Collaborative Artworks

Collaborative Artworks: Discover inspiring collaborative artworks created with groups of all ages and abilities. These projects bring people together — from school students and seniors to community groups, disability and inclusion participants, and the general public. Each artwork is built step by step through playful, creative processes that make painting accessible, joyful, and confidence-building. Whether it’s a small group at a community centre or hundreds of people contributing to a larger canvas, collaborative artworks show the power of creativity to connect people. Explore past projects for ideas and see how easy it is to create meaningful, inclusive art with your own group.

All of these projects use my Pattern Play Collaborative Art approach — a fun, inclusive process that encourages Messy Playing, Exploring, and Bling to help participants of all abilities create expressive, collaborative artworks. Get your free guide to start.

Small children painting together on a large cool-colored canvas, applying patterns with big brushes and playful strokes.

How to Create a Pattern Play Collaborative Artwork in 3 Simple Steps

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Quick Takeaway

Curious about how to do Pattern Play Art? In this post, you’ll discover my simple 3-step Pattern Play Collaborative Art framework that makes group painting easy and fun. I’ve guided over 2,000 participants in more than 60 community and school projects, and I want to help you do the same with my helpful digital resources. You’ll learn how to spark creativity, work together, and create a vibrant shared artwork with confidence.

Want to discover how to do Pattern Play Collaborative Art?

/Bling stage of Pattern Play Art created for the Incognito Art Show 2024 by a family group, with final details painted by a 19-year-old participant.

Peer Support artwork in the Bling stage of How to Do Pattern Play Art, featuring cool colours and finishing touches added by adults living with disability and others.

Pattern Play Group Art – A Quick How-to Guide.

Whether you’re painting with kids, adults, students or friends, this fun and flexible art activity is all about layering marks, patterns, and playful decoration—together. These three simple steps will show you how to get started with Pattern Play Collaborative Art, using just a few brushes, paint colours, and optional pattern prompts. No art skills required—just curiosity and a willingness to play!

Here’s a simple, beginner-friendly way to create a collaborative artwork using the Pattern Play method.

Try these 3 simple steps to create your own Pattern Play Collaborative Artwork:

Stage 1 of Pattern Play Collaborative Art: Messy Playing

Start with a shared canvas. Use big brushes to add circles, spirals, and arches from the edges. Add clusters of marks like dots, dashes and smiles. Overlap your marks to build a playful base layer.
Tip: Big brushes help everyone loosen up and get painting!
👉 Pairs beautifully with the Mark Making and Circle Play from my Pattern Play Pages for a playful, cohesive look.

Three examples of Pattern Play Art: Messy Playing, showing how real and messy it is! Go nuts and cover the surface:

"Growing Together" artwork created with primary school children featuring messy brushwork, sponging, and scraping techniques during the Messy Playing stage.

"Myriad" artwork from an art exhibition showing loose brushstrokes, big brushes, and a playful use of patterns.

Growing Together project showing messy playing through big brushes and loose brushwork.
Myriad project showing vibrant messy playing process through circles, spirals and mark-making.
Lava project starting messy playing stage with dynamic, expressive brushwork.

Stage 2 of Pattern Play Collaborative Art: Exploring

Add a layer of repeating patterns in a few related colours— rainbows, zigzags, leaves, or more circles. Use medium brushes to vary the lines and fill in spaces.
Tip: Medium brushes let you add variety and rhythm. Use one colour family per layer—only warm colours or only cool colours—for clean, vibrant results.
👉 Try using the Pattern Play Cards for simple, beginner-friendly patterns that anyone can follow.

Three examples of Pattern Play Collective Art: Exploring, showing how size and variety make such a rich vision. Add more layers…

We Talk Together artwork in the Exploring stage of Pattern Play, using medium and small brushes to layer collaborative patterns.

Exploring stage of How to Do Pattern Play Art, featuring clustered shapes and detailed pattern layers from the Utopia project.

We Talk Together project in the Exploring stage of collaborative art, focused on layered patterns.
Utopia project artwork during the Exploring stage, where pattern clusters add creative detail.
Growing Together project during the Exploring stage, adding layers of marks with small brushes.

Stage 3 of Pattern Play Collaborative Art: Bling!

Use paint pens to decorate and doodle—outline, highlight, and add fine details. This part is often quiet and focused, bringing the artwork together beautifully. Use the same Pattern Play shapes and patterns from earlier layers to add ornamentation and a sense of cohesion.
Tip: Paint pens create clean lines and are loved by kids and adults alike.

Three examples of Pattern Play Social Art: Bling, showing how detail adds sophistication! Add decoration and sticker gems…

Incognito 2024 – A family of four created 12 joined artworks, with the Bling stage of this piece added by a 19-year-old.
Peer Support project created by 16 adults living with disability and others in a mixed-generation group.
Community project – detail of Bling stage from one of three artworks created by 600 people.

Pattern Play Collaborative Art – Ready to give it a go?

Pattern Play Collaborative Art is simple, joyful, and endlessly adaptable—whether you’re working with children, adults, classrooms, or community groups. These three steps are just the beginning. Once you get started, you’ll discover how each layer can evolve with more colours, patterns, and personal touches.

Happy Painting!

Charndra,

Your Inclusive Social Art Guide

FREE Guide + Mini Course: Learn the Easiest Way to Run a Collaborative Art Project

Sign up to get the Beginner’s Guide and a short email course that shows you how to plan, start, and guide your first Pattern Play project with confidence.

You’ll get weekly creative tips and group art ideas from me.

Bonus: You’ll also receive a special offer inside.

