Reflection:
I began with an 8” x 10” canvas board. I used paints, tissue paper, collage, tape, chalk pastels, and matte medium. I worked on my piece for 5 to 15 minutes six different times. For the mini process painting, I choose to work with adolescents with anxiety. While working on my mini process painting, I felt relaxed and mindful. The mini process painting can encourage mindfulness. Awareness of ones’ emotions/feelings at the moment can help people to cope with anxiety. Because of this, I think the mini painting process would work well for adolescents with anxiety.
Chilton, Lynskey, Ohnstad, & Manders (2020) presented research on the use of el duende with supervisees who were treating people for substance The authors stated that the process of el duende offered safety and containment for expression as well as an opportunity for transformation (p. 5 & 6). Although this research was done with supervisees, I found myself experiencing some of the benefits that they expressed. My process painting was a piece that I went to when I have free time and wanted to express my feeling. If I were presenting this medium to adolescents with anxiety, I would let them know about the process of the painting in order to prevent unnecessary confusion or stress about creating layers.
References
Leone, L. (Ed.). (2020). Craft in Art Therapy: Diverse Approaches to the Transformative Power of Craft Materials and Methods. Routledge.
Chilton, G., Lynskey, K., Ohnstad, E., & Manders, E. (2020). A case of el duende: Art-based supervision in addiction treatment. Art Therapy, 1-9. https://doi.org/10.1080/07421656.2020.1771138