Take a moment to listen to your heart. If it could speak, what story would it tell?

This is a sample of one of our 600+ workshops in the format it is presented to our trained facilitators. Though this version is written for creating with children, all ages can benefit and are welcome to participate. Join us at a training to gain access to our entire library of workshops.

  LEARN MORE ABOUT OUR TRAINING  

  DOWNLOAD PDF  

Objective
This workshop gives children and teens an opportunity to listen to their hearts, value the stories within them, and recognize that others want to hear their stories, by creating a Heart Stories art piece.

Age Range
6 and up

Materials
• Oil pastels (Cray-Pas preferred)
• Thick white paper or watercolor paper
• Brushes
• Watercolors
• Cups with water
• Paper towels

Optional Materials
• Paper for placemats
• Music

Timeframe
Intro: 5 minutes
Warm Up: 10 minutes
Creation: 35 minutes
Closing: 5 minutes
Total: 1 hour

Introduction
“Today, you will have a chance to notice what’s in your heart and what your heart would say if it could talk. You will have the opportunity to create Heart Stories paintings to express the different feelings you have in your heart. You will have the chance to think about what color your heart would be inside and outside. Remember, it is perfectly okay if it doesn’t look like anyone else’s, we are all unique and we all feel are feelings different.”

“Before we begin, I want you to know that this workshop is a window of time for you. This means that this is a safe space to notice your thoughts, feelings, and needs. Since this space is your window of time, everything you say or do is voluntary. I’ll offer a suggested workshop idea, share about the materials we have available, and invite you to create, but there’s no right or wrong way to do this. It doesn’t matter what it looks like. What matters is taking this time to truly honor your thoughts and feelings, however they come out. If you can’t think of anything or draw a blank on what to create or write, feel free to just observe. However you choose to spend this time will be perfectly okay. This is your time. Please ask for what you need, and know that I’m here in support of you.”

“My heart feels glad because I am thankful. There is no wrong way to do art.”

Warm Up 
For the warm-up you have the option to utilize any of the following suggested exercises, or incorporate your own exercise. Feel free to alter or adapt any element of this workshop to cater to your group’s needs. You may wish to consider your age group and other relevant factors to determine which exercise, if any, you wish to include in your workshop.

Option 1: Heart Talk Warm-up:
This is a discussion-style warm-up that children can do in pairs. You can invite the children to select 1-3 questions from the list below or create your own, and give them the opportunity to discuss with a partner.

Option 2: Confetti Heart Questions:
You can print several copies of the questions you have selected for your group on colored paper and cut out each question separately. You can then scatter the questions in the center of the table, and encourage the children to pick a question at random or to pick one that they like, and share their thoughts with the group.

Possible Heart Talk Questions:

• What is something that made your heart happy this week?
• If your heart was a color today, what color would it be and why?
  

  “Tomorrow we’re leaving, so my heart is sad and crying. It is drying its eyes with a towel.”

• What makes your heart laugh?
• If your heart could do something fun, what would it do?
• If your heart could do something it’s never done before, what would it do?
• What’s something your heart is proud of about you or your family?
• What makes your heart feel safe?
• What makes your heart feel scared?
• What makes your heart strong?
• What makes your heart beat faster?
• What makes your heart happy?
• How do you look when your heart is sad?
• How do you look when your heart is happy?

Option 3: Embodied Warm-up — Happy Hearts/Sad Hearts:
This embodied warm-up can work well with younger children. This can also be a stand alone workshop, meaning you can choose to only embody the heart stories and omit the visual art portion.

“During this exercise, I’m going to ask you some questions, if you feel comfortable following along, that’s great. If you feel more comfortable just listening and watching, that’s great too.”

“Today you have an opportunity to listen to your heart and notice what helps your heart feel safe and happy. Does anyone know where your heart is? Can you show me (You can guide everyone to put their hands on their hearts)?”

“Good. What does your heart do (Ex: Pump your blood around your body, bring oxygen to your whole self, tell you how you’re feeling, beat fast when you’re excited or nervous, etc.)?”

“Can you feel it beating? Your heart is right in the center of you. Sometimes you can feel feelings in your heart. Has anyone ever felt happiness in their heart? Or sadness, like your heart is breaking? Sometimes when our hearts are feeling different ways, our whole body knows it.”

