Objective: A project about emotional repair - putting pieces back together.
Materials: Heavy paper or light cardboard, drawing materials- markers, colored pencils or water colors, scissors and glue.
First, draw a puzzle pieces on one side of the paper/cardboard (or the puzzle pieces could be drawn in advance by the facilitator).
Then, create a drawing, design, or collage on the other side of the paper, knowing that it will be cut up.
Once the artwork is completed turn the project over and cut out the puzzle pieces. (The puzzle pieces could also be numbered to avoid confusion when putting back together especially if a design is created and not an actual picture of something recognizable.)
Lastly, either the creator of the artwork can put the pieces together or the creator can exchange puzzles with another group member. They can put each others artwork/puzzle back together. The pieces can remain apart or they can be glued to a second sheet of paper to become whole again.
This project can be adapted to a variety of populations and age groups.
The first attached image shows a simple puzzle drawing. The second image shows a puzzle that I drew during a session with a child. The child wanted to do something on her own yet collaborative. The child created a puzzle drawing as well. Once the drawing was completed, we cut our own pieces, and then exchanged the puzzles. The child requested that we glue the pieces back together on a separate piece of paper.