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My group of 3 kids and I painted together on a large shared collection of 12 A6 artworks—capturing the fun of cooperative artwork.

How to Paint a Cooperative Artwork with Kids: Messy, Easy and Creative!

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Quick Takeaway

How to paint a cooperative artwork is easier than you think! I’ve facilitated over 60 community and school-based collaborative art projects with more than 2,000 participants, using my simple Pattern Play Collaborative Art framework. In this post, you’ll discover fun, easy ways to guide kids to create together—and I want to help you do the same with my helpful digital resources.

Have you ever wondered how to paint a cooperative artwork with a group – without needing everyone to be “artistic”?

Completed cooperative artwork layered with patterns, colours, and highlights created by a group of kids.

White paint highlights and small metallic dots added to finish a cooperative artwork—Bling stage in action.

One of our favourite ways to explore cooperative painting as an annual family activity is through our Incognito Art Show projects, which I create alongside my kids. These colourful, playful artworks come together over time, with everyone layering patterns, shapes, and ideas onto 12 shared panels. Whether you’re planning cooperative art projects for kids, a school-based mural, or just a fun family weekend, this step-by-step approach is perfect for relaxed, inclusive creativity. In this article, I’ll walk you through the process we follow in three simple stages, so you can try your own version of a cooperative art project at home or in a group setting. The 3 simple stages are Messy Playing, Exploring and Bling, from my my style of collaborative art, called ‘Pattern Play Collaborative Art’.

How to Paint a Cooperative Artwork: Underpainting

Soft cool-toned underpainting on a shared base of 12 A6 Panels —a foundational step in how to paint a cooperative artwork. — Starting with underpainting: the first step in painting a cooperative artwork.

How to Paint a Cooperative Artwork: The Underpainting Stage

This soft, layered underpainting begins the process of how to paint a cooperative artwork. It sets the tone for a cooperative painting project where shared canvases evolve through colour, shape, and connection. A gentle start to our Painting Around is Fun sessions, this stage is part of our family’s favourite cooperative art activity. The kids scribbled with conte over the underpainting in some joyful, freeform play—an early step in our evolving cooperative art project. The actual underpainting itself was mottled blues and whites mixed together with big brushes and spontaneous painting play…

How to Paint a Cooperative Artwork: Messy Playing

Messy, overlapping marks on canvas made by kids painting together—how to paint a cooperative artwork playfully. — Messy Playing: playful patterns start the cooperative painting process.

Stage 1: Messy Playing (Letting go and layering the fun!)

This first stage is all about saying goodbye to blank canvas fear. It’s the heart of many of our cooperative painting activities, where we warm up, experiment, and make our mark—literally.

We begin with a limited colour palette (for this project it was cool colours—blue, green, purple, and white). Then we squirt blobs of paint directly onto the canvas and just start spreading colour around using large brushes, sponge rollers, or even our fingers.

There’s no right or wrong. The idea is to fill up space quickly and intuitively. Everyone adds something: dots, swirls, scribbles, big brushy streaks, overlapping shapes. It’s energetic, messy, and sometimes chaotic—but it’s also where the magic starts.

This stage is all about creating cooperative artworks through spontaneous mark-making—not making something look like anything. Just getting paint down and layering marks, colours, and textures. This is what makes it such a fantastic cooperative art project for kids—no one’s the “main artist,” and the whole group is involved from the beginning.

💡 Tip: Try putting on music and having everyone paint to the rhythm for a fun energy boost!

This stage gives the whole joint collaborative artwork a rich, active background to build on later—and gives everyone a sense of ownership from the start. It’s a playful way to introduce cooperative art ideas in a relaxed and joyful setting.

How to Paint a Cooperative Artwork: Exploring Patterns

Children layering bold patterns and shapes over colourful marks—exploring new ideas in a cooperative artwork. — How to Paint a Cooperative Artwork – Exploring Stage

Stage 2: Exploring (Patterns, play and painterly focus)

Once our canvas was bursting with marks and movement, it was time to explore more deliberate creativity. This is where cooperative painting projects really come into their own—adding a layer of mindful intention without losing the group energy.

In this stage, we used alternate colours and added simple, repeated patterns to each panel. My kids (including one with Special Educational Needs) each chose one of my Pattern Play Cards and focused on that design only—painting it across the panels, overlapping edges as if they weren’t even there. Sometimes we set a playful challenge, like repeating the pattern exactly seven times, or using a different colour for each repetition.

This stage brought a sense of quiet focus to the room. While still part of a cooperative art activity, it encouraged personal expression and rhythm within the shared space. Even the most hesitant painters found a groove here—there’s something grounding about repeating a simple shape and seeing it become part of a bigger whole.

The group moved from messy freedom into structured experimentation, layering the work with connection, colour, and pattern. This is where the collaborative artwork starts to really take shape—where everyone’s contribution feels seen and valued.

💡 Tip: Encourage artists to let patterns spill across sections—this helps blur boundaries and reminds everyone that this is a shared canvas, not a patchwork of separate pieces.

How to Paint a Cooperative Artwork: Bling!

Kids adding their own elements of decoration with paint pens for accents and final details in our cooperative group painting.

Stage 3: Bling! (Finishing touches and individual flair)

After all the layering, mark-making and pattern play, it’s time for the final flourish—the Bling Stage! This is where our cooperative art project transforms into a set of unique individual artworks.

We start by flipping over the canvas and gently removing the blue tape that held the panels together from behind. It’s always a fun surprise to see how the once-shared piece now becomes individual treasures. Each person takes their three sections and adds those last details to make them their own.

