Drawing for Wellbeing

A screen-free reflective drawing programme for mindfulness, emotional expression and creative confidence.

What if drawing could become more than a skill, a quiet way of noticing, expressing and understanding what is going on inside?

Drawing for Wellbeing is a reflective studio-based programme designed to help children and teenagers explore visual expression as a form of mindfulness, self-awareness and creative confidence. Through abstraction, surrealist-inspired exercises and automatic drawing techniques, participants are encouraged to work with their own rhythms, allowing shapes, lines and marks to emerge intuitively rather than striving for realism or perfection.

Working entirely away from screens, participants are supported to slow down, focus gently and respond to what they feel, notice or imagine. The emphasis is not on making a polished or “correct” image, but on building a personal visual language, a way of using drawing to express mood, energy, internal states and individuality in a safe and thoughtful environment.

This is a calm, carefully held programme for young people who may benefit from a more reflective relationship with art: one that values process, presence and expression over performance.

Three colorful digital silhouettes of people in a row, with blue, purple, and pink gradient coloring, against a dark background.

5 to 18 years old.

Neon-style digital illustration of a clock and an hourglass on a dark background.

3 hours. 4 sessions

Digital illustration of a map with a location marker icon, glowing in shades of purple and blue.

Family homes (West London)

Mindfulness

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Emotional Expression

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Abstraction

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Personal Visual Language

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Reflective Drawing

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Mindfulness - Emotional Expression - Abstraction - Personal Visual Language - Reflective Drawing -

Teaching Approach

In a world of constant input, comparison and overstimulation, this programme offers something quieter and more spacious.

Participants work in a calm, studio-style environment where they are invited to slow down, pay attention and create without pressure. The screen-free setting helps support presence and focus, while the longer session format allows enough time for ideas and feelings to unfold naturally rather than being rushed.

This slower pace is one of the programme’s greatest strengths. It gives children and teenagers permission to settle into the process, build trust in their own marks and enjoy the experience of creating without the pressure to produce something polished straight away.

For families, this often makes the programme feel particularly meaningful: it offers not just an activity, but a different rhythm.

Enquire About This Project
An infographic highlighting benefits of a creative program for children, including screen-free creativity, trusted safety, tailored projects, and tangible outcomes, with icons for each feature.

Expressive & Reflective Drawing Project

Drawing for Wellbeing invites children and teenagers to experience drawing in a different way.

Rather than beginning with observation, accuracy or technique, the programme starts with attention, feeling and process. Participants are encouraged to make marks intuitively, explore visual rhythms and respond to their own thoughts, sensations and moods through line, shape, texture and movement.

This allows drawing to become something more personal and open. It becomes a space for noticing rather than performing, exploring rather than getting things “right.” For many young people, that can feel deeply refreshing and freeing.

The result is a creative experience that supports both artistic confidence and a gentler, more reflective relationship with making.

5 to 18 years

3 hours each session

4 session programme

Up to 4 participants

In-person, fully screen-free

Age Group:

Duration:

Sessions:

Group Size:

Format:

A cluttered desk with various papers, sketches, and fabric swatches scattered across the surface.

WHAT CHILDREN WILL EXPLORE & LEARN

This project is based on a calm, process-led studio approach that treats drawing as a tool for mindfulness and emotional expression.

Sessions blend gentle guidance, quiet observation and hands-on exploration, encouraging participants to slow down, work intuitively and respond to their own internal rhythms rather than external expectations.

Through automatic drawing, abstraction and reflective pauses, young people are supported to translate feeling into form, notice personal visual patterns and develop a confident, individual visual language. Working within a small, carefully held group setting, the approach balances structure with freedom, creating a safe, screen-free environment where experimentation, emotional awareness and creative confidence can naturally unfold.

    • Automatic drawing and intuitive mark-making.

    • Abstraction and surrealist-inspired exercises.

    • Exploring repetition, rhythm and pattern.

    • Slowing down and focusing on process.

    • Working in a calm, uninterrupted environment.

    • Becoming aware of visual habits and emotional cues.

    • Translating feeling into form.

    • Building personal symbols and motifs.

    • Understanding how line, tone and texture communicate meaning.

    • Letting go of judgement.

    • Trusting instinct and experimentation.

    • Building a sustained body of work.

PROJECT ESSENTIALS

Materials

To be provided by MAFE or the family:

- Paper and sketchbooks

- Pencils, graphite, pens

- Paint (optional)

- Tape and mounting materials

- Scrapbooking materials

Safety & Accessibility

- Sessions are facilitated sensitively and gently

- Families are encouraged to have appropriate support systems in place should emotional themes arise

- All exercises are adaptable for age and comfort level

- Calm, structured working environment

Learning Outcomes & Benefits

Participants develop:

- Ability to express emotions visually

- Awareness of personal visual patterns and rhythms

- Confidence in abstract exploration

- Sustained focus and mindful working habits

- Emotional literacy through non-verbal creative practice

Pricing

From £90 per session.

(Material costs additional if supplied by MAFE)

WHY PARENTS LOVE IT

A CALM, SCREEN-FREE SPACE FOR REAL FOCUS.

HELPS CHILDREN PROCESS EMOTIONS THROUGH CREATIVITY.

BUILDS CONFIDENCE WITHOUT PRESSURE OR COMPARISON.

ENCOURAGES MINDFULNESS, PATIENCE AND SELF-AWARENESS.

DEVELOPS A PERSONAL VISUAL LANGUAGE, NOT JUST TECHNIQUE.

CREATES A MEANINGFUL BODY OF WORK TO KEEP AND REFLECT ON.

A person looking at a sketchbook with drawings, surrounded by various colored pencils, pens, and art supplies on a wooden table.

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About the Project Leader

kyra-sky

Contemporary Artist & Critical Practice Mentor

Kyra is a practising contemporary artist holding both an MFA and BFA, with a studio practice rooted in conceptual thinking, critical engagement and interdisciplinary exploration.

Her work investigates how art can question systems, identities and social structures, and she brings this reflective, inquiry-led approach into her teaching. Kyra works with young people who are ready to move beyond technique alone and begin engaging with ideas, encouraging them to think critically, research independently and develop a confident artistic voice.

Her workshops combine visual exploration with structured discussion, supporting teenagers to explore complex themes in a thoughtful and age-appropriate way. Kyra holds a DBS certificate (Update Service) and creates carefully moderated, respectful spaces for dialogue and creative risk-taking.