Materials for Therapeutic Art Making

Chalk pastels, photo by Daria Datipina 

Are you hoping to use art as a creative form of self-care to learn more about yourself, relieve stress, and express yourself and your feelings but are not sure what sort of materials would be best for you? As an artist and art therapist who has spent over 15 years facilitating art therapy for individuals, groups, and communities, I have some suggestions to help you get going.

Art materials have different characteristics, and they’ll impact you and your art-making process differently.

Understanding how is an important part of learning how to use art therapeutically. Some specific theories about art materials within art therapy practice can be helpful for understanding this. For example, we all have our own unique responses to different art materials and what they evoke for us– and art therapist Catherine Moon explains that our experiences are the result of “personal, historical, social, and cultural contexts.”

Art therapists Sandra Kagin and Vija Lusebrink conceptualized art materials as falling on a continuum from loose/fluid on one end to resistive on the other: categorizations that relate to how easy or difficult it is to manipulate the material. Consider what it feels like to smear finger paint across a piece of wax paper versus how it might feel to try to chisel a shape into a large piece of stone. This difference not only affects the art we make with a material, and our sensory experience as we  make it, but it can also impact how we’re feeling and thinking. Kagin & Lusebrink believed that more fluid materials might elicit affective/emotional experiences and make it easier to notice how we’re feeling, and that more resistive materials may keep us in more of a thinking/cognitive state. Some art therapists believe that fluid materials allow us to more easily access subconscious thoughts and feelings, or promote free association, and that resistive materials might help promote problem solving and more “rational” thinking. Although our individual experiences may differ from this, the idea of a materials continuum is a potentially helpful and interesting angle to consider as you approach therapeutic artmaking. 

Although understanding how materials make you feel and impact your artmaking experience is important, there are some other things to keep in mind when choosing materials for art therapy, or your own artmaking practice:

What are you drawn to and why? 

• You may focus on what’s familiar, what materials you already have around, or even the symbolic potential different materials have.

• Do you have go-tos that you know work well for you?

• Do you like the way it feels to use this material? For example, do you like the way you can easily blend a chalk pastel on some paper or mix watercolors to find exactly the color you want to use?

• Do you like the effect the materials have on your art? For example, if you want to create something that is highly detailed, it might feel good to work in more controllable materials such as pencil or pen versus trying to convey a high level of detail through sidewalk chalk, which might be frustrating.

Although “artist” (higher) quality materials can sometimes improve our experience and our art product, it’s totally ok to use and experiment with “student grade” materials, which are more affordable. I love and use materials in a whole range of “qualities” from rubber stamps and Post-It notes to my favorite (and more spendy) watercolor ink pencils. The goal here is to have a range of materials you feel comfortable using (and using up!) rather than expensive materials you’re worried about “wasting.” Ideally, you’ll want to choose materials you’re comfortable using and maybe add 1-2 new things to experiment with now and then.

Finally, don’t overlook stuff you already have on hand, including “non-art” materials. Check around your house - do you have any egg cartons, packing paper, wrapping paper, scrap mail, or old magazines? These are a great starting place! Or maybe you found a cool leaf or other natural elements on a walk? Have you ever tried painting with tea or coffee? Or drawing with makeup? Don’t feel limited to what you can get in stores - feel free to explore what you already have available.

This list is a good starting place for gathering materials for therapeutic artmaking, but in reality any materials and media can be fun to explore:

• Sketchbook and/or drawing pad and paper

• Scissors, X-Acto knife

• Glue stick and/or Yes! Paste and/or Mod Podge

• Pencils and pens

• Colored pencils, watercolor pencils

• Markers (I love brush markers and Sharpies)

• Water-soluble crayons (for example Caran D’Ache)

• Oil pastels and/or soft pastels

• Paint (watercolors and acrylic are good)

• Brushes (an inexpensive pack with varying sizes is a great place to start)

• Magazines and other collage materials (colored paper, receipts, junk mail, old photos)

• Found objects (natural elements like stones or leaves, stuff you find on the street, recycled food containers etc.)

• Fiber art materials (knitting, embroidery, weaving, sewing etc.)

• Clay, Model Magic, Sculpey, or Play-Doh

• Boxes (e.g. candy tins, recycled packing boxes)

• Old books to use for found poems and altered books 

Where to get stuff:

You can purchase materials from art supply stores (eg. Artist & Craftsman, Blick) and from craft stores (e.g. Michaels, JoAnn), office supply stores, and even grocery stores, drugstores, and dollar stores. 

I like to buy from independent stores like Artist & Craftsman Supply and Gather Here.

Creative reuse centers are a wonderful resource for getting affordable materials (including things you may not have thought to use) and for helping to reduce waste. I love Make and Mend (Secondhand Art and Craft Supplies) in Somerville, MA. They take online orders and have a great range of “gently used” art and craft materials. Swanson’s Fabrics is another good resource- it’s a fabric and fiber craft thrift store that also sells online, in addition to their store in Turners Falls, MA. And here’s a handy creative reuse center map resource!

Finally, ask your friends and family if they have any art or craft materials they are no longer using- I’m always amazed by how fruitful this can be and how much people love giving away their supplies to someone who will put them to good use! 

Don’t feel the need to go out and buy an exhaustive amount of supplies to get started. As you explore materials that are old and new to you, you’ll get a sense of what works for you and why. Check out this short segment I did for NBC10’s The Hub Today for some therapeutic art ideas. And if you’re interested in art therapy or therapeutic arts groups, reach out to me to discuss!