Using paint pens, we go back to the familiar—repeating patterns from earlier stages, picking out shapes, or adding highlights. The shift from collaborative painting to personal artwork is gentle and joyful. It’s still connected to the whole, but it also allows for personal expression, storytelling, and pride.

💡 Tip: Make space for reflection—ask each artist what they like about their piece, or what surprised them. This builds confidence and helps them see themselves as real contributors.

Conclusion: How to paint a cooperative artwork with heart and purpose

So—how to paint a cooperative artwork with kids? Start with freedom and fun in the Messy Playing stage, where blank canvases are filled with colour and energy. Move into the Exploring stage, layering simple patterns and shapes with intention and curiosity. And finish with Bling, where each person adds their own flair, making their piece uniquely theirs while still part of the whole.

Each piece is given a name and the artist’s initials. Then, we upload them for submission to the Incognito Art Show—an amazing exhibition where every artwork is displayed anonymously. Buyers fall in love with the art, not the name. The creator could be a child or an Archibald Prize winner!

And best of all? Proceeds support art studios that empower and fund artists living with disability. So this final stage isn’t just about the bling—it’s about impact, inclusion, and sharing creativity far beyond the room.

Happy Painting!

Charndra,

Your Inclusive Social Art Guide

FREE Guide + Mini Course: Learn the Easiest Way to Run a Collaborative Art Project

Sign up to get the Beginner’s Guide and a short email course that shows you how to plan, start, and guide your first Pattern Play project with confidence.

You’ll get weekly creative tips and group art ideas from me.

Bonus: You’ll also receive a special offer inside.

Your guide arrives instantly after you confirm your email.
Unsubscribe anytime.

How to Create Participatory Art Projects That Feel Natural and Fun

Start Here: Free Guide + Mini Course

Quick Takeaway

How to create participatory art projects is easier than you think. I’ve guided over 60 community and school-based collaborative art projects with more than 2,000 participants using my simple Pattern Play Collaborative Art framework. In this post, you’ll discover practical tips and ideas to run group art activities that feel natural and fun, and I want to help you do the same with my helpful digital resources.

‘King Leo’ – a bold lion face surrounded by painted paper spirals, created by 30 children using collage, paint, and pens.

‘Safety’ – a collaborative artwork created by teenagers in blue, aqua and green over three creative sessions.

How can you create participatory art projects that are simple, fun, and engaging?

Participatory art is about joining in, not standing back. At Painting Around is Fun, I focus on shared painting experiences that build connection through colour, movement, and layered marks. The Pattern Play style of collaborative art is designed so people of all ages can contribute freely, without needing a plan or prior art skills.

Each of these participatory art projects demonstrates how creative flow can emerge naturally when everyone joins in.

“Safety” was created by teenagers over three sessions, blending blue, aqua, and green to express calm and connection.
“Movement is Life” is a dynamic gym mural painted by over 30 school children of different ages and abilities, showing abstract blue figures leaping across a warm, sunset-coloured background.
“King Leo” brought together 30 children to create a lion portrait using collage, painted spirals, and bold patterning.

These examples highlight how participatory art projects can feel natural, inclusive, and deeply engaging—making it easy and enjoyable for everyone to join in.

Three simple stages guide your freeform creativity with ease

In each session, we move through three loose stages:

Messy Playing – anything goes! This stage encourages budding creativity and playful experimentation.
Exploring – shapes and patterns begin to emerge in layers, giving structure while maintaining freedom.
Bling – the finishing touches, using paint pens, dot stickers, or gem stickers, bring the artwork together.

It’s participatory art by design, because the process belongs to everyone, and each contribution adds to the collective creation.

Want to try it in your group? Grab the Beginner’s Guide to Collaborative Art via the form below to see how easy participatory art can be.

Happy Painting!

Charndra,

Your Inclusive Social Art Guide.

‘Movement is Life’ – a gym mural showing abstract blue figures in gymnastic poses, painted by 30+ students of mixed ages and abilities. — How to create participatory art projects: Movement is Life Mural

FREE Guide + Mini Course: Learn the Easiest Way to Run a Collaborative Art Project

Sign up to get the Beginner’s Guide and a short email course that shows you how to plan, start, and guide your first Pattern Play project with confidence.

You’ll get weekly creative tips and group art ideas from me.

Bonus: You’ll also receive a special offer inside.

Your guide arrives instantly after you confirm your email.
Unsubscribe anytime.

Group of adults painting on a large shared canvas—feature graphic showing fun team artwork ideas in action.

Fun Team Artwork Ideas: 3 Easy Painting Projects for Kids, Adults, and Inclusive Groups

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Parent Carers add alternating layers of warm and cool colours to a shared canvas during a team painting session—part of the We Talk Together project.

Primary school students painted this colourful soccer goal mural as part of fun team artwork ideas using Pattern Play Collaborative Art.

🎨 Need some fun team artwork ideas to spark connection and creativity? Here’s three accessible ideas for you…

There’s something special about creating team artworks—the way painting together helps people connect, relax, and discover new sides of themselves. Whether you’re working with kids, adults, or mixed-ability groups, collaborative art can offer a joyful, low-pressure way to build community and confidence.

In this post, I’m sharing three real-life examples of fun team artwork ideas—each one created by a different group using my Pattern Play Collaborative Art approach. This method follows three simple, accessible stages: Messy Playing, Exploring, and Bling. It’s designed to work with any age or ability, making it easy to adapt to your own group or setting.

Let’s take a look at how these artworks came together—and why this kind of shared creative experience is such a powerful way to bring people together.

