The little Prince …

A wise little figure, small and friendly, and always ready to help others. It is a child that can refer to our inner child as an adult: the innocence, the wisdom and a form of love that is authentic and simple, direct and spontaneous. A nice inspiration. He comes from another planet and thus has the opportunity to look at things from a distance.

This exercise is an invitation to let emotions be, to embrace them, to give them a place.

Write, collage, paint exercise and a dialogue.

1. Work on a LEFT or RIGHT page of your journal, you’ll need the other page blank next to it.
2. Make one of the pages black or dark blue. Choose acrylic paint (to be spread with a bank card if necessary) if you have one, but ink, ecoline, watercolor work just as well.
3. Use a marker to draw a starry sky or cut out stars and stick them on. Imagine the infinity of possibilities.
4. Print the little prince on his planet. Color it, the wise color you want. By coloring him you make him your ally. Give the planet the color you think the planet should have: what does a (better) planet earth look like? It doesn’t have to be “scientifically” correct. It may also be more than one color. Maybe you draw extra elements on the Earth or she becomes a ball of gold: what does the planet need? Cut out the little prince and stick it on your dark sky-page.
5. On the next page you write a dialogue with the little prince: with one color you write to the little prince everything you feel and what keeps you busy. End your text with a question for the little prince.
6. Let the little prince answer your thoughts and feelings, let the answer bubble up from yourself. What would he answer? What wise message does he have to tell you? Follow your intuition. No answer is right or wrong. Don’t think too much. If his answer does not make you better, your ratio has answered. If the answer gives you satisfaction, it was your intuition.

“What makes the desert beautiful,” said the little prince, “is that somewhere it hides a well.”

What if … you don’t have any paint in your house? Then use a sheet of dark blue or black color paper and glue it on. Or just work with a white starry sky. Maybe that exists in some places in our imagination?

What if … you don’t have a printer? Then draw the little prince and his planet on a separate sheet, decorate, cut out and stick on your journal.

What if … you work with a child who cannot write? Then just have the drawing made. Play the little prince who listens and let the child tell his thoughts and feelings. As the little prince, give a wise answer to the child.

Exercise of Emily Hawkes

Important to know:

Working in a Creative Diary is NOT about results, it’s about expressing you inner self. It is NOT about techniques, techniques only help you to express yourself in more different ways. The exercises I give are an INVITATION, not an obligation. You can do the exercise, or not, you can do it differently, it’s at your choosing. The most important thing to remember is that you’re putting yourself and your (inner) world on paper, you are NOT making art. So feel inspired by images, but don’t compare yourself ! Fun and self-expression come first.

What do you need?

• markers
• coloured pencils
• writing materials
• scissors
• glue
• watercolour
• soft pastels
• oil pastels
• some magazines

And of course: a journal/diary. I recommend an 8,3 inches x 11,7 inches notebook (A4 format) with blank paper, but take whatever you find in your house. Blank papier is good too.

More information:

The exercises used in this Creative Diary are based on a method described by Lucia Capacchione, American art-therapist and author of the book The Creative Journal, by Anne-Marie Jobin, Canadian art-therapist and author of the soon to be coming book The New Creative Journal, and myself, Sarah Timmermans, Belgian art-therapist and psychologist (Dutch book: Het Creatieve Dagboek). The method blends knowledge from writing therapy, art-therapy, psychology and basic creativity. It’s a simple method that doesn’t requires any artistic skills and has been used with many ages, many individuals and many groups of people. More questions? Please write me.

Who am I?

I’m Sarah Timmermans, Belgian art-therapist, naturopath and psychologist. I’m trained by Jungian art-therapist/psychologist Csilla Kemenzcei. I work with individuals and with groups. I’m specialised in using diaries, tarot (archetypes) and dreams.