Wanna Play?

Scribble Drawing
        .... with Jennifer Hix

A spontaneous drawing activity for staff breakrooms

This activity starts with scribbling and engages participants in a process of finding and finishing an image in the scribble. The scribbling helps loosen people up, while the image-finding and -finishing provides an opportunity to explore and go deeper.

Materials:  Drawing paper (at least 9 x 12"). Drawing utensils such as crayons, oil crayons, colored pencils, markers, etc. Optional: cut up words for adding to the drawing.

Instructions:  With a piece of paper in front of you choose a drawing tool to use for scribbling. Scribble on your paper for 10 to 30 seconds.  Close your eyes if you want. When finished scribbling look at your paper from every angle. Identify an image, or part of an image, in the scribble. If you can't find anything scribble some more until there are enough scribbles in which to find an image. Color the image, expanding and finishing it to your liking. Add lines to clarify and enhance it if you wish. Add words if you want.

Ways to invite people:  "Would you like to scribble with me?"   "Do you want to make a scribble drawing?"  "It's fun! Want to try it?"

While they're engaged:  I keep a scribble drawing of my own going during the session.  Sometimes I do several, starting a new one each time someone sits down to scribble, so that we can do it together.

Wrapping up:  This activity has the potential for being fun and generating laughter and chatter. People often like to share what they did. Sometimes it's silly. Sometimes drawings are hung in the breakrooms, such as on the fridge or on a person's locker. Most often people take them with them.

Value of activity:  This activity is potentially stress relieving, due in part to the scribbling itself which is spontaneous and freeing. The puzzle solving aspect of finding an image is engaging to most people and probably helps them forget about work for a while. Scribble drawing with hospital staff can be meaningful and stress-relieving for me as well, especially if I sense that it is for them.