Fun team artwork ideas: A team mural with kids on a soccer ‘Kicking Wall’

One of my most energising team art activities for kids was created with over 30 primary school children who were part of a specialist soccer team program. Across three lively sessions, we transformed their plain ‘kicking wall’ into a vibrant, collaborative mural the size and shape of a soccer goal. From applying the primer to adding finishing touches, the students were involved in every step of the process—building not only their creative confidence but a strong sense of ownership. This colourful wall now serves a dual purpose: it’s a practical space they use daily for soccer practice, and a visual reminder of what they achieved together. The project blended movement, creativity, and teamwork, making it a brilliant example of how to paint a team artwork with kids in a way that’s both meaningful and fun.

Fun team artwork ideas: Peer Support – painting together with adults with disability

Bright, layered abstract canvas painted by a support group of adults with disabilities—an example of fun team artwork ideas using Pattern Play. — Peer Support artwork: a colourful team project created with adults of all abilities.

In this uplifting team art activity for adults, I worked with a group of people living with disability to create a shared canvas artwork titled Peer Support over a series of relaxed, supported sessions. Each participant contributed marks, patterns, and colour using a range of beginner-friendly tools and brushes—many choosing to paint standing up, moving around, or working side by side at their own pace. The environment was intentionally calm and flexible, with music, laughter, and plenty of space for everyone to explore their own creative rhythm. The group co-created every layer of the painting—from background colours to feature details—building connection and pride through the process. Projects like this show how inclusive team building art activities for adults can be, when we focus on expression and shared experience rather than technical skill.

Fun team artwork ideas: We Talk Together – A work in progress with parent carers

We Talk Together is a long-term collaborative artwork created with a group of parents who are carers of children with special needs, as part of our ongoing My Time program. This team artwork is built slowly, one layer at a time—often just once a term—using warm or cool colours to gently mark each session’s contribution. The rhythm is relaxed, the process is reflective, and the result is a shared visual conversation that grows over time. For many participants, these sessions are a rare chance to step away from their caring responsibilities and reconnect with their own creativity. It’s not just about painting—it’s a much-needed break, a way to bond, and a reminder that they have so much more to offer beyond their role as carers. This ongoing group art project shows how powerful team building art activities for adults can be, especially when the focus is on connection, care, and creative expression.

About MyTime: A Peer support program for Parent Carers in Australia.

My Time is time for you. Being a parent is an important job. It’s easy to get caught up in looking after your child’s needs, but looking after yourself is important too. MyTime is a place where you can unwind, and share ideas and experiences with others who understand. MyTime is for all parents and carers of children under the age of 18 who need a higher level of care than other children. This might be because of disability, chronic medical condition, or other additional needs including developmental delay. MyTime members come from different backgrounds and their children have different abilities and needs.

Fun team artwork ideas: 🎉 Wrapping up: Ready to try your own team artwork?

These three projects—painting a soccer goal wall with kids, creating Peer Support with adults living with disability, and our ongoing We Talk Together artwork with parent carers—are all great examples of fun team artwork ideas that bring people together through colour, creativity, and connection.

Each one follows the same simple approach I use in all my Pattern Play collaborative art sessions, moving through three flexible stages: Messy Playing, Exploring, and Bling! This structure makes it easy to adapt for any age, group size, or ability level, whether you’re working with kids, adults, or mixed-ability teams. It’s about making space for everyone to contribute, at their own pace and in their own way.

Happy Painting!

Charndra,

Your Inclusive Social Art Guide.

If you’re curious to try a team artwork yourself—at home, work, school, or in a community setting—why not start with something simple? I can help you with that:

REE Guide + Mini Course: Learn the Easiest Way to Run a Collaborative Art Project

Sign up to get the Beginner’s Guide and a short email course that shows you how to plan, start, and guide your first Pattern Play project with confidence.

You’ll get weekly creative tips and group art ideas from me.

Bonus: You’ll also receive a special offer inside.

Your guide arrives instantly after you confirm your email.
Unsubscribe anytime.

Detail of the Community artwork created by 600 members of the public over two weeks during an Artist in Residence program at Westfield Marion.

Community Art Made Simple With Pattern Play

Start Here: Free Guide + Mini Course

Quick Takeaway

Community art projects for groups don’t need to be complex—this post shows you how the Pattern Play Collaborative Art framework makes group creativity simple, inclusive, and genuinely fun. Drawing on my experience facilitating over 60 community and school-based collaborative art projects with more than 2,000 participants, you’ll learn practical ways to run relaxed, engaging group art sessions and discover helpful resources that support facilitators and community event organisers.

Companionship community artwork in cool colours including blues, greens, purples, and deep indigo, created by members of the public.

Conversation community artwork in warm peach, yellow, orange, red, coral, and burgundy tones, created by 600 public participants.

Looking for a fun and accessible way to create an art work in your community?

Discover how community art projects for groups can be easy, engaging, and full of creative surprises using the Pattern Play method.

Community art can be powerful – but it doesn’t need to be complicated. Through the Pattern Play Collaborative Art method, I offer a way for people in schools, groups, and neighbourhoods to create something joyful together, no matter their background or skill.

7 Group Art Colour Schemes product cover image

If you want an easy way to guide colour choices in your community art projects for groups, my 7 Group Art Colour Schemes work brilliantly. Each scheme is minimal and efficient, helping you manage time, materials, budget, and clean-up while still achieving colours that look great together.

A relaxed way to bring people together through paint.

