Struggling to run your first group art session?
Learn a simple three-stage framework to guide beginners with confidence and creativity.
In Episode 15 of Easy Collaborative Art, I talk about how to teach collaborative art skills to beginners. You’ll discover how a simple three-stage framework can help both painters andfacilitators gain confidence while creating engaging group artworks. I share practical tips for structuring sessions, scaffolding activities, and encouraging confidence over perfection. Following is a simple how-to guide for creatingcollaborative art with inclusive groups - beginner-friendly!
What you’ll discover in this episode:
• Why starting with structure using the three Pattern Play stages (Messy Playing, Exploring, Bling) helps beginners feel confident and clear.
• How to scaffold your group art session to make participation easy and enjoyable for everyone, regardless of skill level.
• Why focusing on confidence and connection rather than perfection encourages participants to explore, experiment, and enjoy the creative process.
Links and Resources:
🎨 Read the full episode transcript: Episode 15: How to Teach Collaborative Art Skills to Beginners
📘 Grab your free Beginner’s Guide toCollaborative Art
🎧 Podcast Home: Easy Collaborative Art
Happy Painting!
Charndra
Your Inclusive Social Art Guide
How-to Guide for Creating Collaborative Art with Inclusive Groups - Beginner-friendly!Collaborative art can be adapted for participants with diverse abilities, encouragingself-expression, inclusion, and shared creativity. Perfect for beginners, as adapting for accessibility benefits everyone.
Tips for Collaborative Art Projects for Inclusive GroupsImagine you have a beginner group of mixedabilities, including people with special needs. You want to run some simple sessions doing collaborative art to get people together in a fun, creative and accessible way.
This is the process you might follow:
Step 1 – Messy Playing 🎨Use large brushes or tools and 2–3 harmonious colours to keep the process simple and accessible. Encourage broad, expressive marks. Use the Pattern Play Page and Cards in my Beginner's Guide to Collaborative Art - it's all you will need for your first group art work!
Step 2 – Exploring 🌀Layer a variety of patterns, simple shapes, or clusters of marks in a slightly smaller brush than that used in the Messy Playing stage. Repetition and size variation help create structure while leaving room for easy creativity. Pattern Play prompts will guide participation.
Step 3 – Bling! ✨Add finishing touches: highlights, stickers, or simple embellishments. This stage allows everyone to contribute in a meaningful way.
💡Facilitator tip: Using three stages, three colours, and three brushes simplifies the process and supports inclusive participation for diverse abilities - beginners, experienced painters slot right in, and painters with special needs find it equally as easy to join in!
Pattern Play Collaborative Art is all about connection and creativity.
Discover how using a limited colour scheme can simplify your group painting sessions while keeping the art visually engaging and cohesive.
🎙️ Podcast Shownotes — Episode 14: What Are the Best Colour Schemes for Collaborative Art Projects?
In episode 14 of Easy Collaborative Art, I talk about how keeping your colour scheme simple helps your group relax, focus on creativity, and produce striking results without the stress of colour choice overload.
You’ll discover how a few smart choices make painting easier for everyone — from beginners to confident painters, and especially for you as the instructor.
I share practical examples and colour scheme tips from my Pattern Play Collaborative Art process.
What you’ll discover in this episode:
• Keeping your palette to 3–4 colours removes overwhelm and prevents muddy results.
• Small variations between layers can add visual interest while staying true to your limited scheme.
• Pre-planned colour schemes reduce decision fatigue and make group painting smoother and more harmonious.
🔗 Links and Resources:🎨 Read the full episode transcript:
Episode 14: How Limited Colour Schemes Make Collaborative Art Easier and More Striking
📘 Grab your free Beginner’s Guide to Collaborative Art
🎧 Podcast Home: Easy Collaborative Art
https://paintingaroundisfun.com/podcast
Happy Painting!
Charndra
Your Inclusive Social Art Guide
Tips for Collaborative Art Projects for Art Therapy or Mental Health Groups
Imagine you’re running a group for people in an art therapy or mental health setting — perhaps a mix of individuals who are feeling anxious, uncertain, or out of touch with their creative side.
Here’s a structure you could follow:
Step 1 – Messy Playing
Collaborative art can gently support mindfulness, emotional expression, and group connection. It’s inclusive and beginner-friendly, helping participants feel safe and confident even if they haven’t painted in years.
One of the most powerful aspects is that noone’s work stands out on its own. Each person contributes marks, and patterns that blend into a shared artwork, allowing participants to “hide” their individual painting within the collective creation. This removes the fear of judgment that can come from having personal art on display.
