The Art of Feeling: Moore students express emotions through special art project

September 19, 2025

A creative art project is giving Moore Middle School students like Lilia and Carter a green light to safely navigate the road map of human emotions.
 
Sixth graders in Kristen Douglas’ art class are exploring how to express their emotions through silhouettes, watercolors and paints. They are producing mixed-media artworks about specific feelings such as contentment, confusion or joy. The project is letting them convey their reactions to good, bad and funny moments in imaginative ways.

 
Lilia and Carter both said it was calming to put their feelings on paper. They felt the art-based assignments were helping them become more confident and self-aware.
 
“I honestly like expressing my emotions, because it helps me kind of get them off my mind,” Lilia said. “Art is fun, so it turns my emotions positive when I do it.”
 
“It’s important to express your emotions, because, like, sometimes you just need to talk to somebody about how you’re feeling, and sometimes that can really help,” Carter said.
 
Douglas has been teaching the art emotions project at Moore for three years. She said it has boosted the emotional and social wellbeing of students in all of her classes.
 
“They get the opportunity to learn how to visualize their emotions, which I think for students is so important, because they feel a lot of emotions, and they need to know how to maybe get some of those emotions out of themselves in a creative and safe way,” Douglas said. “It also allows them to explore, ‘Well, what colors are associated with emotions? How can I use my body to show that? And how can I stray away from using words and use imagery?’ So, I want them to really get that opportunity.”

Every student began their project by sharing a written plan with Douglas about which emotion they wanted to express. They then learned how to communicate those feelings through silhouette photography. They used their laptops to take photos of themselves standing in front of a bright light source, which created a filled-in image of their bodies in various poses.
 
Students discovered that if they wanted to give a happy thumbs up, they had to hold their hand away from their body so it would appear in the silhouette. For more complicated emotions like trust or frustration, they could ask a friend to join them for the original photo. They then displayed assertive handshakes or exasperated open-palmed hands together.
 
The Mountain Lions used markers, pencils and paints to layer their silhouette with additional expressive colors and backgrounds. For example, if they were feeling sad, they might add dark blue or gray patches to their scenes. If they were joyful, they might place a bright yellow sun behind their main image.
 
Lilia illustrated the emotion of annoyance with the help of a friend. Her classmate posed as though she was shouting at her, and Lilia expressed her annoyance with the position of her face and hands. She then painted dots in the background to further describe the message.
 
Lilia said it was encouraging to feel a sense of ownership of her art project.
 
“You can actually do it with emotions, like be inspired by emotions, instead of just being inspired by things that other people did,” Lilia said.

 

Carter also said he was learning a lot from his artistic adventures. He based his silhouette on the trusting friendship he has with one of his classmates. He said the project was teaching him that art was a good emotional outlet.
 
“Art is something you can do pretty much anytime,” Carter said. “You can do it in your head. You can do it digitally. You can do it on pen and paper. You can do it in the snow if you want to, but it’s just really creative.”
 
Douglas said the project has helped students realize the value of self-expression through art.
 
“We use that creative process as a big part of teaching kids about learning to create something unique and individual to them, and something like emotions is unique and individual to each student,” Douglas said. “So, I thought it was a really good opportunity to allow kids to learn more about creating unique art, and not just cookie-cutter pieces of art.”
 
The project has also given sixth graders more chances for connection. By learning how their classmates are feeling each day, students can bond with them and become better friends.
 
“It helps me understand what they’re doing, how they’re doing it, and what can I do to help them with their art projects and stuff,” Carter said.
 
Douglas said many Mountain Lions have benefited in both artistic and therapeutic ways from the project. She said those types of coping skills are important for students to have as they navigate through middle school.
 
“Especially with this month being Suicide Awareness Month, they’re starting to feel things that can maybe really affect them, and when they have a healthy way to express those emotions, they’re less likely to do more negative things that might harm themselves or others around them,” Douglas said. “I think this chance really helps them see, ‘Oh, I can actually draw things out when I’m angry. When I’m really frustrated, I can take a red-colored pencil and I can draw some really angry poses or really angry patterns, and that can maybe help alleviate some of that.’ And they get to experience that a bit in this class.”
 
LPS gives students in all grade levels many opportunities to express themselves through art. Learn more about the innovative art projects happening across Lincoln at home.lps.org/art.
 
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