“When you have a sad heart what does your body do (Ex: Does it curl up? Look down? Cry? Does your body react at all?)? If at any point you don’t feel comfortable, feel free to stop and observe. It’s perfectly okay. If you wish to continue, try to become a sad heart with your whole body, and notice how it feels in your whole body when you are sad. It’s okay to be sad sometimes and let it out with our whole bodies. Remember that sadness can look and feel different for each person. However sadness looks for you is perfectly okay. Now, I’d like to invite you to take a deep breath in and breathe all the sadness out. Good!”

“Now I’d like to invite you to think about when you have happy hearts. What does your body do then (Ex: Does it smile? Jump up and down? Dance?)? Now try to become a happy heart with your whole body. Wonderful! Take a deep breath in and feel your heart filling up with happiness. Hearts need a lot of love. And they need to be taken care of and listened to. Today you have a chance to listen to your hearts and take care of it.”

Creation
For the creation process, you may wish to participate along with the children. By modeling your enthusiasm and willingness to participate, you can help build trust, bonding, and make it safer for the children to play and share vulnerable experiences. Again, this is entirely up to you.

Step One: Draw Your Heart
“For those of you who wish to participate, I’d like to invite you to begin by using oil pastels to draw your heart. Your heart doesn’t have to look like other hearts you see. It can look like anything you want. You are free to use any shape or color. You can use as many colors as you like. You can color the inside or just draw an outline. Remember, this is your time to create and there is no right or wrong way to do it.”

Step Two: Add Color
“Now, you are welcome to add paint on top of the oil pastels. Again, you are free to choose any and as many colors as you like. The more water you use to blend with your preferred color, the more the Cray-Pas show through. The less water, the ‘thicker’ the paint will be and the less the Cray-Pas will show.”

Step Three: Add Words
“Now, you can notice if there are any words, or even symbols that go with your heart. You have the choice to write down the story that your heart wants to share, just words, draw symbols, or you may leave it as is. Remember, it doesn’t matter what it looks like. What matters is that you recognize your amazing heart, the feelings and stories you hold inside it, and know that you have the opportunity to express it however way you like.”

Closing
For the closing, you may give the children an opportunity to share their amazing Heart Stories and anything they learned, felt or experienced in the process of creating, or anything else they wish to share. Of course, this is purely optional and if no one feels comfortable sharing, it’s perfectly okay.

If you notice the group seems sad by the end, you may leave things on a positive note by inviting the children to share something positive. For example, they may wish to share a way they want to take good care of their heart. Or, they could say something they like about the person on their left, in order to put a nice feeling into everyone’s heart. This is entirely up to you and you are free to close out the workshop however way you see fit.

There are so many different feelings that we can hold throughout our bodies, especially when we are confronted with stress. We invite you to take some time to identify what you are feeling and express those emotions through this workshop. You can then use your creations as a way to talk and connect with each other. 

This is a sample of one of our 600+ workshops in the format it is presented to our trained facilitators. Though this version is written for creating with children, all ages can benefit and are welcome to participate. Join us at a training to gain access to our entire library of workshops.

  LEARN MORE ABOUT OUR TRAINING  

  DOWNLOAD PDF  

Objective
This workshop gives children an opportunity to notice the various emotions they are feeling and where they feel these emotions in their body, through writing and coloring those emotions on a person outline made up of puzzle pieces.

This can be an opportunity to help normalize the myriad of emotions youth and children are feeling and give them a way to begin to process them.

Puzzle pieces person

Age Range
5 and up

Suggested Materials
• Colored markers
• Colored pencils
• Permanent markers (for writing words)
• Puzzle Pieces Person Template (1 or 2 for each participant)
• Sample Feeling Words Handout

Suggested Timeframe
Introduction: 10 minutes
Warm Up: 10 minutes
Creation: 30 minutes
Closing: 10 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour

Example by teen age boy

Set Up
Before you begin, you might consider laying out blank paper, colored markers, pens, and pencils around the table(s). You may have the templates laid out or you can to hand them out at your own discretion. The choice is yours. You can also have some handouts with the sample feeling words if you’d like.

Depending on the age group and your time constraints, you also have the option to invite children to create two feeling puzzles in one workshop; one to represent their feelings in the present moment and one to represent what they want their feelings to be in the future. This leaves them with an empowered feeling of “putting themselves back together” with the feelings they want to have. Again, this is entirely up to you, but doing only one puzzle piece person will work just as well.