In time, people start to relax and enjoythe process — copying marks they see, experimenting with colours, and realisingthat together, they’re creating something unique and beautiful. This shared creative experience helps build confidence, connection, and a sense of belonging within the group.
Invite participants to make broad, expressive marks on a shared canvas or set of canvases placed together as one.
Limit the colour scheme to two or three harmonious colours to reduce overwhelmand encourage flow.
Step 2 – Exploring
Encourage layering simple shapes, common symbols, or easy patterns. Repetition and variation in size build rhythm and cohesion. My Pattern Play prompts can provide gentle guidance.
Step 3 – Bling!
Add final touches — think decorative embellishments by doodling using paint pens. This stage is calming and gives a sense of accomplishment. Painters mindfully add patterns and decorate the lines and shapes, chatting companionably and feeling pride at their creativity.
Therapist tip: Using three brushes, three colours, and three stages provides structure, making it easier to guide participants while keeping the experience open and creative.
Why This Works
This simple framework makes collaborative art projects easy to run in community groups. It gives structure without stifling creativity, so every child can feel included. Best of all, it turns artmaking into a shared experience of play and connection.
Pattern Play Collaborative Art is all about connection and creativity.
Closed Choices in Art – Simplify, Empower, and Build Creative Confidence
In episode 13 of Easy Collaborative Art, I talk about closed choices in art — what they are and why they help group artists feel empowered.
You’ll discover how structured choices can reduce overwhelm, support beginner-friendly skill development, and give participants the confidence to dive into creativity.
I share practical ways to use the “this or that” approach, the power of three, and why simplicity can actually enhance collaborative art experiences.
What you’ll discover in this episode:
• Closed choices are structured “this or that” options that simplify sessions and reduce decision-making stress.
• They empower artists by supporting focus, skill development, and creative confidence, especially for beginners or hesitant participants.
• You can use them through prompts like red or yellow, dots or spirals, or patterns in a cluster or from the edge — keeping to a maximum of three choices per stage.
Links and Resources:
🎨 Read the full episode transcript: Episode 13: What Are Closed Choices—and Why Do They Empower Group Artists?
📘 Grab your free Beginner’s Guide to Collaborative Art
🎧 Podcast Home: Easy Collaborative Art
Happy Painting!
Charndra
Your Inclusive Social Art Guide
Below is a quick ‘How to Start’ guide for creating easy collaborative art for After-School Program Coordinators or Directors:
After-school programs benefit from collaborative art as a structured yet playful activity for mixed-age student groups.
Imagine you are going to paint with a group of kids in an after school program and want to do a group art project with them.
This is the process you might follow:
Step 1 – Messy Playing
Invite children to make broad marks with larger brushes. Limit colours to 2–3 to create harmony and reduce decision fatigue. Paint on a roll of kraft paper, a fabric banner or a large shared canvas that you can later display on the wall. (This is the best option as you can revisit this same canvas over and over for a term, a semester or a whole year, saving on resources and maximising efficiency)
Step 2 – Exploring
Encourage layering patterns and clusters, varying size and repetition to create a sense of flow. Pattern Play prompts provide ideas without restricting creativity. Start with the Pattern Play Page in the free Beginner’s Guide to Collaborative Art, or the many ideas in the Pattern Play Starter Pack.
Step 3 – Bling!
Add final touches such as doodles and patterns with paint pens and add clusters of dot or gem stickers to complete the artwork. Everyone leaves feeling proud of their contribution.
Coordinator tip: Using three brushes, three colours, and three stages makes the project easy to facilitate, efficient, and fun — ideal for managing busy groups of students, who can pop in and out of the activity over the session or over time.
Pattern Play Collaborative Art is all about connection and creativity.
Discover how adding simple limits can actually boost creativity and make group painting easier for everyone.
🎙️ Podcast Shownotes – Episode 12: How Can You Boost Your Collaborative Art with Constraints?
In episode 12 of Easy Collaborative Art, I talk about how constraints like using only three colours, patterns, or shapes - can spark imagination and help groups feel confident starting and exploring their art.
You’ll discover how structured choices lead to more creative outcomes.
I share practical ways to guide participants, reduce overwhelm, and make collaborative art enjoyable for all ages and abilities.
What you’ll discover in this episode:
• How using fewer choices can help painters start confidently and explore more deeply
• Why “less is more” when it comes to colours, brushes, and patterns in group art
• Simple ways to introduce structure that encourages creativity and teamwork
Links and Resources:
🎨 Read the full episode transcript: Episode 12: How Can You Boost Your Collaborative Art with Constraints?
📘 Grab your free Beginner’s Guide to Collaborative Art
🎧 Podcast Home: Easy Collaborative Art
Happy Painting!
