ART Relief: Hand Over Hand

Creative Exercises for Wellbeing

“Hand Over Hand” is a simple, fun activity for family, friends, and couples. In this project, you will dive into the significance of our hands in relationships, and create abstract coloring pages together using tracings.

Project Time: 1 - 1.5 Hours

AUDIO START:
Listen to these audios in order as they are presented to prepare and begin.

Examples of “Give a Hand”

 

Best Part!

This sweet, creative project makes a memorable date night or gathering of friends.

Sometimes people choose a particular color palette for everyone in the group to use, so that each unique piece is harmonious with the rest and hangs well together.

Photographing, hanging, or sharing the final results makes a special reminder of your time together.

Above and below are artworks from our friends Harmony & Fritz on a date night :)

Hear about new Art Relief tools:

Thanks, Everyone!

Thanks to Donna & Robert and Harmony & Fritz for being our test subjects for this month’s exercise :)

Thank you to Shannon Sengstack-Smith, Founder & Visionary or SoulShine Schools for providing us studio space.

Supplies Needed:

Here’s a little audio overview to listen to around the supplies you might want to use and how to set up your space! Easy-peasy!

  • People’s hands:

    • At least 4 hand placements are needed

    • With 3 people use all hands

    • With 4 or more people, use one hand per person

  • Base (Minimum size 9x12):
    Large heavy weight paper / mixed media paper / watercolor paper

  • Color (choose any):
    Paint / pastels / colored pencils / or crayons

  • Utensils (choose any):
    Paintbrushes / Pen / pencil / ink / markers / charcoal / sharpies / paint pens

Written Instructions
(These are covered in the recordings above)

1) Project overview:

+ Meant for 2 people or more
+ With 3 people use all hands
+ With 4 or more people, use one hand from each person

Discuss the power, use, meaning, and symbolism of hands in your relationship:

+ Acts of service: cooking, cleaning, washing, making, decorating, building, etc.
+ Affection: touching, caressing, massaging, holding, hugging
+ Imagine how your hands overlay each other over time on door handles, windows, bed covers, etc.

2) Prep Meditation

Sit in reachable distance of one another

Close eyes and take 3 deep relaxing breaths

Think of the other people with you and all the ways you appreciate them

Imagine the energy between you

See if there is a color that reminds you of that person

Now with closed eyes, reach out and find each others hands

Explore them with your eyes closed - - giggling is certainly allowed

Look for something about the hands you are touching that is novel, become curious, feel the nail beds, the palm, the length of the fingers, the texture of the skin, the roughness or softness, the strength, and the fragility

Think of something you are truly grateful for about these hands: Complete this statement, when I think of your hands it makes me feel ______ because they are ______.

Now bring your attention back to yourself, feel gratitude within yourself, and open your eyes.

Share with each other the things that came up and how their hands make you feel.

Begin the Activity

Each person gets their own paper or canvas in front of them. Using ballpoint pens, sharpies, colored pencils, charcoal or pencils, take turns tracing each others hands one at a time on each others papers, If there are pairs of people, each pair will work together. If there is a group of people, you may decide to add one hand per person to the sheets. Let the person who’s page it is direct where and how they want the hands to go on their design. We recommend placing the hands onto the page from differing angles (top, bottom, sides).

Once tracing is complete, everyone can decide to use whatever colors they choose, or they may decide to restrict the palette to a few colors so that all of the pieces have a harmonious feel and can be hung up together when completed.

TIPS on color cohesion:
Consider adding white to lighten some of colors on your palette to create cohesion. Or mix 2 colors on your palette for an additional choice (i.e. if you are using red and blue, use those two colors together to create a purple.

You may decide to paint, color, ink, doodle, shade, write, stamp, or outline the images as you please.

Color each outlined part of the painting or you may choose to leave some white. Change it up so that blocks of the same color, texture, or style are not touching each other, so that you have variations woven through.

Use your pen or charcoal or pencils to double outline everything or use your pens to add notes, prose, and wishes.

Remember to completely let go of caring about making it pretty, doing it the right way, achieving perfection, comparing your work, or telling anyone else how to complete their piece. This is simply for fun, and you may decide to throw then away when your done. The goal here is to play together and be lost in the moment, sharing in a joyful activity.

Please avoid making comments on people’s works while they are working on them - - even compliments are to be tucked away, so that the creativity flows freely.

When everyone is finished, go around and say how everyone’s painting makes you feel — like happy, sad, mad, or glad - not like “I feel like you need more pink.” :)

Hope you enjoyed this experience!

Montine Blank