Introduction
“Today, you will have an opportunity to think about the different kinds of feelings and emotions you have and create a special puzzle person that represents all those emotions. Each of us has feelings and emotions. Sometimes emotions makes us feel good or bad, but there are actually no wrong feelings. Sometimes we may feel lots of different things at once; we can feel confused or overwhelmed by not knowing how we really feel. And often times we feel those feelings in certain parts of our body. This is part of being human, and there are ways to learn how to understand our feelings and even get through ones that are difficult and unpleasant.”

“Before we begin, I want you to know that this workshop is a window of time for you. This means that this is a safe space to notice your thoughts, feelings, and needs. Since this space is your window of time, everything you say or do is voluntary. I’ll offer a suggested workshop idea, share about the materials we have available, and invite you to create, but there’s no wrong way to do this. It doesn’t matter what it looks like. What matters is taking this time to truly honor your thoughts and feelings, however they come out. If you can’t think of anything or draw a blank on what to create or write, feel free to just observe. However you choose to spend this time will be perfectly okay. This is your time. Please ask for what you need, and know that I’m here in support of you.”

Close-up of feelings in the present

Demonstration
For demonstration, you may show a sample of a completed puzzle person. This, of course, is only a suggestion. You have complete freedom to proceed as you see fit. If you choose to show a sample, we recommend keeping samples as simple as possible so children don’t feel overwhelmed.

Warm Up
We recommend a warm-up exercise to help create a safe atmosphere for children to explore their emotions. You may use our suggested exercise, or your own. You have complete freedom to adapt and alter any part of this workshop to best suit your group’s needs.

For this exercise, you can invite the children to dance around the room and make a face that they make when they feel a certain emotion. If you wish, you can prompt them with questions like: “What face do you make when you feel happy? Now shake it out.” “What face do you make when you feel sad? Now shake it out.” “What face do you make when you feel angry, tired, excited? Repeat and shake it out.”

Once they’ve had an opportunity to explore their feelings in a fun way, you may invite them to find their seats or a comfortable position and join in a relaxation exercise. You may wish to remind them that every part of this workshop is optional and if they wish to not participate, it’s perfectly okay. Observing is participating.

“For those of you who wish to participate in a relaxation exercise, I’d like to invite you to take a moment and breathe. You can close your eyes, if that feels good to you, or keep your eyes open and focus them on an object in the room. Try to notice your breath as it enters and leaves your body.”

We recommend giving them the opportunity to breathe in and out slowly 3-4 times.

“Now try to see if you feel any feelings in your body. How do you feel right now? Where do you feel that feeling? For example, if you are nervous, does your stomach feel funny or is your heart racing? If you are happy, do you feel it in your face or a tingling in your stomach? Feel free to take a moment and try to notice where your feelings are. As you notice how you feel, try to ask yourself, would that feeling have a certain color? Do different feelings or groups of feelings have different colors or shades? What would that color be? If you can’t identify where in your body you’re feeling, or can’t think of a color that represents that feeling, it’s perfectly okay. Remember, there is no wrong answer and no wrong way to participate.”

Close-up of feelings wanted in the future

Creation
For the creation, you can invite the children to begin by taking a moment to reflect on what feelings and colors came up for them during the warm-up.

Of course, we cannot place a feeling on every part of the puzzle piece. The idea here is that children can explore all the feelings they experience and even if arbitrarily, place it on the puzzle person.

For those who wish to participate, you can then invite them to write a word that describes a feeling that they have right now or even a feeling that they have had sometime today inside each puzzle piece. While words are ideal, they have the option to use a symbol or anything they feel best represents their feelings. You may want to encourage them to notice where in their body they might feel different feelings; they can then write that feeling in the place where they feel it.

After the puzzle pieces are filled with the words of their emotions, you may invite them to color in each puzzle piece with a color that portrays each feeling.

Closing
At the end, you can give the children a chance to share their creation if they wish. For children who chose to create a second feeling puzzle, you may ask if they want to share how it felt to notice the feelings they wish to feel in the future. This can be an empowering process. If they don’t want to share, that is okay.

You may wish to remind them to respect each other’s art and feelings while they share. You may also wish to point out to them how many different feelings and colors there are on everyone’s creation. Even though each creation is different and unique, they all share similar feelings. At the end, you can congratulate them for such wonderful work and for the courage to share their feelings.

It’s more important now than ever to take care of ourselves. What are some of your needs? Use this workshop to explore your needs, and your flower as a reminder to nurture them. 