Charndra
Your Inclusive Social Art Guide
Below is a quick ‘How to Start’ guide for running easy collaborative art projects for Church Sunday School Programs
Collaborative art is a fun and inclusive way to engage children in Sunday school or other church programs, encouraging teamwork, creativity, and reflection on group themes.
Step 1 – Messy Playing
Invite participants to freely add marks, patterns, or shapes to a shared canvas or large sheet of paper. Keep the palette to 2–3 harmonious colours for a visually unified result. This stage is about letting kids explore and enjoy making art together.
Step 2 – Exploring
Encourage layering patterns, shapes, or simple patterns related to the lesson or theme of the day. Repetition, size variation, and group prompts create flow and connection across the artwork.
Step 3 – Bling!
Add finishing touches such as dots, highlights, or small stickers to tie the piece together. This stage is calming, fun, and gives each participant a sense of accomplishment.
Facilitator tip: Using the Power of Three – three colours, three brushes, and three stages – simplifies planning, keeps everyone engaged, and ensures a cohesive final piece.
Pattern Play Collaborative Art is all about connection and creativity.
Easy Collaborative Art Podcast Episode 11: What are 3 Simple Tips for Collaborative Art Projects?
Discover how the Power of Three can make collaborative art projects easier, more enjoyable, and beginner-friendly.
In episode 11 of Easy Collaborative Art, I talk about three simple tips for running successful group art projects.
You’ll discover how using the Power of Three helps simplify choices, build confidence, and spark creativity in any group.
I share practical strategies for colour, tools, and process that make collaborative art engaging and fun for everyone.
What you’ll discover in this episode:
• Why the Power of Three works in design, storytelling, and group art, making projects easier to plan, manage, and enjoy.
• How to use three colours to keep your artwork harmonious, beginner-friendly, and visually appealing.
• How using three brushes and three stages in Pattern Play Collaborative Art builds depth, structure, and fun.
Links and Resources:
🎨 Read the full episode 11 transcript: Episode 11: What are 3 Simple Tips for Collaborative Art Projects
📘 Grab your free Beginner’s Guide to Collaborative Art
🎧 Podcast Home: Easy Collaborative Art
Happy Painting!
Charndra,
Your Inclusive Social Art Guide
Below is a quick ‘How to Start’ guide if you’re wondering what collaborative art is and how to use it with a team or group of colleagues.
Imagine you are a workplace team leader, HR coordinator, or facilitator wanting to guide a small group of employees through their very first collaborative art project (without losing your mind).
Here’s a simple process you might follow:
Tips for Collaborative Art Projects for Workplace & Team-Building Groups
Collaborative art can be a fun, stress-free way to strengthen teamwork, spark creativity, and encourage connection in a workplace setting. Using the Power of Three makes it simple to run a project where everyone can participate confidently, no matter their experience level.
Here’s a straightforward 3-step process:
Step 1: Messy Playing 🎨
Start with freedom and fun. Provide medium or large brushes and a shared surface - a canvas, or large sheet of watercolour paper. Invite participants to make broad, expressive marks such as circles, spirals and arches from the edge with overlapping clusters of dots, dashes and wiggles.
👉 Keep the colour palette limited to three harmonious colours (plus white for variations) to make the results visually appealing while keeping decisions simple.
💡 Facilitator Tip: Emphasise play, not perfection. The goal is group creativity and engagement, not individual “correct” results.
Step 2: Exploring 🌀
Once the first layer is dry, introduce patterns and shapes that participants can repeat, layer, and vary in size. Encourage collaboration—marks can flow from edges, follow earlier shapes, or cluster in new areas.
💡 Facilitator Tip: Use three brush sizes—start with large for broad shapes, medium for intermediate strokes, and small for details - one brush size each stage. This creates natural depth without overwhelming participants.
Step 3: Bling! ✨
Add finishing touches using paint pens to decorate the painting, and small shiny bits in clusters like gem or dot stickers. These highlights give the artwork cohesion and a sense of completion.
💡 Facilitator Tip: This stage is mindful and relaxing. It’s a great way for team members to pause, reflect, and feel proud of the shared outcome.
Why the Power of Three Works
Using three colours, three brushes, and three stages simplifies decision-making, reduces overwhelm, and encourages playful experimentation. Teams can collaborate confidently, discover each other’s creativity, and enjoy the shared process without pressure.
Collaborative art in the workplace isn’t just about the final piece - it’s about building connection, communication, and energy among team members.
The Power of Three provides the structure that frees creativity and makes group art accessible and fun for everyone.
Easy Collaborative Art Podcast - Episode 10: How Do You Use Underpainting for Group Painting?
