Art Therapy for Broads Abroad :: Sand Tray In A Saucer :: Exercise #15

 :: In play a child always behaves beyond his average age, above his daily behavior.  In play it is as though he were a head taller than himself. ::

- Lev Vygotsky,Russian psychologist, 1896–1934

When Mamère, my grandmother, passed away I inherited all of her gardening gear.  Her zebra striped overalls, once worn as a Mardi Gras costume, hung loosely on a bent nail in her gardening shed.  Her shed was a moss and ivy covered structure made from old storm shutters.  Art deco designs were embossed along the edges of lovely white clay pots of many sizes.  The smallest held a handful of dirt, another a tiny rake. Under a group of cupped seedling pots, a copper penny flattened by a trolly somewhere along the New Orleans' Carrollton-St.Charles streetcar line.  Buried under a two legged table screwed to the wall were her strawberry pot, and two nested and badly chipped bird bath bowls leaning against a single stand.  Everything was where it had always been.  MaMere's own scent clung to the walls.

I brought all of these things to my home in Austin, with only the strawberry pot making the journey to Merida.  The best of the bird bath bowls I once filled with birdseed.  Set atop a library card catalogue, the drawers were filled with many small objects, representing nature, the modern world and fantasy.  In this way, my family and friends curated scenes of their inner life in miniature.

Sand Tray Therapy holds very specific dimensions for the container, rectangular in shape, used by practitioners trained in this approach.  This exercise is an adaptation based upon my own practice.  The overarching goal in traditional Sand Tray Therapy is that the play leads one to individuation, or balance.  The use of circular trays serve to imprint an image of wholeness for each individual scene offering a comforting container.  In a circular environment you may play with the objects and regroup the individual traits, much as my grandmother did moving through the seasons in her garden.


Today's Secret Message of Love
Play!

Sand Tray In A Saucer ©  News From A Broad

Materials

• *A notebook for recording the completed scene during the process. (See Options)
• You'll need a container at least 16" in diameter.  A catch tray for a potted plant or a deep dish pizza pan work well.  Make sure you like it or you won't be inclined towards play.
• Fill for the tray can be sand, bird seed, or small dried peas.  Any fill that will hold the scene objects securely will work 
• A shelf, dresser, or storage tote with drawers to hold your collection of objects for scenes.
• A collection of objects, without consideration of size is best.  The natural world objects include shells, sticks, dried flowers, and any other item you find appealing.  The modern world objects are traditionally things found in a doll house, including human and animal figures.  The fantasy world objects are just that, fantasy.   
• Here is a short list: feathers, rocks, marbles, a string of beads, bottle caps, Christmas ornaments, wooden matches, fabric scraps,etc..

Process

• Create a scene in the tray.
• Use the Broad Dream Notes to process the scene.

Options

• *Use the journal from the Without Conclusion or Siesta Dreaming exercises.
•  Take a digital image of the scene in the tray.  Copy and paste it at the top of a word document, using the Broad Dream Notes outline for processing the scene.

Conclusion
This is a great family activity.  If the tray and collection of objects are to be shared, the creator of the scene needs to remove the objects and place them back where they are stored. Talk about teaching children to put away their things!

All the objects you collect, and the arrangements you create for your scenes are always right on.
Perfect!

Create the life you want!
The Broad

Pin It Now!