All of the examples below come from the Art Story Community Art Project, created with 600 members of the public during my Artist in Residence program at Westfield Marion. Each artwork is 1m x 1m—a size chosen deliberately to invite movement, shared space, and creative play. This scale allows multiple people to paint at once, explore different sections, and experience the joy of creating something together. The impact was powerful: many visitors left inspired to start their own collaborative art projects, and several school and community groups have since created similar artworks after seeing how engaging and visually striking the results can be. These are all simple community art projects for groups that spark connection and creativity.

3 simple stages guide your spontaneous creativity with ease:

The three stages—Messy Playing, Exploring, and Bling—help people connect without pressure. It starts with play, grows through pattern-making, and finishes with sparkle. The final canvas is shared, but the memories and marks belong to each person. Community art is simple and straightforward using the Pattern Play Collaborative Art Process.

Community artwork with layered warm and cool colours, built daily by 600 public participants over two weeks. — Community Art Made Simple With Pattern Play: ‘Community’

Start Your Collaborative Art Journey – Free Guide + Mini Course

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Explore more collaborative art ideas →

Best Collaborative Art Ideas: Projects, Guides & Resources for All Ages

Accessible Art Projects That Work for Everyone

Free Step-by-Step Group Art Guide – Click Here

Quick Takeaway

Accessible art projects for beginners can be simple, fun, and inclusive. I’ve facilitated over 60 community and school-based collaborative art projects with more than 2,000 participants, using my easy Pattern Play Collaborative Art framework. In this post, you’ll discover practical ideas and tips, and I want to help you do the same with my helpful digital resources.

Growing Together – Accessible Art with Primary School Kids

Voice – Teenagers’ First Accessible Art Project

What Are Accessible Art Projects That Work for Everyone?

Make art feel possible, playful, and pressure-free.

Accessible art means everyone can join in—and that’s exactly what the Pattern Play Collaborative Art approach is made for. At Painting Around, I’ve created a process that works whether you’re young, old, nervous, confident, verbal or nonverbal. Everyone adds something. Everyone matters.

3 simple stages guide your freeform creativity with ease:

The three stages—Messy Playing, Exploring, and Bling—create a flexible path that lets people engage at their own pace. It’s hands-on, sensory, and simple to join in at any point. No special tools or skills needed – just curiosity and a shared surface. It’s designed to be accessible art – to all ages, abilities and groups.

These accessible art projects for beginners show how group creativity can thrive when the process is simple, inclusive, and engaging. ‘Voice’, created in one afternoon by a group of teenagers new to collaborative art, is a vibrant red and blue piece that celebrates their role as young carers. ‘Growing Together’ was painted in just one day by 30 primary school children using swirls of cool colours and playful, layered marks. And ‘Aspiring to Success’, a calming blend of greens, teals, blues, and gold, was created by 120 junior primary students in their very first group painting project over three sessions across three weeks. Each of these artworks proves that with the right approach, accessible art activities can work beautifully across ages and abilities. You can create artwork like these – always unique, always dynamic.

Accessible art project created by a group of teenagers – 'Voice' artwork in red and blue, their first collaborative piece. — Accessible art projects for beginners: ‘Voice’

Curious how it works?

Free Step-by-Step Group Art Guide – Click Here

Beginner-friendly accessible artwork created by 120 junior primary students – 'Aspiring to Success' in cool greens, teals, blues, and gold — Accessible art projects for beginners: ‘Aspiring to Success’

FREE Guide + Mini Course: Learn the Easiest Way to Run a Collaborative Art Project

Sign up to get the Beginner’s Guide and a short email course that shows you how to plan, start, and guide your first Pattern Play project with confidence.

You’ll get weekly creative tips and group art ideas from me.

Bonus: You’ll also receive a special offer inside.

Your guide arrives instantly after you confirm your email.
Unsubscribe anytime.

DIY Family Art Party graphic featuring our Incognito artwork and article title, “Our DIY Family Art Party Adventure: From Kitchen Table to Art Show! (& Free Guide)”

Our DIY Family Art Party Adventure: From Kitchen Table to Art Show! (& Free Guide)

Start Here: Free Guide + Mini Course

Quick Takeaway

Our DIY Family Art Party is a fun, hands-on way to bring creativity into your home and spark collaboration among all ages. I’ve facilitated over 60 community and school-based collaborative art projects with more than 2,000 participants, using my simple Pattern Play Collaborative Art framework. In this post, you’ll discover how to turn your kitchen table into a shared art adventure—and I want to help you do the same with my helpful digital resources.

Welcome to our DIY family art party adventure!

We turned a simple family activity into a colourful, collaborative experience using my Pattern Play Collaborative Art approach.

Final touches in our DIY Family Art Party: gold bling, dots and layered circles

Sparkling accents and bold lines from our DIY Family Art Party collaborative canvas

Over a series of relaxed sessions at our kitchen table, my kids and I created twelve small artworks together for the Incognito Art Show. In this article, I’ll walk you through the three simple stages we followed: Messy Playing, Exploring, and finally Bling! Each phase encouraged creativity, connection, and just the right amount of chaos. The finished artworks were then sent off and sold at the Incognito Art Show in Sydney, New South Wales for $100 each, helping raise funds for studios supporting artists living with a disability.

Collaborative underpainting on canvas during our DIY Family Art Party, featuring layers of warm colours over the underpainting of splotchy blues. — Our underpainting stage – the colourful base of our family art party

DIY Family Art Party: Incognito Art Show Underpainting

We began our DIY Family Art Party with all twelve mini canvases taped together to form one big surface. Using a mix of brushes and sponges, we layered mottled blues across the whole panel, creating a calming base. Then we added random shapes and playful patterns over the top—nothing too planned—just a way to relax into the process. This was our underpainting stage, where we set the tone for the rest of the project and let go of expectations. Painting around is fun when there’s no pressure—just colour, movement, and curiosity. That’s my daughter, Mia.