Discover how underpainting can remove the fear of a blank canvas, spark confidence, and set the tone for a cooperative painting project.
In this episode of Easy Collaborative Art, I talk about the role of underpainting in collaborative art.
You’ll discover how a simple first layer not only reduces overwhelm but also builds depth and creates an inviting surface for group painting.
I share practical ways to start your canvas with colour, texture, and playful prompts so that everyone feels confident to join in.
What you’ll discover in this episode:
Why underpainting works — it removes the fear of a blank canvas.
How to do it — with colour from your scheme, big brushes, playful marks, and ways to build depth.
What it achieves — visual prompts, confidence, and setting the tone for a cooperative project.
Links and Resources:
🎨 Read the full episode transcript: How Do You Use Underpainting for Group Painting?
📘 Grab your free Beginner’s Guide to Collaborative Art
🎧 Podcast Home: Easy Collaborative Art
Happy Painting!
Charndra
Your Inclusive Social Art Guide
Tips for Collaborative Art Projects with Beginners (Teens & Adults)
If you’re running a group art session with beginners—whether teens or adults—you don’t need to be “artsy” to help them succeed. Collaborative art is about easing people in, reducing overwhelm, and building confidence step by step.
Here’s a simple 3-stage framework you can use:
Step 1: Messy Playing 🎨
Start by covering the canvas with colour to remove the fear of a blank surface. Use one or two colours from your palette and invite everyone to help fill it with loose brushstrokes, circles, or arches. This is underpainting in action—it creates depth later and makes the canvas feel approachable.
💡 Tip for facilitators: Reassure the group that “it can only get better from here.” Starting loose and messy removes pressure and gets everyone engaged quickly.
Step 2: Exploring 🌀
Once the first layer is dry, introduce patterns and shapes. Invite participants to echo earlier marks or add new clusters. Encourage repetition of simple shapes—dots, spirals, arches—while shifting brush sizes to smaller ones for each new layer. This naturally creates depth and a lively, sophisticated look without being complicated.
💡 Tip for facilitators: Keep brush and colour choices limited. Fewer options reduce hesitation and help the artwork look unified.
Step 3: Bling! ✨
Add finishing touches for sparkle and energy. Use paint pens, metallics, or clusters of small dots to tie everything together. This stage is relaxing and gives everyone a sense of accomplishment as the shared artwork comes alive.
💡 Tip for facilitators: Encourage mindfulness—small, simple marks can feel meditative and give participants a proud “I did this” moment.
Why This Works
This beginner-friendly framework lowers barriers, makes the first mark easy, and gently builds layers of collaboration. Participants leave not only with a finished artwork, but with a sense of connection and shared accomplishment.
Pattern Play Collaborative Art is all about making creativity accessible, fun and inclusive.
Easy Collaborative Art Podcast – Episode 9: Beginner Collaborative Art: How to Get Started with My Free Pattern Play Guide?
In this episode of Easy Collaborative Art, I talk about how to get started with collaborative art even if you’ve never tried it before.
You’ll discover how a simple beginner-friendly framework can make group art fun, inclusive, and stress-free.
I share tips on using my three-stage process: Messy Playing, Exploring, and Bling! - to guide your group from blank canvas to colourful, connected artwork.
Links and Resources:
🎨 Read the full episode transcript: Episode 9: Beginner Collaborative Art Guide
📘 Grab your free Beginner’s Guide to Collaborative Art
🎧 Podcast Home: Easy Collaborative Art
Happy Painting!
Charndra
Your Inclusive Social Art Guide
🎧 Psst… episodes 1-9 hide a code letter for my first annual Pattern Play Challenge - collect them all to unlock a secret creative challenge at PaintingAroundisFun.com!
Tips for beginner-friendly collaborative art projects with kids (Ages 8 – 12)
If you’re a volunteer helping a group of children in a community setting, you don’t need to be “artsy” to guide a fun and successful collaborative art project. The key is to keep things simple, playful, and structured just enough so that everyone can join in with confidence.
Here’s an easy 3-step process you can use:
Step 1: Messy Playing 🎨
Start with freedom and fun. Give the kids medium or large brushes and invite them to fill the surface—a big sheet of card, sturdy paper, or a canvas – with simple marks like circles, spirals, or dots.
👉 Keep the colour palette small (two or three colours) for a visually appealing result.
💡 Tip for volunteers: This stage isn’t about “getting it right.” It’s about loosening up and experiencing what collaborative art really is: making something together, not individually.
