Coming down to our last group presentations in our class, this week’s directive was toward the population of adolescents and/or adults with addiction. Although this directive was geared to those who suffer from addiction, it can be versatile and used with other populations. Just one of the few directives that can be used with many populations that can have different motives for different groups of patients/clients!
The objective of these created masks was to have each person to represent how they see themselves on one side of the mask versus how the rest of the world sees this person. It can also have the objective of one’s dark history on one side versus their goals and hopes in recovery on the other side of the mask. In discussion after creating the masks, the adolescents and/or adults are to express their emotions felt while creating, how the mask represents them, and how difficult/simple creating this mask was for them. Post-directive discussions encourage populations to dig deeper than they think and reach into their cognitive and emotional sides. These discussions, especially with the addiction population, can create a reality for their hopes/dreams/goals/motivations that they never have thought about before. With the combination of art making and verbally expressing their past, their future, and their feelings, recovery is being accomplished, little by little, step by step.
Within my created masks, I created one side with vibrant, playful colors accompanied with the word “expression” to express how the world views me. On the other side, I added darker, more toned down colors and the phrase “changed history” to complete how I see things on the inside (more or less). I added the collage words and phrases and placed them over the eyes to emphasize the blindness that comes along with addictions. There are a lot of ‘unseens’ in the life of an addict and I want to express that in my mask.
We all have our masks and they are all dressed in different in colors and words. Participating in a directive like this creates a visual in how one can help themselves in how they view themselves and self-confidence. Masks like these can help in a lot of ways without even knowing. Give it a try!
Featured Image: [https://www.acquirent.com/inside-sales-vs-outside-sales/]
