My Emotions in Colour

A screen-free expressive art project exploring emotion through colour, abstraction and painting

What if colour could become a way for teenagers to express feelings that are sometimes difficult to put into words?

My Emotions in Colour is a reflective art workshop designed to help teenagers explore and express emotion through colour, abstraction and imagination. Working entirely away from screens, participants use drawing and painting to translate inner feelings into visual form, discovering how colour, shape, line and composition can communicate mood, energy and emotional nuance.

Through guided exercises and open-ended experimentation, teenagers are encouraged to move beyond realism and let art become a space for reflection, interpretation and self-expression. There is no pressure to produce a “perfect” image or a single correct answer. Instead, the focus is on building a personal, meaningful and creative relationship with mark-making and colour.

This is a supportive and non-judgemental project that helps young people develop both emotional literacy and artistic confidence in a calm, screen-free environment.

Silhouettes of three people in a digital or virtual setting with colorful gradient background, representing concepts of teamwork or online communication.

13 to 18 years old

A digital illustration of a clock and an hourglass, with a neon glow in shades of pink, purple, and blue.

90 minutes. 1 to 5 sessions

A digital illustration of a map with a location marker. The map has roads, and the marker is a purple pin.

Family homes (West London)

Mindfulness

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Self-Awareness

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Emotional Expression

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Colour & Form

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Expressive Drawing & Painting

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Mindfulness - Self-Awareness - Emotional Expression - Colour & Form - Expressive Drawing & Painting -

Colour as a language of feeling

One of the most valuable aspects of this project is that it helps teenagers understand colour in a deeper way.

Colour is explored not only as a technical tool, but as a form of emotional language. Participants consider how certain colours, combinations and contrasts can suggest calm, tension, joy, uncertainty, intensity or quietness. They begin to see that colour can carry feeling, memory and meaning, and that abstract work can often express something powerful precisely because it is not literal.

This gives the project a particularly thoughtful quality. Teenagers are learning art skills, but they are also discovering how visual language can help them notice and communicate what they feel.

Enquire about this project
An infographic highlighting benefits of a creative program for children, featuring icons for screen-free creativity, trusted safety, tailoring to a child, and tangible outcomes with example art projects.

Expressive Drawing & Painting project

This project offers teenagers a powerful but accessible way to explore emotion through art.

Rather than asking them to explain feelings directly, My Emotions in Colour invites them to work visually; using colour, rhythm, gesture, layering and composition to express mood and inner states in a way that can feel freer and more intuitive than words.

Some participants may be drawn to soft, restrained palettes, while others may explore bold contrasts, energetic marks or abstract compositions. The process allows each young person to discover how visual choices can reflect emotion and atmosphere, while also helping them build confidence in their own creative decisions.

This makes the workshop feel both personal and artistically rich.

13 to 18 years

90 minutes per session

Single session or 4-5 session series

In-person, fully screen-free

Age Group:

Duration:

Sessions:

Format:

Top-down view of nine plastic cups filled with various colors of liquid, including yellow, blue, red, pink, orange, green, and purple, on a white surface.

WHAT CHILDREN WILL EXPLORE & LEARN

Exercises may vary, but the focus remains on reflective expression and creative confidence. The atmosphere is supportive, exploratory and calm, allowing teenagers to engage thoughtfully with both their inner world and their artistic development.

This flexibility helps the sessions remain personal and responsive, while still giving participants a clear and enriching creative structure.

    • Identifying and naming emotions.

    • Exploring how feelings can be represented visually.

    • Developing empathy and self-awareness.

    • Understanding how colour influences mood.

    • Learning basic colour relationships and contrast.

    • Exploring personal colour associations.

    • Working with markers, coloured pencils and acrylic paint.

    • Experimenting with abstraction and expressive mark-making.

    • Understanding composition and visual balance.

    • Embracing open-ended artistic exploration.

    • Recognising that there are no “wrong” interpretations.

    • Building comfort with personal expression.

PROJECT ESSENTIALS

Materials

- Colouring markers

- Acrylic paints and brushes

- Coloured pencils and drawing pencils

- Black markers

- Erasers and rulers

- A4 paper

- Heavier 250-300gsm paper for acrylic

- Paint palettes

Materials to be provided by MAFE or the family.

Safety & Accessibility

- Table protection provided when using acrylic paint

- All materials are low-risk and adaptable

- Exercises can be simplified or expanded depending on ability

- Sessions are structured but flexible to suit individual participants

Learning Outcomes & Benefits

Participants develop:

- Emotional literacy through non-verbal communication

- Understanding of colour theory and expressive use of colour

- Drawing and painting skills across different media

- Confidence in personal expression

- Greater empathy and reflective awareness

Pricing

From £90-£120 per session (depending on format and group size plus material cost).

WHY PARENTS LOVE IT

A HEALTHY WAY FOR TEENAGERS TO EXPRESS EMOTIONS.

A SCREEN-FREE SPACE THAT ENCOURAGES REFLECTION AND FOCUS.

HELPS TEENS DEVELOP EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE THROUGH ART.

BUILDS CONFIDENCE IN SELF-EXPRESSION WITHOUT JUDGEMENT.

CREATES POWERFUL, PERSONAL ARTWORKS THAT REFLECT HOW THEY FEEL.

INTRODUCES COLOUR THEORY IN A CREATIVE, MEANINGFUL WAY.

Colorful spray paint art featuring a heart shape at the center, with various vibrant colors including pink, yellow, blue, green, white, and purple, against a light background with additional spray paint splashes.

Get started today

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About the Project Leader

Nissam

Architect, Illustrator & Movement Educator

Nissam is a multidisciplinary creative practitioner working across architecture, illustration, movement and language education. As an award-winning illustrator and trained architect, Nissam brings a strong understanding of structure, spatial awareness and visual storytelling into her teaching practice.

Alongside her visual arts background, Nissam is also a dance instructor, integrating movement, expression and body awareness into creative learning. For the past five years, she have delivered drawing, dance and language tutoring, supporting children and young people to develop confidence across disciplines.

Her workshops encourage holistic expression, combining visual creativity, emotional reflection and physical awareness. Nissam holds a basic DBS check and delivers sessions that are calm, adaptable and responsive to individual needs.