7 Day Art Therapy Challenge - Day 1: Emotion Color Wheel
Today’s art therapy prompt invites you to explore your emotional landscape using the language of color. Emotions can often feel complex and overwhelming, but translating them into visual form can help bring clarity and calm. This exercise helps you check in with yourself and honor what you're feeling—without judgment.
Prompt:
Create a color wheel that represents your emotions today.
Instructions:
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Start by drawing a large circle on your paper or canvas.
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Now, this instruction is subjective, if definitely go on your own instinct as to how you want to approach this. The initial instruction is to divide the circle into slices, like a pie chart. The number of sections is up to you—some people may only feel two or three distinct emotions, while others may experience many at once. However, when I did it, I found it made sense to use no lines and, use inks and let the colours bleed into each other. My emotions do bleed into each other, they affect each other, my mind is chaotic at the best of times. This is what worked for me, but you do what's right for you and you'll likely get the best results.
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Assign each slice a color that represents a specific emotion you’re feeling today. For example:
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💙 Blue might represent calm or sadness
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🔴 Red could stand for anger or energy
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💛 Yellow might symbolize joy or optimism
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🟢 Green could mean peace or renewal
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🖤 Black may express grief or exhaustion
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Don’t be afraid to blend colors or add patterns, lines, or textures within each section to show the strength or complexity of each feeling. A bold red with jagged lines might show intense frustration, while a soft lavender gradient might indicate quiet contentment.
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Once complete, take a moment to reflect:
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Which emotions take up the most space today? - I worked with 3 emotions and found they all took up much more space than I realised.
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Are there any feelings you didn’t expect to see? - I decided to use black as I lost my mum a year ago and grief is a big part of my life right now. I changed my mind as I wanted to stick with the ink medium, then the (sad) blue mostly turned green with my (joy) yellow (and became more neutral). However, some blue became my grief and pooled up at the lower end of the circle, even with the paper flat on the desk. Grief is very heavy, so that pool happening naturally made a lot of sense to me. Plus, it's always there, whether I want to include it or not.
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How does it feel to see your emotions rather than just feel them? - It feels like I have a better understanding of them as I've put them in some sort of concept. Also, despite the weight and intensity of lots of feeling, and the clashes or emotion, the wheel looks balanced and beautiful, which is a much more positive way for me to view them.
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How This Helps:
Creating a visual representation of your emotional state is a powerful form of self-expression. It allows you to name and externalize your feelings, which is often the first step toward understanding and managing them. Art bypasses the need for words and can access deeper layers of awareness. This simple yet profound practice promotes emotional regulation, self-acceptance, and mindfulness.
Follow-Up Resources:
📘 The Art Therapy Sourcebook by Cathy Malchiodi – A fantastic guide to understanding the principles behind therapeutic art-making.
📺 YouTube: “Color Psychology for Emotional Healing” – Explore how different hues affect your mood and well-being.
📱 App: “Colorfy: Coloring Book for Relaxation” – A soothing digital coloring app to continue engaging with color in a low-pressure way.
Take your time with this exercise. There’s no right or wrong way to feel—or to express it.
This post is a collaborative effort between AI and myself in order to provide the most up to date information.
