An engaging activity that strengthens our powers of observation.

Materials:

Paper and pencil, marker, or pastel.

Instructions: 

  • Each person chooses an object in the room that they’d like to draw.
  • Then then have 5 minutes to draw it. 
  • On a 2nd piece of paper, they have 3 minutes to draw the object by memory.
  • On a 3rd piece of paper, they have 1 minute to draw the object without looking at the paper and without lifting their pencil from the page.
  • On a 4th sheet of paper, they have 3 minutes to draw the object, this time using their non-dominant hand.
  • Finally, on a 5th sheet of paper, they have 5 minutes to draw the object again using their dominant hand.
  • Discuss the process with the group.

Possible debrief questions:

  • What did you notice in the different stages?
  • What did you notice when you had to draw without looking?
  • What did you notice when you were drawing with your non-dominant hand?
  • What did you notice between the first drawing and the last?
  • How did your experience differ between the first and last drawings?
  • What did you notice about your thoughts?
  • How did your attention shift?
  • How did your perception of the object shift?

Facilitation tip: You can do this activity in nature to help people connect with the natural world.

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