Self portrait projects

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A self portrait is just a picture of you, made by you! Use these projects to think about how you see yourself, how others see you, and how you and others want to be seen.

Inside out portrait

Draw an outline of your head (or your best head- shape!). Draw a line down the middle. One side represents the inside of your mind and the other is the outside. Draw or write what fills each side. You could also collage parts of your piece using magazines. Think about how what each person keeps inside and outside might be different.

Monochromatic Self-Portrait

Monochromatic means using only one color.

Supplies:

  • Watercolor or thick art paper

  • Watercolor or acrylic paints

  • Paint brush

  • Paper towel or napkin

Think/talk about before you create:

  • If you close your eyes, what color comes to mind?

  • What lines, shapes, or colors represent your imagination?

  • What would it be like to be inside your artwork? What would it feel like?

  • If your imagination was a place, what would you see?

Directions:

  1. Using the Mood Meter, pick a color that shows how you’re feeling right now.

  2. Using just that color (or variations of it), create an self portrait with an abstract background

Think/talk about after you create:

  • Does your mood feel different or the same from when you started painting?

  • If you made another self-portrait now would you use the same color or a different one to represent your mood?

  • Does your self-portrait make you think about your identity or how you see yourself?

Puzzle person

Draw an outline of the shape of a person (like a wide gingerbread cookie). Fill the body with connected puzzle piece shapes, they can be big or small. Think about all the different feelings you feel. Try to name as many as you can- you can even write a list. Then, think about where in your body each of those emotions emerges. For example, when you’re nervous, do you feel it in your stomach or your heart? When you’re happy, do you feel it in your jumpy legs? Now try to think about if each of these feelings has a color. Fill in each puzzle piece with a color, words, or even just a pattern or scribble that represents a feeling that shows up in that part of your body sometimes.

*This is a great place to use your Mood Meter!

Dual Self- Portrait

Supplies:

  • Pieces of cardboard scraps (Gather various sizes and shapes of cardboard (from food

  • Boxes, cardboard boxes, paper towel rolls, shoe boxes, etc) - you can also use

  • Construction paper.

  • Coloring supplies

  • Scissors

  • Glue

  • You can also use yarn, found objects, nature elements, anything you want!

Directions:

Cut out a cardboard piece in the shape of your head. One half of the face represents you internal world and the other side represents your external world. Use the different materials to create eyes, mouths and write worlds or draw pictures/color.

Think/talk about:

  • What did it feel like to create this piece?

  • How does the outside compare to the inside? Look at the emotion words and pick a word (or more than one!) that feels accurate for each side.

  • My inside is represented by ______________________________

  • My outside is represented by _____________________________

  • Do you have people in your life that you can express both sides to? Why is that important?