Step 2: Exploring 🌀
Once the first layer is dry, introduce patterns and clusters of shapes. These can run along edges, follow earlier marks, or form new clusters. Encourage repetition, layering, and variety in size to build flow. Pattern Play cards or handouts can spark inspiration.
💡 Tip for volunteers: Use one brush size per layer and switch to smaller brushes as you go. This naturally builds depth and visual sophistication while avoiding overwhelm from too many options.
Step 3: Bling! ✨
Now it’s time for finishing touches. Kids can use paint pens, doodle patterns, or add small clusters of dots. Stick-on gems or dot stickers can add sparkle and tie the whole artwork together.
💡 Tip for teachers: This stage is relaxing and mindful – perfect for winding down. Everyone leaves feeling proud of what they’ve contributed.
Why This Works
This simple framework makes collaborative art projects easy to run in community groups. It gives structure without stifling creativity, so every child can feel included. Best of all, it turns artmaking into a shared experience of play and connection.
Pattern Play Collaborative Art is all about connection and creativity.
Why Use Only 3 Colours in Collaborative Art?
- to SIMPLIFY your group painting with a limited colour scheme!
In this episode 8 of Easy Collaborative Art, I talk about the benefits of using a limited colour scheme in collaborative art. You’ll discover how working with just three colours can make painting easier, more enjoyable, and still visually cohesive. By reducing decision fatigue and keeping supplies simple, your painters can focus on creativity rather than overthinking colour choices.
I share practical strategies for selecting and layering three colours, mixing subtle variations, and using white to brighten layers and still produce rich, vibrant, and unique collaborative artworks. Check out many examples using just a cool or warm colour scheme in my free guide, available through the links below.
What you’ll discover in this episode:
Links and Resources:
🎨 Read the full episode transcript: Episode 8: Why Use Only 3 Colours in Collaborative Art?
📘 Grab your free Beginner’s Guide to Collaborative Art
🎧 Podcast Home: Easy Collaborative Art
Happy Painting!
Charndra
Your Inclusive Social Art Guide
Below is a quick ‘How to Start’ guide for running easy collaborative art projects with families, homeschool groups, or a casual small groups of friends, or simply: How to Start a Simple Collaborative Art Project at Home!
Imagine you’re a parent, friend, or volunteer guiding a small group of children or a group of mixed ages through a fun, beginner-friendly group art project at home or in a casual setting. Here’s an easy process to follow:
Step 1: Messy Playing
Start with freedom and fun. Use medium or large brushes for this first expressive layer. Invite everyone to cover the surface - a large sheet of sturdy paper, or a canvas - with circles, spirals, dots, and clusters of simple marks. Keep the paints to two or three harmonious colours for an easy, visually appealing result. This stage helps everyone relax and experience what collaborative art is: creating together rather than individually.
Step 2: Exploring
Once the base layer has dried, invite participants to add patterns and clusters of shapes. These can flow from the edges, follow lines, or gather around earlier marks. Use Pattern Play resources to spark ideas, then let everyone find their own creativity. Repeating,layering, and varying the size of patterns helps create flow and unity.
Facilitator tip: Provide one brush size per layer and switch to smaller brushes as you go. This builds depth and sophistication without overwhelming with too many choices.
Step 3: Bling!
Add finishing touches with paint pens, doodles, and small highlights. Clusters of dots, stick-on gems, or dot stickers can add sparkle and tie the artwork together. This final stage ensures everyone feels proud of their contribution.
This process makes it simple for parents orcasual group leaders to run fun, beginner-friendly collaborative art projects.
It’s playful, inclusive, and a creative way to connect children and adults through shared artmaking.
How do you start your collaborative art project with just three essentials? A surface, brushes and paint plus the right mindset is the key.
In this episode 7 of Easy Collaborative Art, I share the three things you truly need to start a collaborative art project.
Perhaps you’re painting with your family, in a classroom, or with a public group at an event:
Keeping it simple helps you begin confidently and enjoy the playful process of making art together.
You’ll discover:
Links and Resources:
🎨Read the full episode transcript: Episode 7: The Three Things You Need to Start a collaborative Art Project
📘Grab your free Beginner’s Guide to Collaborative Art
🎧Podcast Home: Easy Collaborative Art
Happy Painting!
Charndra
Your Inclusive Social Art Guide
Here’s a quick guide to running collaborative art projects with seniors and older adult groups:
Imagine you are a facilitator, activity coordinator, or community leader working with a group of older adults or seniors, and you’d like to guide them through a simple, beginner-friendly group art project.
Here’s a process you might follow:
Step 1: Messy Playing
Begin with a relaxed, low-pressure activity. Provide large brushes and encourage participants to cover the surface with broad strokes, circles, swirls, and simple clusters of marks like dots or dashes. Limit the palette totwo or three harmonious colours per layer for ease and visual impact. This playful stage helps participants feel comfortable, confident, and engaged, while introducing them to the idea of collaborative art: creating together rather than individually.
