Recipe for Art: A Little Banjo

Sometimes during a flare or especially painful lesions, those of us with HS are stuck in a loop of depression and inactivity. Art helps us to process our feelings and reprogram our brains better than any marathon of movies or TV shows can. Art is personal, not perfect, and the goal of this piece is not perfection. For this particular project you will need a clean popsicle stick, a clean beverage lid (for example, from a single-serving iced tea drink or milk bottle), 4 extra small colored rubber bands, 2 pieces of packing tape, various decorative tape of your choice.

A little art, a little music!

This little banjo is a 2-for-one: it's a little piece of art, and it's a little musical instrument! Unfortunately the end product won't be in tune, but you can certainly use your imagination. As you are assembling this banjo, pay special attention to the way that you are able to relax as you wrap the decorative tape around the neck of the banjo. It's almost the same effect as coloring, but 3-dimensional in nature.

If you have enough supplies for a few models, try running the paper the entire length of the banjo neck instead of short little parallel circles. You can even treat this as a sort of meditation and clear your thoughts as you assemble your instrument. If you don't care for any final products, this is an inexpensive enough endeavor that you can discard it and start fresh.