book.  I had fun with all of the different activities and I think the class enjoyed them as well.

  I was impressed with what the class came up with for the supplies we had.  I learned how to use resources wisely and also thought about being cost effective.  This will come in handy in the future if presented with limited supplies or when having to come up with collaborative group projects.  I also found myself enjoying trying new things and making the most out of everything. I think it is best to have an optimistic attitude when trying new things. You really never can "judge a book by its cover".

  In my future as a CTRS, I will use the basis of collaborative art activity ideas and maybe even some of the ones we did in class.  I also will use objectives and goals of art activities when planning activities based on the population I am working with.

  Overall, it was a very fun class! I find myself continually learning new knowledge and thinking about what kinds of activities I can try and that would work best for different populations.  I enjoyed participating in the different art activity stations. :)