Step 2: Exploring
Once the base layer has dried with lovely brushstrokes of colour and visual texture, invite participants to add patterns and simple shapes with medium brushes. Use Pattern Play resources for accessible designs, or let participants choose patterns for you to add if they prefer. Focus on repetition, layering,and mindful placement so each contribution feels part of the whole.
Tip for facilitators: offer a different sized brush for each layer to create depth, keeping instructions clear and simple. Use prompts like, “Do three circles” or “Let’s change to a different colour.” Rotate the canvas as needed and demonstrate visually—reminding them that uneven shapes and irregular marks often make the artwork more eye-catching.
Step 3: Bling!
Finish by adding decorative touches. Seniors can use paint pens to draw around shapes, add clusters of marks, or doodle patterns. These smaller details add a real pop of energy to the artwork. Celebrate and highlight contributions along the way—“Look at this detail, so creative!” Hold up the piece at the end so everyone can see how their marks come together into something beautiful. This step not only ties the artwork together but also gives participants a sense of pride, shared memory, and mindful relaxation.
Extra Tips for Seniors Groups:
This process shows facilitators, community leaders, and activity coordinators how easy it is to run beginner-friendly collaborative art projects with seniors. It’s simple, fun, and a creative way for older adults to connect, express themselves, and enjoy shared group art.
Discover how my personal journey inspired me to create collaborative art that’s fun, supportive, and beginner-friendly for everyone.
In this episode of Easy Collaborative Art, I share why I started facilitating collaborative art and how my experiences as a parent and teacher shaped the way I guide groups. You’ll hear how breaking projects into simple steps and creating a supportive environment helps everyone feel confident, explore creatively, and enjoy contributing to something bigger.
Whether you’re guiding kids, teens, adults or simply friends, this episode shows how a simple, structured approach can unlock creativity and connection for anyone.
What you’ll discover in this episode:
Links and Resources:
🎨 Read the full episode transcript: Episode 6: Why Did I Start Creating CollaborativeArt?
📘 Grab your free Beginner’s Guide to Collaborative Art
🎧 Podcast Home: Easy Collaborative Art
Happy Painting!
Charndra - Your Inclusive Social ArtGuide
How do you finish a collaborative group art project? Add the sparkle! Learn how to bring your collaborative artwork to life with the Bling stage.
In this episode of Easy Collaborative Art, I guide you through the Bling stage—the final step in the Pattern Play process. You’ll discover how to use paint pens, doodles, and shiny finishing touches to add fun details that transform your group’s painting without overwhelming it.
Whether you’re working with kids, adults, or mixed abilities, these simple techniques make it easy to celebrate everyone’s contribution and create something vibrant together.
What you’ll discover in this episode:
Links and Resources:
🎨 Read the full episode transcript: Episode 5: Bling! — The Final Stage
📘 Grab your free Beginner’s Guide to Collaborative Art
🎧 Podcast Home: Easy Collaborative Art
Below is a quick ‘How to Start’ guide for running easy collaborative art projects with special needs or neurodiverse groups.
Imagine you are a teacher, support worker, or group facilitator guiding a group of people living with intellectual disabilities, sensory differences, or neurodiverse needs through a simple, beginner-friendly group art project.
Here’s a process you might follow:
Step 1: Messy Playing
Begin with an open, sensory-friendly activity – painting on a large canvas pre-painted with a busy underpainting to reduce the shock of a blank white surface. Provide larger brushes and encourage participants to explore circles,dots, and dashes—both large and small—on different parts of the artwork. Participants can move around or you can rotate the canvas as feels right. Limit the colour scheme to two or three harmonious colours to keep it simple. Thisstage helps participants feel relaxed, engaged, and confident, while experiencing what collaborative art is: creating together rather than alone.
Step 2: Exploring
Once the background is lively with brushwork and colour, invite participants to add simple patterns or shapes using a medium-sized brush. Use my Pattern Play resources for them to copy ideas—this is how artists learn. Encourage layering and repetition, and demonstrate patterns clearly and confidently. Perfection is not the goal—a circle can be an oval or or a blob in shape.
Tip for facilitators: provide one brush size per layer and model each step visually. Simple instructions like “Do this:” (paint a circle) or SHOWING THEM how to swirl a circle into a spiral helps participants see how their marks matter and connect to the larger group art project while they practice and build skills.
Step 3: Bling!