This is a sample of one of our 600+ workshops in the format it is presented to our trained facilitators. Though this version is written for creating with adults, all ages can benefit and are welcome to participate. Join us at a training to gain access to our entire library of workshops.

  LEARN MORE ABOUT OUR TRAINING  

  DOWNLOAD PDF  

Objective
This workshop aims to help participants focus on and honor their physical, emotional and spiritual needs, through the creation of a flower with each petal representing one of those needs.

Materials
• Colored journaling paper
• Pens
• Oil pastels (Cray-Pas preferred)
• Colored construction paper (or cardstock)
• Sharpies
• Glue sticks

Optional Materials
• Blank envelopes
• Timer
• Soft, relaxing music (to play in background during warm-up)

Timeframe
Introduction: 5 minutes
Demonstration: 10 minutes
Opening: 5 minutes
Warm Up: 20 minutes
Creation: 35 minutes
Closing : 10 minutes
Total: 1 hour, 25 minutes

Set-up
You can lay out all the supplies where they are easily accessible.

You may wish to prepare a sample in advance so that your demonstration can go quickly and leave plenty of time for creating. If you wish to do so, we suggest creating a simple sample so that participants aren’t overwhelmed by any “artistic” challenges.

As a facilitator, you have complete freedom to alter or adapt any portion or element of this workshop to cater to your specific group’s needs.

Introduction
“Many of us are willing to give ourselves to our families, our friends, our coworkers, etc. We’re often willing to sacrifice so much for others, that we forget to acknowledge and honor our own needs. Sometimes we don’t even take time to breathe. It can be such a blind spot for us and we are often not even aware of it.”

“This workshop is called Personal Needs Flower. Today, you will have an opportunity to take a window of time to notice and honor your physical, emotional, and spiritual needs; what you want more of in your life, or what might be out of balance and needs your attention. Tending to your needs is a vital part of self-care and one of the most important jobs you have. It is not only important, it is necessary for each of you to respect and honor your needs so you can recharge your batteries and be there in greater ways for yourself and others. You will then get a chance to create a flower, where each petal represents one of those needs.”

“Before we begin, I want you to know that this workshop is a window of time for you. This means that this can be a safe space to notice your thoughts, feelings, and needs. Since this space is your window of time, everything you say or do is voluntary. I’ll offer a suggested workshop idea, share about the materials we have available, and invite you to create, but there’s no right or wrong way to do this. It doesn’t matter what it looks like. What matters is taking this time to truly honor your thoughts and feelings, however they come out. If you can’t think of anything or draw a blank on what to create or write, feel free to just observe. However you choose to spend this time will be perfectly okay. This is your time. Please ask for what you need, and know that I’m here in support of you.”

Demonstration
If you’ve made a sample, you may wish to pass it around at this time.

“First, I’ll invite you to start with a journaling exercise to help you notice your needs. I’ll demonstrate the materials and creation process now, so that at the end of the journaling process, if you choose to, you can dive right into creating.”

Step One: Tearing the center circle

“As I demonstrate the steps, remember that more than anything else, this is your special time to listen to and trust your own needs. There is no right or wrong to what you create. Just listen to the voice inside of you as you go. Whatever emerges in your creative process is fine. You are the expert of your own experience.”

“I am going to be demonstrating a flower, but your creation can be anything you like. It does not even have to look like a flower. For example, you could create a deck of cards, where each card represents a specific need.”

Step 1:  Creating the Center
“The first step is creating the center of your flower.”

“With the colored paper, you can tear a circle as small or as large as you like. You can create this center to represent you. You might want to draw a face that represents the peaceful, nurturing, supportive part of yourself that is here to help you. Whatever you choose, is up to you. I’d like to encourage you to feel free to ‘tear’ the paper. This is an opportunity to let go and enjoy the freedom that tearing allows. Allowing ourselves to be curious and playful can help us discover needs we might not even be aware of.”

Adding a face to represent the peaceful, nurturing, supportive part of you.

Step 2:  Creating the Petals
“The next step is creating the petals, each one representing one of your needs.”

“To make each petal, you can choose any color paper and tear it into whatever shape or size you want. You may want to vary the size of the petals to illustrate the importance of each need. For example, one of your greatest needs might be ‘peace,’ so you can choose to tear a large piece to represent that, and a smaller need of yours might be ‘entertainment’ so you can use a smaller petal for that. These are only suggestions. You are free to design it however way it has meaning to you.”

