Building tiny altars

Making tiny altars is one way that I bring moments of space and sacredness into my ordinary hours. They're a way of intentionally connecting with the unknown. They’re also good way of bringing some kind of creative practice to your day without needing to know how to draw - art therapy can take many forms!

I build tiny altars usually for one of two reasons. To hold an intention, or to hold a meaning. Intentions are about the future, meanings are about the present. I don't often build them for the past, though that’s definitely something you could do.

The tiny altar in this photo was to hold a meaning.

The day I created it, I wanted to go to the beach but couldn't settle, I couldn't get myself out of the house, I couldn't pick a beach to go to, every one I drove past wasn't right, the one I finally made myself stop at wasn't right, nothing was right. I felt scattered and fragmented and buzzy in my head.

I walked along the sand picking up rocks. There wasn't anywhere to sit that felt right, so I sat down in the sand where I was.

I cleared a space in the sand in front of me with my hands. A blank space for things to be possible in.

I like starting with nothing, because if there is nothing, everything is possible.

My brain shut up and my fingers took over, they instinctively knew what to do with the things I'd collected. They knew the medicine my scattered self needed.

They built this tiny altar, and as I spent some time with it, listening to the waves, I settled and a deep calm grew in me.

Things felt right again.

Perhaps you’d like to play with making tiny altars too?

If you’d like some personal support with bringing this kind of simple ritual into your life, get in touch. Art therapy isn’t just about drawing or making images, it’s about any kind of creative expression that supports you in your life. If you’d like to find out more, perhaps you’d like to click here to book a time to chat?