Finish by adding decorative touches. Participants can use paint pens to add doodles and patterns once the paint is dry. Ask them to outline favourite shapes or march a row of ants (dashes) along a line. Stick-on gems, dot stickers, or even small additions like nail polish dots (sensory-safe with ventilation) addexcitement and help tie the artwork together. Move around the group to offer support and encouragement, highlighting contributions: “Look at what Mary did—so cool! Copy her idea over there in another colour, Paul.” This stageensures participants feel proud of their part in the collaborative artwork.
Tip for facilitators: if a participant is only able to ‘scribble’—that’s fine (we call this ‘spaghetti’). Simply play “Swapsies!” regularly with colours and keep turning the canvas.
This process shows teachers, support workers, and facilitators how easy it is to run beginner-friendly, inclusive collaborative art projects. It’s simple, fun, and a creative way for neurodiverse or special needs participants to connect through shared group art and self-expression.
What happens after the fearless first layer of 'Messy Playing' with paint? - Exploring patterns in collaborative art!
In this episode, discover how to guide your group into the Exploring stage of collaborative art—layering patterns, playing with colour, and building confidence together.
In this episode of Easy Collaborative Art, I take you inside the second stage of the Pattern Play process: Exploring. This is where your group shifts from wild spontaneity to structured play—adding playful patterns, experimenting with size and colour, and responding to what’s already on the canvas.
You’ll discover 3 simple ideas:
If you’re painting with a small group on a shared canvas or tackling a large-scale mural project on a wall outside in the community, this stage can be repeated as many times as you like—each layer adding depth, detail, and fun to the process.
Links and Resources:
🎨 Read the full episode transcript: Episode 4: What Comes After the First Messy Layer in Collaborative Art? (Exploring Stage)
📘 Grab your free Beginner’s Guide to Collaborative Art
🎧 Podcast Home: Easy Collaborative Art
Happy Painting!
Charndra
Your Inclusive Social Art Guide.
Below is a quick ‘How to Start’ guide for running easy collaborative art projects withhigh school or youth groups.
Imagine you are a teacher, youth leader, or group facilitator working with a class of teens or a youth group and want to guide them through a simple, beginner-friendly group art project. Here’s a process you might follow:
Step 1: Messy Playing
Begin with freedom and experimentation. Provide a slightly larger size of brush andencourage participants to cover the surface with broad strokes, swirls, or simple clusters of marks like dots or dashes. Limit the palette to two or three harmonious colours to make it approachable. This stage helps teenagers or young adults relax, feel confident, and experience firsthand what collaborative artis: creating together rather than individually.
Step 2: Exploring
Once the base layer is filled with expressive brushwork, invite participants to addpatterns and simple shapes. Use Pattern Play resources or let teens invent their own designs, steering them away from words and brand images. Encourage layering, size variation, and group awareness—showing how individual choices contribute to a shared group art project.
Tip for facilitators: offer progressively smaller brushes for additional layers to create depth and visual interest, but keep the same size of brush for each layer. Less decision-making helps participants stay focused for longerperiods.
Step 3: Bling!
Finish by adding decorative touches. Teens can use paint pens or Sharpie markers to decorate patterns and shapes once dry—adding ornamentation along a shape, within a line, or in clusters to give a highlighting layer to the artwork. This is a relaxing, mindful stage; have participants move around to avoid anyonefeeling singled out, while allowing their contributions to become part of the whole. Stick-on gems or dot stickers add excitement and help tie the artwork together. This stage ensures each participant feels proud of their contributions.
This process shows teachers, youth leaders, and facilitators how easy it is to run beginner-friendly collaborative art projects with high school or youth groups. It’s simple, fun, and a creative way for teens to connect through shared group art and artistic expression.
Wondering how to start a collaborative art project? In this episode, we explore the Messy Playing stage—the fun, fearless first step of my Pattern Play method.
How Do You Start Collaborative Art? (Messy Playing Stage)
Ever stared at a blank canvas and thought, “Where do I even begin?”
In Episode 3 of the Easy Collaborative Art Podcast, I share the very first stage of my Pattern Play method—Messy Playing—and why it’s the perfect way to start any collaborative art project.
What you’ll learn in this episode:
Why starting loose and messy melts fear and sparks creativity.
How random marks and layers build depth, movement, and energy.
The power of overlapping marks to create true collaboration.
Resources & Links:
Read the full transcript and highlights: Episode 3: How to Start a Collaborative Art Project
Get my free beginner’s guide with your first Pattern Play resources: Join the email list
Follow me on Instagram @paintingaround for 'work in progress' images mainly.
If you enjoyed this episode, thank you for following the podcast and please share it with someone who’d love to try collaborative art!
