Art Therapy for Broads Abroad : Transitional Portraits : Exercise #3

:: Life is the art of drawing without an eraser.::  

- John W. Gardner @ Skinny Artist

Labeling yourself as an artist, doesn't make you an artist.  Exhibiting paintings, sculptures, photographs, or authoring books and poems, doesn't make you an artist.  Creating the life you want does.  Art Therapy is all about the process, and that is why there are no mistakes, in the work you create or in the life you lead.   There is a difference between an intervention, which requires an active therapeutic witness to your process, and an excise that allows you to express yourself without censorship. 

Whether you are facing the beginning grief stages of leaving family, friends, and belongings behind, or have adopted the lifestyle of your host country after many years abroad, all phases of the expat process have presented transitional moments.  For this exercise, be in the moment.  For inspiration, visit the site of Austin, Texas artist Virginia Fleck.  After completing your first piece, explore previous transitions in your life.  

Transitional Portraits © News From A Broad, 2012

Materials:

• a printed black & white photograph of yourself on an 8.5" x 11" piece of paper.
• 2 tapes - 1 matt, and the other 2 sided double stick
• scissors
• colored plastic shopping bags, one transparent or white
• a sharpie
• *OPTIONAL : sewing machine, or needle and thread/embroidery floss.

Process:

• Cut one of the transparent or white bags two inches larger than your printed photograph.  This will serve as your canvas. 
• Place your photograph under this piece of plastic, and trace, with a Sharpie, the basic outlines.  Do not draw or sketch.
• Cut the paper copy of your portrait into similar pattern shapes.
• Using the other plastic bags, begin to cut the basic shapes for your transitional portrait, by using the pattern shapes from your paper portrait.  Save your scraps for future exercises! 
• On top of the transparent or white plastic canvas, use the matt tape to "quilt" the pattern pieces together.
• Once you have your basic plastic portrait, use the 2 sided double stick tape to adhere the portrait to the canvas. 
•  Suspend the portrait in a well lit window.

Options:

• Use lettering from the plastic bags to add words or phrases
• Cut optional shapes, such as stars or lightning bolts
• Stitch, with a machine or by hand, and overall design such as those used in quilting, or grid the overall piece, or follow the outlines of each portion of your face.

Conclusions:

• Did you choose a single family of colors?
• What do your added words mean to you?
• How did your impressions change once you hung the work in a window? 

Creating the life you want!

The Broad

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