How Can an Expressive Art Therapy Exercise Help with Collective Grief and Anger?
There’s collective heartache happening. And there’s anger too. Real, justified anger about injustice and harm. About systems that fail to protect people. About losses that shouldn’t have to happen.
And underneath that anger, there’s often grief. Grief for what’s been lost. Grief for safety that feels out of reach for so many in our communities. And grief for the world we wish we lived in.
Making Space for What We’re Carrying
So, where do we put feelings?
Community helps. Meaningful action and showing up for causes you believe in, using your voice, and organizing with others give the anger somewhere constructive to go. And rest, when you can find it, can allow your nervous system to come down from constant vigilance.
And sometimes, we need to go within. We need to be with the emotions, to feel them, witness them, let them move through us.
Expressive arts therapy can help by creating a container for these emotions, offering a tangible way to hold what feels too heavy or diffuse to carry alone. Ritualized art-making gives grief and anger a form, a boundary, and a place to rest, even temporarily.
I’d like to share an expressive arts therapy exercise, more like a ritual, that gently supports both expressing and holding these emotions. It’s called the empty vessel ritual.
The Empty Vessel Expressive Art Therapy Exercise
This ritual can be done alone or with others. Some people prefer solitude to go deep into their own process. Others find strength in witnessing each other’s grief and anger in community. Trust what you need.
Here’s what you’ll need for the exercise. Keep it simple. Easy-to-access, affordable materials will do.
- Air-dry clay or polymer clay or use papier-mache, fabric, or a pre-made bowl/jar to decorate
- Paper and pen
- Scissors or your hands for tearing
- A quiet space where you won’t be interrupted
30-60 minutes
Step 1: Reflect quietly on a loss
Sit comfortably and take a few deep breaths. Choose one loss to focus on. For example, this could be:
- A person, animal, or relationship
- A sense of safety or trust
- A version of the world you believed in
- A part of yourself you’ve had to protect or hide
- Hope for how things could have beenChoose something you can stay present with. If you feel yourself dissociating or becoming overwhelmed, pause and return to your breath. You’re in control of this process.
Step 2: Write what you cherish or are still holding
On your paper, write down what you’re carrying about this loss. Use single words, short phrases, or brief memories. There’s no need for complete sentences or “good writing.” You might write:
- Names
- Moments you remember
- What you miss
- What you’re angry about
- What you wish you could say
- What you wish had been different
Variation: If writing feels too hard, draw symbols, colors, or shapes instead. Or collect small objects (stones, leaves, photos) to place in your vessel.
Step 3: Tear or cut the words out
Now, slowly tear or cut each word or phrase from the page. Let your body set the pace. Notice if you want to tear quickly or slowly. Notice if your hands feel shaky or steady. There’s no right way to do this.
As you tear, you’re already beginning the process of externalizing and taking what’s inside and giving it form outside your body.
Variation: If tearing feels too harsh, fold the papers gently instead. Or burn them safely (outdoor/fireproof container) and place the ashes in the vessel.
Step 4: Reach for your clay
Before you start shaping anything, just feel the clay. Hold it in your hands. Notice:
- Is the texture smooth or rough?
- Does the temperature warm up in your hands?
- How heavy does it feel?
- What happens when you press into it?
Let yourself be present to the clay itself.
Step 5: Create a simple vessel
Using your hands, shape the clay into a bowl, box, or vessel of your choice. Focus on making something that can hold, not how it looks. You might:
- Roll the clay into a ball, then press your thumbs into the center to create a bowl
- Flatten the clay and fold up the edges to create a boat-like shape
- Roll long coils and stack them in a circle to build walls
- Shape it into any form that feels right to you
Work slowly. Let your hands know what they’re doing. If the vessel cracks or isn’t perfect, that’s okay. Imperfection is part of the process.
Variation: If clay isn’t accessible, fold paper into an origami box, use papier-mache, sew fabric into a pouch, or personalize a pre-made bowl or jar.
Step 6: Place the words into the vessel
One by one, place each torn piece of paper into your clay vessel. As you do, you can choose to say (out loud or silently):
“I place this here. This vessel holds what I have been carrying.”
Notice what it’s like to have something outside yourself contain what’s been inside.
Step 7: Witness what you’ve created
Sit with your vessel. Place your hands around it, or simply look at it. This vessel now holds your grief, your anger, your memories, your losses. It’s no longer just inside you. It’s here, in form, witnessed.
After completing this ritual, take time to sit with these questions:
- What did it feel like to give form to what you’ve been carrying?
- How does your body feel now, compared to before you started?
- What surprised you during this process?
- Is there anything your vessel wants to tell you?
Variation: Light a candle, play music that matches what you’re feeling, or sit in silence.
Step 8: Decide what happens next
You have choices:
- Keep the vessel somewhere you can see it, as a reminder that your grief and anger have a place
- Bury it in the earth, giving it back to something larger
- Place it on an altar or sacred space, honoring what it holds
- Add to it over time, as new griefs and angers arise
- Photograph it before releasing it to create a visual record of this moment
- Share it with a trusted person and tell them what it holds
- Destroy it intentionally as a final release, smash it, dissolve it in water, or return it to the earth
There’s no wrong choice. Trust what feels right for you.
Returning to This Practice
Processing collective pain isn’t linear. Some days the grief will feel heavier. Some days, the anger will burn hotter. That’s when you can return to this art therapy exercise.
The vessel you created gives you a place to hold these feelings, and you can come back to this ritual whenever you need it.
Ready to Go Deeper?
If this practice resonates with you and you’d like support processing trauma, grief, and anger in a therapeutic setting, I offer individual therapy and coaching in multiple Bay Area locations. I work with adults navigating personal trauma alongside collective pain, using expressive arts therapy and other holistic approaches.
You can also explore my Holistic Trauma Healing Card Deck, which is a tool I created to support healing work both in sessions and at home. The deck includes cards on grief, anger, boundaries, and other essential themes for trauma recovery.
You can learn more about my therapy services here or explore the Holistic Trauma Healing Card Deck and journal here.