“Then, if you like, you can draw symbols or use words to represent each need. Feel free to use your imagination to create colorful representations of all that you discover. You can place each petal, adding layer upon layer to the flower-like shape.

3.  Completing your Flower
“The final step is deciding how you want to finish your flower. Using a glue stick you can attach your petals together or glue them onto a larger piece of construction paper or collect them into a pile that can travel with you. If you are going to keep your petals loose, you might want to decorate an envelope to keep them in.

Step Two: Drawing/writing on petals.

“The final step is deciding how you want to finish your flower. Using a glue stick, you can attach your petals together or glue them onto a larger piece of construction paper, or collect them into a pile that can travel with you. If you are going to keep your petals loose, you might want to decorate an envelope to keep them in (if envelop is provided).”

“You can finish your flower whichever way will best support you in being reminded of the needs you noticed today, but also in the ongoing process of discovering more of your needs. You could even make some extra petals without anything on them yet so you can add more needs as you discover them.”

Opening
“If you feel comfortable doing so, I invite you to think about your wants and needs in order to feel safe, happy, and healthy. If any of you like, I’d like to encourage you to share one word about a need that is coming to mind. Is there some need that’s asking for attention right now? First thoughts are fine.”

You can thank and validate each participant for honoring their needs whether they chose to share or not.

Warm Up
“You are welcome to follow along with this warm-up exercise, or if you prefer, you can just observe. Observing is participating.”

“For those of you who wish to participate, first, I invite you to pick a color paper that speaks to you or makes you feel strong and hopeful.”

“If you choose to, you can journal about three different types of needs that we all have: the needs of our body, our mind, and our spirit. You can fold that paper into thirds lengthwise (show example; see images for reference). On the top of the first column, I invite you to write the word ‘Physical,’ on the second, ‘Emotional,’ and on the third, ‘Spiritual’.”

Journal page, showing flower construction

“I’m going to talk a little bit about each of these three needs then give you a few minutes (you can time this, if you like) after each one to reflect on, and write about this need for yourself. There is no right or wrong way to do this journaling exercise. You can write sentences, words, lists, draw symbols, shapes, or anything else you like. I’d like to encourage you to just allow your thoughts to flow onto your paper without judgment. This is your space and your time.”

“What you write does not have to make sense to anyone but you. It is also fine to just sit quietly and notice what comes up. Remember this is your window of time to connect with yourself and what’s meaningful for you.”

(You can play soft, background music if you choose to provide it at this time).

“Physical needs are what we usually think about first. What are your physical needs in order to feel safe, happy, and healthy?”

“For example, we need to be free from harm. We need shelter and a safe place to live. We need good nutrition: healthy food and clean water. We need exercise. Keeping our bodies healthy and strong. We need rest, giving us energy to do what we need to do, like succeeding at work or going to school.”

“In the first column, I invite you now to write words, sentences, symbols or shapes to represent your physical needs.”

(You can give participants are much time as you see fit to write; about 2-5 minutes usually suffices).

“Another need that may be a little harder to think about is our emotional needs. What are your emotional needs in order to feel safe, happy, and healthy?”

“For example, feeling understood, accepted, and heard. Knowing that we are loved and appreciated also gives us the feeling of having emotional support. Relaxation, fun, and friendship help us to find emotional balance. Having boundaries, realistic expectations, and a positive attitude are other ways of supporting our emotional health.”

“Now in the second column, I invite you to begin journaling about your emotional needs.”

(Pause to allow them to write).

Keep your petals in a pile to carry with you

“Finally, we will address our spiritual needs. What does your spirit need to give you peace?”

“For example, the ability to forgive, have patience or acceptance of others? Do you need quiet time to reflect, meditate, or pray? Do you need to do good deeds or help others feel uplifted? Do you need ‘me’ time to care for your soul?”

“In the third column, I invite you to journal about your spiritual needs.”

(Pause to allow them to write).

“Thank you for taking the time to reflect on and honor your own personal needs. Remember that you are worth it and representing your needs shows that they are, too.”

Creation
“Now I invite you to begin creating.”

As the participants create their flowers, you can remind them that there is no right or wrong way. The only important thing to keep noticing and honoring their own needs. You can encourage them to keep asking the question, “What are my needs?”

Or glue your flower together

You can also encourage each participant to decide how they want to finish their flower. Do they want to glue it together? Do they want to create any extra petals to carry with them to add more needs as they are discovered? Or do they wish to keep the petals separate and keep them in an envelope (if provided).

