After the women had each written their lists, they shared their "poems" with one another. The freedom and the opportunity for them to place a new value on their work offered the women the chance to honor their own thoughts and words:

The rose cannot change her petal
All roses are beautiful
And nature wants her petal to be just the way it is
—Natalia

Drawing and Painting

Draw? I can't draw to save my life!

You know I was never any good at painting—that was my sister's thing. I actually loved to paint until my parents made comments like that, so I stopped trying altogether.

Using art can offer a freedom to learners who have never before completed a piece a work without it being judged or graded. Having the private space to use materials in a creative way can be an entirely new experience for many. I was certain that art would allow the women to think differently about their own abilities. For those with a language or literacy barrier, pictures, drawings and diagrams may provide an easier route to expression than words. Like singing, however, drawing and painting can be a foreign task for those who don't feel confident, or if others have experienced negative responses to their artwork or ability.

It's not that good, but hey I tried. I guess I look like that—I know I have hair like that. Well it's not that pretty but that's ok—that's me. I am appreciative of my life. Even through the bad things that have happened to me—I have learned that I can appreciate the things that are good.

As with the other activities, people needed to feel comfortable in order to take part. Once we acknowledged that in art every line is unique and there is no right or wrong way to create, the women were able to freely use the time and materials to express themselves. In one drawing activity, I asked the women to draw themselves. Self portraits can be revealing and useful for reflecting on the way people see themselves. During the sharing time that followed, participants had a chance to talk about why they held certain beliefs about themselves that they saw in their drawings.