Messy Playing from our DIY Family Art Party – overlapping spirals, arches, and playful marks — Messy Playing: where the fun begins!

DIY Family Art Party: Incognito Art Show Messy Playing

Messy Playing Begins

Once the base was dry, we moved into the Messy Playing stage—our favourite part. We started by adding simple clusters of marks: a dot here, a swirl there, maybe a few arches in a row. We repeated the same shape or colour in three places, often overlapping the original A6 card outlines or spreading elements across different panels. This kept us moving, responding to what someone else had painted, and having fun without overthinking it. If anyone hesitated—worried they might ‘ruin’ something—I’d gently remind them to imagine it’s all blank. That simple mindset shift helps everyone, including the kids, relax and truly play.

In action photo of exploring stage: layered colours and patterns from our DIY Family Art Party project

Exploring layers and patterns on our collaborative canvas, DIY Family Art Party with kids

DIY Family Art Party: Incognito Art Show Exploring

Exploring Together

In the Exploring stage, things began to slow down a little. We took more time to notice what was already on the canvas and respond to it. One of the images shows Maven deep in the zone, adding shapes and patterns to the evolving artwork. Unlike the Messy Playing stage—where I might suggest imagining the artwork as blank to help get past hesitation—here I encourage the opposite. Now it’s about seeing, noticing, and interacting with what’s already there. That might mean outlining a shape someone else painted, adding dashes or a fine line inside a thicker mark (what we call in-lining), or simply following a creative impulse sparked by one of our Pattern Play Cards. It’s collaborative and intuitive—each mark building on the last. We do a variety of layers for this stage – this artwork we alternated between cool and warm colours each layer. Three layers might do it, or simply continue on the rest of the term, or YEAR!

Final artwork submitted to the Incognito art show, created during our DIY Family Art Party

Mixed patterns and bold shapes added during the DIY Family Art Party’s Bling stage

DIY Family Art Party: Incognito Art Show BLING!

Bling & Sending Them Off

For the final Bling stage, I carefully peeled off the blue tape holding the card panels together and handed out three pieces to each of us. With the panels now separated, it was time to make them truly our own. Using whatever paint pens took our fancy, we personalised each artwork—adding detail, highlights, and a few finishing flourishes. It’s amazing how much personality they took on at this stage! Once finished, everyone gave their pieces a name (the titles the kids come up with are always a highlight for me), then we popped them into protective sleeves and posted them off to Sydney for the Incognito exhibition. It’s such a thrill when collectors reach out through my Instagram to thank us—especially for the kids, who feel so proud seeing their work appreciated (though yes, they did ask if they get the money! 😂). Still, they’re genuinely happy knowing it goes to such a worthy cause.

DIY Family Art Party: In Conclusion

Our DIY family art party was more than just making art—it was about playing together, responding to each other’s ideas, and building something beautiful as a team. Starting with Messy Playing to get things flowing, then moving into Exploring to build depth, and finishing with some joyful Bling, we followed the same Pattern Play Collaborative Art process I use in my community projects. If you’re looking for a fun, creative way to connect with your kids (or friends!), try your own DIY family art party—you might be surprised where the paint takes you. We are currently doing our third collaborative Incognito Art Show, using the exact Pattern Play Cards available in my collaborative art shop. But first, grab my free guide to get started. It’s full of tips and tools to help you straight away.

Happy Painting!

Charndra,

Your Inclusive Social Art Guide.

Start Your Collaborative Art Journey – Free Guide + Mini Course

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Inclusive Art Activities Using the Pattern Play Collaborative Process

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Quick Takeaway

Inclusive Art Activities are a fun way to bring groups together and spark creativity for all ages and abilities. I’ve facilitated over 60 community and school-based collaborative art projects with more than 2,000 participants, using my simple Pattern Play Collaborative Art framework. In this post, you’ll discover practical tips and ideas, and I want to help you do the same with my helpful digital resources.

Detail of Myriad collaborative artwork in warm colours over a blue base, created by a mixed age and ability group of 80 people at an art exhibition.

Sensory Garden Mural with layered colours, created by 100 staff and students at a specialist school.

Inclusive Art Activities Using the Pattern Play Collaborative Process

A simple, joyful way to create art together—no experience needed.

Inclusive art is at the heart of everything I share through Painting Around. My Pattern Play Collaborative Art approach makes it easy for groups of all ages and abilities to paint together—no pressure, no perfection, just connection through creativity.

3 simple stages guide your spontaneous creativity with ease:

The Pattern Play process flows through three flexible stages: Messy Playing, Exploring, and Bling. First, everyone adds big playful marks. Then we slow down to layer shapes and patterns. Finally, we add highlights, shine, and finishing touches. This way of painting keeps things inclusive, intuitive, and fun from start to finish.

All the artworks featured on this page were created through inclusive art activities with mixed-ability groups—children and adults living with intellectual or physical disabilities. These projects show that with the right strategies, techniques, and inclusive approaches, disability is not a barrier to creativity—it’s simply a different way of engaging. Inclusive art activities like these allow people to create together, learning through observation, demonstration, and modelling. This shared process builds confidence, skills, and a genuine sense of belonging.

Enhancing Voices collaborative artwork in warm colours, created by 96 staff and members of Our Voice SA at a state-wide conference. — Inclusive Art Activities: ‘Enhancing Voices’

Want to try it yourself? Download the Beginner’s Guide to Collaborative Art: The Pattern Play Way or head to the homepage to discover more about this easy, expressive group art style. Download the Beginner’s Guide to Collaborative Art or visit my About page for more information on the origin of this Pattern Play Collaborative Art Process.