Closing
For the closing, you can give participants who feel comfortable doing so an opportunity to share about their Personal Needs Flower, and any discoveries they made as they took time to notice their needs. Of course, this is optional, and if no one feels comfortable sharing, that’s perfectly okay.

You can remind participants: “This process does not end today. You can reflect back on it anytime, however it best serves you. Noticing what you need to feel safe, happy and healthy in your life is one of the most important jobs you will ever have, and one job that no one else can do for you.”

You can encourage participants to continue the journaling exercise at home and to keep identifying more of their physical, emotional and spiritual needs.

Notes
Note About Conflicting Needs:
Sometimes a person might notice that their different needs seem to be in conflict with each other. For example, the need to have more quiet alone time and the need to spend more playful, fun time with her children. This is okay.

The purpose of this workshop is to reveal the many needs that can be seen as part of our entire makeup. It is okay not to be problem-solving at this time, but rather supporting participants as they reveal and learn to accept themselves at this creative stage, seeing not only the needs that can be fulfilled, but also those that seem far from resolution.

By putting all the needs around a single circle, we allow our conscious mind to see how they all can coexist and intersect, and how we can begin to find safer and more creative ways to embrace and move through any conflicts.

Our community art initiative I CAN WE CAN was launched in 2012 as a way to come together for a violence-free future, but can also be used as a way to express commitments to other positive change. For example, you can make an I CAN pledge about how you will stay connected with others while practicing social distancing. We invite you to make an I CAN commitment to whatever you feel is most needed for you at this time.

This project is about noticing what YOU can do to end interpersonal violence in all its forms (physical, emotional, psychological and spiritual). Your I CAN expression is a personal commitment, or pledge to yourself, of taking a step in creating your vision of what WE can accomplish if we all say “I CAN end violence.”

This project is dedicated to you. Your process is yours, and how you connect with yourself and explore your I CAN vision is up to you. Use this as “a window of time” to practice respecting your thoughts, feelings, needs and vision. The creation process offered here is not meant as a strict guideline, but as one possibility for finding your voice, embracing your I CAN and sharing it.

Whether the I CAN that comes to you seems “too small” to be important or seems “too big” to be possible, please try to trust that your ideas are just right. When you truly honor your heart, you can create a change that ripples out from you to those around you and to the community at large as part of a global change. Your I CAN, no matter how small or how big, is part of changing the world. Thank you for joining us in saying I CAN WE CAN end violence.

I Can Bring Light

Materials
Gather whatever materials you might like to use to create. Face paint, makeup and washable markers can work well directly on your hand. Some people have also traced their hands on paper and written in the outline. Your choice of materials can be as creative as you like. If you’d like, have a camera, smart phone or other device easily accessible to take a picture of your I CAN.

Time
We suggest setting aside a half-hour to a full hour, if possible, of uninterrupted time.

Support
Experiencing this with a friend can be quite powerful. We welcome you to reach out and find an I CAN buddy with whom to do the project. Sharing each step of the process provides a sounding board of support.

Creation Steps

1.  Listening for I CAN
Would you like to be part of creating a world free of domestic violence and sexual assault? Listen for any I CANs that come to mind. You might notice them in your mind’s eye. You might notice them writing on paper, free flowing, trusting whatever comes out. All thoughts are welcome, even if they seem too small to matter or too big to be possible.

2.  Creating I CAN
Now create your I CAN. Your hand is your canvas. Write on it with markers, lipstick, face paint or anything else you choose. Your I CAN could also be glued on or something you create and hold in the palm of your hand. You can also trace your hand on paper and create your I CAN in the outline.

3.  Documenting I CAN
You can take a photo of your I CAN hand as your pledge to be part of ending abuse. Your I CAN hand could be against any background that you choose: colored paper, your face, blades of grass or whatever most powerfully expresses your commitment.

4.  Joining WE CAN
There is an online gallery where you can post your I CAN hand and join the ripple of hands across the country that are rising up. Feel free to also share it via social media to welcome an ever-widening circle saying I CAN WE CAN end the violence.

Thank you for joining this movement of people coming together to collectively embrace I CAN!

Creation Tips
We suggest preparing all materials before you start working on your hand as it will be more difficult to work using only the other hand.

Some types of face paint may be difficult to get off (especially red).

Sharpies and other permanent markers may stain your hand for several days unless you use alcohol to remove them.

If you’d like, think about the background you will use when photographing your hand while you’re creating.