Tissue Paper Collage

Edith Wallace:
Jungian
Art as Psychotherapy
Look, Notice, See (to process artwork)
Tissue Paper Collage (lab card below)
“Play seriously and work playfully.” – edith wallace

Tissue Paper Collage: Edith Wallace
ETC: Cognitive, Symbolic, Affective
MDV: Fluid, Complex, Unstructured
Materials
30 colors of tissue paper, sheets of white tagboard, or other firm paper/cardboard product cut into 11”x14”pieces, liquid medium gloss varnish, and 1”paint brushes
Methods
1. Choose whatever colors of tissue paper you prefer.
2. Find a comfortable place to work.
3. Mix up your varnish and begin to tear and paste your tissue on the tagboard. *Do not use known forms. Do not scissors or other tools. Do not interpret your work as you create. Do work in silence. Do allow whatever arises to appear spontaneously. Do play like a child.
4. Once finished with one collage, label, number, and date the piece on the back. Also make an arrow to indicate the direction in which it was created.
5. Create up to twenty collages. It is not necessary to make twenty.
6. Let collage(s) dry.
7. Sit alone (processing images alone is necessary because we are highly impressionable beings) and listen to what your image is trying to tell you. Notice its color, form, pattern, etc. Dialogue with the image.
8. Reflect on what the image is telling you, with regard to relationship with self, family, and culture, from personal meaning to archetypal significance. Make notes. * If you are stuck, name each collage and attempt to proceed.
9. Show your collage(s) to your fellow group members. Group members are asked to listen, encourage, and question, without imposing their own interpretations of the collage’s meaning.
10. If a particular collage is ambiguous or confusing, represent it in movement or dance. The movement should reflect your perception of the lines in the collage.
11. Meditate on your image.
Rationale: Torn tissue paper collage is a non-threatening medium through which to explore the unconscious. Creating images in this spontaneous fashion encourages dialogue between the conscious and the unconscious. Once an image is manifested, many processing questions and considerations may follow. Once these questions are considered and the answers are articulated, then the message from the unconscious is made fully conscious, and the problematic behavior or thought can be modified.

Who Am I?

Who Am I?: adapted from The Creative Journal for Children by Cathy Malchiodi
Materials: paper of any size and variety of drawing utensils
Procedure: Ask client to draw a picture of him/herself. If client feels threatened by the task of creating a realistic self-portrait, rephrase the directive to use only line, shape, and color. Once the drawing is completed, ask the client to write a short poem entitled "I am..." Encourage client to use descriptive words to explain who he/she is.
Rationale: This intervention helps the client solidify his/her perception of self. The therapist is able to increase an understanding of the client's perception of self and identify faulty cognitions. Often times, the client's perception of self is a reflection of his or her environment and supports.
Adaptations: If client is unable or unwilling to write the reflective poem, the client can list descriptors. This intervention may precede other interventions such as: How I see myself, How others see me or Affirmation dolls.