FREE Guide + Mini Course: Learn the Easiest Way to Run a Collaborative Art Project

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Feature graphic for “Unique Collaborative Art Projects” article, with layered abstract art from the Incognito series.

Unique Collaborative Art Projects: 3 Engaging Ideas for All Ages & Abilities

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Quick Takeaway

If you’re searching for unique collaborative art projects, this post shows how Pattern Play Collaborative Art makes creativity accessible and fun for all ages and abilities. With over 60 community and school projects involving 2,000+ participants, I’ll share three engaging ideas that anyone can try, using my simple Messy Playing, Exploring, and Bling framework. You’ll discover practical ways to bring groups together to create meaningful, playful artworks in a classroom, library, or at home.

Pattern-rich collaborative painting made by kids and adults, filled with circles, lines, and playful marks – an inspiring example of a unique collaborative art project.

Inclusive collaborative painting created by 80 museum visitors of all ages, blending diverse marks into a colourful harmony – a standout example of a unique collaborative art project.

What are some unique collaborative art projects that everyone can enjoy?

If you’re looking for unique collaborative art projects that are joyful, inclusive, and accessible for all ages and abilities, Pattern Play Collaborative Art is a perfect place to start. This playful, layered approach unfolds in three simple stages – Messy Playing, Exploring, and Bling – making it easy for anyone to join in, regardless of experience level.

The projects below demonstrate how this process can come to life in a variety of settings, from schools and libraries to the kitchen table at home, showing that collaborative art can be fun, engaging, and meaningful anywhere.

Unique collaborative art projects #1: Growing Together

Group artwork created by 30 children, filled with expressive marks and bright layered patterns – an example of a fun and inclusive collaborative art project. — “Growing Together” – a unique collaborative art project by 30 children.

On a scorching 40-degree day in Adelaide, thirty kids aged 4 to 12 came together during a school holiday program to create a unique collaborative art project called Growing Together. None of them had worked with me before, but over three joyful sessions, they layered patterns, marks, and colours using my Pattern Play Collaborative Art approach. The fast-drying summer heat meant each stage could be completed in a single day. By the end, their sense of pride was clear – one child even exclaimed, “The Mona Lisa is number one, THIS is number two!”

Unique collaborative art projects #2: Myriad in Harmony

In contrast, Myriad in Harmony unfolded over three days at the State Library of South Australia during the annual Myriad exhibition, which celebrates the work of artists living with disability across the state. Across three sessions, I invited 80 visitors – from toddlers to older adults, including exhibiting artists themselves – to take part in another unique collaborative art project. With gentle guidance, they added their own marks, patterns, and creative energy to a shared canvas. The result was a joyful mix of colour and texture that reflected the diversity and spontaneity of everyone who participated.

We used my Pattern Play Cards exclusively for this project – simple, accessible patterns scattered around the canvas for the painters to take inspiration from or copy in different sizes, colours and combinations to create the wonderful artwork above.

Unique collaborative art projects #3: Incognito Art Show

Unique collaborative art project created with kids, featuring layered patterns and spontaneous shapes – a perfect example of “Pattern Play Collaborative Art.”

Our third unique collaborative art project took shape as part of the 2023 Incognito Art Show, a national initiative based in Sydney that raises funds to support artists living with disability through dedicated studio programs. The show invites creatives of all ages and experience levels to anonymously contribute three small A6 artworks in any medium. Above are three of the 12 artworks submitted, For the first time, my kids and I worked on our entries together. We began by taping all the cards into one big canvas for a shared session of Messy Playing and Exploring Patterns, using our favourite collaborative methods. Later, we separated them and each added our own BLING stage with paint pens—three individual pieces apiece, filled with colour, energy, and love. The finished cards were sent back to Sydney where buyers had no idea if they were collecting a child’s first artwork or a piece by an Archibald Prize winner!

Unique collaborative art projects: In conclusion

From a holiday care program in Adelaide to a public exhibition at the State Library, and even a national art show in Sydney, these unique collaborative art projects show how creativity can bring people together in the most joyful and unexpected ways. Whether it’s kids layering colours around a classroom table, strangers adding their mark to a shared canvas, or families working side-by-side on tiny artworks, each project celebrates connection, expression, and the simple joy of painting around together.

Happy Painting!

Charndra,

Your Inclusive Social Art Guide.

Start Your Collaborative Art Journey – Free Guide + Mini Course

Instant download. Free to access.

Sign up below to get the Beginner’s Guide to Collaborative Art and a mini email course that teaches the mindsets and skills to fall in love with Pattern Play.

Plus, weekly creative tips, and encouragement from me in my Tuesday email.

Your free guide arrives instantly after you confirm your email.
You can unsubscribe anytime -get your free guide first!

Explore more collaborative art ideas →

Best Collaborative Art Ideas: Projects, Guides & Resources for All Ages

Mural created by over 30 school children as part of a collaborative art project.

From Art Teacher to Group Art Facilitator: Why Art Is for Everyone!

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Quick Takeaway

A group art facilitator helps teachers move beyond skill-based art lessons into inclusive, shared creative experiences. In this post, I share how I evolved from being a high school art teacher to a group art facilitator guiding over 60 community and school-based collaborative art projects with more than 2,000 participants using my simple Pattern Play Collaborative Art framework. I want to help you do the same, with clear ideas and helpful digital resources that make group painting feel doable, fun, and meaningful in real classrooms.