- Charndra
Your inclusive social art guide.
Curious how simple patterns can bring people together to create something vibrant and fun? Episode 2 explores Pattern Play Collaborative Art—a beginner-friendly approach where anyone, of any age or ability, can join in and create.
What is Pattern Play Collaborative Art (and How Does It Work)?
Are you curious about how simple patterns can transform a blank canvas into a vibrant, collaborative artwork? In this episode, I share with you the creative world of Pattern Play—a fun, beginner-friendly approach to collaborative art that anyone can join in on, no matter their skill level, age, or background in art.
What You’ll Learn in This Episode:
What Pattern Play Collaborative Art is and why it works for all ages and abilities.
The three stages of Pattern Play—Messy Playing, Exploring, and Bling!—and how they build confidence and creativity.
Why playful patterns like dots, spirals, and arches are powerful tools for group creativity.
How to use my free guide to start your first collaborative artwork.
Links and Resources for This Episode:
Visit my website: PaintingAroundisFun.com
— Charndra
Your inclusive social art guide
Ready to discover how collaborative art can turn any group into a creative team? Episode 1 introduces you to the playful, beginner-friendly Pattern Play approach—perfect for parents, teachers, and facilitators.
Welcome to Episode 1! I’m diving into what collaborative art is all about and why I’m so passionate about sharing it with you.
Discover how this simple, playful approach can turn any group into a creative team by painting together.
I’ll also introduce the 3 stages of 'Pattern Play Collaborative Art' so you can get started with confidence—even if you’re new to art.
Become introduced to the Pattern Play style of collaborative art!
Links and Resources:
Free Beginner’s Guide to Collaborative Art
Episode Transcript: Easy Collaborative Art Podcast — Episode 1: What Is Collaborative Art—and Why Does This Podcast Exist?
Podcast Home: Easy Collaborative Art Podcast
Below is a quick ‘How to Start’ guide if you’re wondering what collaborative art is and how to use it with younger children.
Imagine you are an early childhood educator with a class of preschoolers or kindergarten students and want to guide them through their very first group art project (without losing your mind).
Here’s a simple process you might follow:
Step 1: Messy Playing
Begin with play. Give each child a brush or sponge and let them explore bold strokes, dots, and swirls of colour. Don’t worry about neatness—this stage is all about fun, freedom, and getting comfortable. When children see their marks mixing together, they experience firsthand what collaborative art is: creating something as a group, not just alone.
Step 2: Exploring
Add simple, child-friendly patterns. Use the Pattern Play resources in the free Beginner's Guide or encourage the children to repeat shapes they already know—like circles, wiggly worms, or clusters of raindrops and Cat's Ears: 'V V'. They can copy patterns, or invent their own. Tip for teachers: provide a different brush size each layer so the children can notice how their artwork becomes more detailed. This step helps them see how their individual contributions connect to the larger group art project.
Step 3: Bling!
Invite the children to decorate. Paint pens or markers, stickers, or dot makers are perfect at this age. They can doodle around patterns, trace over lines, or add bright finishing touches with the stickers in little clusters. These stick-on gems or shiny dot stickers can add extra excitement. The bling step helps the artwork come together, and each child leaves proud of their part in the collaborative piece.
This simple process shows early childhood educators what collaborative art is in practice: a creative, beginner-friendly way to help children explore, play, paint and work together while making a group art project they can all feel part of.
Pattern Play Collaborative Art is all about connection and creativity.
Ready to spark creativity and connection with your group? 🎨 Discover how easy and fun collaborative art can be with my beginner-friendly Pattern Play process.Hi! I’m Charndra, and welcome to Easy Collaborative Art — your go-to podcast for running fun, inclusive group art projects, even if you don’t consider yourself “arty.”
In this trailer, I’ll introduce you to my simple, beginner-friendly "Pattern Play Collaborative Art" process that helps you bring creativity, connection, and joy to groups of all ages and abilities. Whether you’re a teacher, facilitator, or parent, this podcast is here to support you with practical ideas and inspiring stories to get started with collaborative painting right away.
Each week, I’ll share my tips on using the three simple stages of Messy Playing, Exploring and BLING to help you use colour, mark-making, and layering techniques to create unique art — plus real-life stories from my work with schools, community groups, and families. No experience needed, just a willingness to play and connect.
👉 Get your free Beginner’s Guide to Collaborative Art here
👉 Follow me on Instagram: [@paintingaround]
👉 Visit my website for more resources, products, and workshops: PaintingAroundisFun.com
Thanks for tuning in! If you like what you hear, please come back for the launch in August. Let’s create together!
- Charndra
Your inclusive social art guide