Our theme for this month is EMPOWERMENT.

After this recent period of turbulence and uncertainty, this month we will be looking at the positives, recognising that although there are many things out of our control, we do have power over our bit of the world. Affirmations can have a positive effect on us by challenging negative or unhelpful thoughts, and to encourage positive changes in our life.

In this task, we will be playing with shape, colour and space to create a positive affirmation to be displayed somewhere prominent, or maybe as a gift to a friend or neighbour who might appreciate some words of encouragement.

“If you don’t like something, change it. If you can’t change it, change your attitude.” Maya Angelou

Materials needed:

• Strong paper, we used A4
• Pen, pencil, rubber
• Acrylic paint

Optional:

• Your preferred choice of materials – felts, colouring pencils etc

What to do

1. Brainstorm ideas of what message you might like to illustrate. Try thinking about something you believe about yourself, but sometimes second guess or doubt. 
2. Narrow down your options by choosing a word or two that encapsulates what you’d like to have more of in your life
3. Look online or in magazines for fonts and styles that you might like to draw inspiration from. 
4. Think about the mood you want to portray, which could inform your choice of colour. Yellows can suggest vibrancy and optimism, blues give off an air of peace; maybe your favourite colour would be a good choice.
5. With pencil, draw out your chosen word.
6. When you are happy with how it looks, then you can commit to moving onto the next stage – colour!
7. Start with filling the centre of the text with one colour, then add the next layer of colour around that text, and again, so that the more extra layers you add, the more the word turns more into a form in and of itself, rather than just a word.
8. Once finished, place your affirmation somewhere you can see it frequently, to remind yourself you’ve got this! 

Top Tip:

Check out British Afro-Caribbean London-based artist and professor Sonia Boyce’s So Amazing work. This was our inspiration for this activity. 

Share your work on social media

Share your work on social media #WelcomeCreate #LearnWithPitzhanger @Pitzhanger or email pitzhanger@pitzhanger.org.uk to add it to our Welcome Create Gallery.

Art challenge created by Sarah Olive Edwards and Tincy Patel.