Abstract artwork in cool colours made by a mixed-age, mixed-ability group.

Community-created warm-coloured art using patterns, made by people with intellectual disability.

From Art Teacher to Group Art Facilitator: Why Art Is for Everyone

This post is part of my “About Series,” where I share the story behind Painting Around is Fun and how Pattern Play Collaborative Art came to life. You can read more about the person behind the paint in the full About page here. If you’re new here or curious about how it all began, welcome! Every artwork you see on this page was painted by a mixed-ability group of people of all ages.

The beginning — Teaching art in classrooms

I began my creative career as a secondary school Art Teacher, working across metro and country schools for over 12 years. I taught everyone from Year 6 students to adults in local TAFE leisure courses — and just about every year level in between. It was fun, challenging, creative, and frustrating — all the things.

Like all school-based art educators, I was a generalist. My days were filled with drawing, painting, printmaking, ceramics, design, and sculpture — along with the endless juggling that comes with preparing for all of them! Teaching kept me creatively sharp, but it also gave me a front-row seat to how students respond to pressure, comparison, and perfectionism.

Like most teachers, I disliked having to judge student work — all we really want is to help them build new skills, take risks, and enjoy learning.

Early signs — Why group art felt different

Every now and then, I got the chance to create murals with kids — and those sessions always stood out. They felt looser, lighter, and more fun. I started to notice something important: when we painted together as a group, students were more relaxed, more playful, and more connected.

Something shifted when the focus moved from the individual to the collective. The art still mattered — but the pressure didn’t. And that made all the difference.

The shift — Discovering the power of group art

Looking back, I realised my favourite teaching moments weren’t really about technique — they were about transformation. When people create together, the energy in the room changes. It frees them up. They laugh more. They take risks. They stop worrying about whether what they’re doing is “good enough.”

The silent audience is real — especially for kids. That internal pressure of “who’s watching?” or “what if it’s wrong?” can cause them to give up creative subjects before they’re ready. And yet, we all need creative outlets. Painting together is empowering. It takes the focus off perfection and puts it on connection.

Becoming a group art facilitator

In collaborative art, no one has to carry the whole picture. What you add becomes part of something bigger. The final artwork always looks amazing — not because it’s polished, but because it’s shared. This kind of process builds creative confidence through play, participation, and shared purpose.

Over time, I moved away from step-by-step instruction and towards something more dynamic. Now, as a group art facilitator, my role is to create the conditions for creativity to flourish in a shared space. I design guided structures that invite spontaneity, encourage contribution, and reduce pressure — all while keeping it simple and fun.

If you’re laughing, you’re learning. And when you’re painting with others, you’re in the zone. That’s the sweet spot where creativity lives. Maybe that’s why my projects always seem to work — you simply add another playful layer, and something wonderful emerges.

The now — Collaborative art for everyone

These days, I guide all kinds of groups in creating spontaneous, joy-filled artworks together. As a group art facilitator, I work in schools, community centres, vacation care programs, and at special events — anywhere people are open to connection through creativity.

Warm-coloured group artwork made by a diverse group of 16 participants.

Multicoloured collaborative art created by a group of 20 playgroup participants.

Designing for inclusion

I embrace the principles of universal design — creating processes that work for everyone, right from the start. Universal design is about making environments, products, and experiences accessible to as many people as possible, without the need for adaptation or specialised support.

In collaborative art, this means designing with people who have additional needs in mind — because when we plan for access, we make things better for everyone. I truly believe that disability is not inability. Some of us simply need a different way in — more time, clearer steps, or extra support to create successfully and joyfully.

A simple, inclusive approach

My approach is inclusive, accessible, and beginner-friendly — designed to reduce pressure, spark curiosity, and celebrate contribution over perfection. Whether it’s a one-hour session with preschoolers painting a giant cardboard box, a large wall mural with teenagers over several weeks, or a multi-session artwork on canvas with adults of all abilities, each session is tailored to make participation easy and meaningful.

I don’t call myself an “artist” — I call myself a social artist or inclusive social art guide. A social artist is someone who uses creative skills to bring people together and foster positive change. I love painting with others. That’s why I always join in — because the artwork isn’t mine. It’s ours.

And I don’t believe in “talent” as a prerequisite. What many call talent is usually just skill built through time, effort, and encouragement. Anyone can learn. Anyone can create. That’s why I say: art is for everyone — not just for ‘artists.’

Inclusive art made with warm colours by 96 people with intellectual disability using Pattern Play.

Collaborative artwork created by 80 people of all ages and abilities during a public art exhibition.

→ Curious where it all began? Read Part 1 of the About Series: Your Collaborative Art Guide to Creating Inclusive Group Paintings, or visit the full About page here.

FREE Guide + Mini Course: Learn the Easiest Way to Run a Collaborative Art Project

Sign up to get the Beginner’s Guide and a short email course that shows you how to plan, start, and guide your first Pattern Play project with confidence.

You’ll get weekly creative tips and group art ideas from me.

Bonus: You’ll also receive a special offer inside.

Your guide arrives instantly after you confirm your email.
Unsubscribe anytime.

Warm-toned group painting using Pattern Play, created by 96 people across four sessions.

Discover the Thinking Behind the Projects

These fun group activities are built on years of experience in running inclusive, creative painting projects. Head to the Philosophy behind Pattern Play Collaborative Art to learn more. You’ll find the values that guide every project I create and share.

Pattern Play Collaborative Art makes it easy to create something beautiful together. No fancy skills needed, just a few simple resources and a willingness to play.

Happy Painting!

Charndra
Your Inclusive Social Art Guide