Trip to Project Onward

How one moment changed everything for me

I experienced a situation in my teaching endeavors that effected me greatly. I was implementing a 10-week art program for pre-schoolers at a HeadStart campus in Phoenix AZ. At the beginning of every session I did a quick warm- up activity with the students, usually drawing with crayons. During one session I explained to the little ones to draw something that made them happy on one side of their paper and something that made them sad on the other. Majority of the kids were drawing stick figures at this age. I walked around the room to talk to them individually see what they were drawing. I approach a little girl who was always graving attention and was always in good spirits. I asked her what she had drawn. She explained that she drew her cat, that made her happy, on one side and her father shooting her mother with a gun on the other side. I was not expecting such a response to this activity. I was also stunned by the way she explained it- with out any hesitation and with normalcy. As an educator I commended her on her skills such as use of color and straight lines. I was not sure how else to respond. I was new at the teaching thing and had come from a very stable and loving upbringing. This sort of experience was never even thought of in my life until then. I realized what these kids were going through and I felt a sense of empowerment but at the same time thankful I was there in a positive way- even if it was only for 2 hours a week. I kept that drawing for a long time and looked at it often (not sure where it is now). It motivates me to continue my experiences in art teaching and art making, as well as lets me know how thankful I am for the life I have.

Introduction to Art Therapy, B. Moon Chapters 7-11

I've been keeping up with reading the book weekly. It is an easy read compared to other literature I am reading. I picked out a few interesting points...

come back

"Mommy hates me 'cause I'm Bad: The Early School-aged Child, Ages 2 to 7" G. Klorer

Again, this reading was a bit difficult because of the traumatic situation these young children experienced. But I did find this reading very informative because the author related the children's situations to their drawings and the stages of artistic development and psychological/behavioral(?) development. I am amazed as how much is retained in the memories of these young children. Also interesting is that a main focus is helping the children recognize an discriminate between feelings. That sometimes they can't distinguish the difference between anger and sad. I feel that art making is a good way to work on these mental challenges. Play therapy is introduced in this reading and it is just as fascinating as art therapy.
Wish the images wee more visble.

"She'll always be my Mother" Wunika Hicks

It was suggested that I be more personally and emotional in my journal entries. This reading, along with others, gave me the perfect opportunity to respond more emotionally. I can't imagine anyone not reacting in some way to Wunika's stories about her abusive childhood. It is appalling that children are treated this way. But in the circumstances where this abuse is experienced through different generations it's hard to place entire blame on the adults. They are only repeating the actions that were in their own childhood. It's so sad that children who experience abuse tend to blame themselves. As a stable adult I find it very difficult to put myself in the child's shoes and feel what they are feeling. This is something art therapists probably have to do. I also think it would be difficult as a therapist to carry these stories around with you. It takes a very strong person to separate their lives from their clients. This is one apprehension I have when considering this field. Am I emotionally strong enough to to take on these disturbing stories?

Final project...

I've been thinking and thinking what to do for my final creative response for this class. I know I want to respond to idea of the therapist as an artist and always acknowledging this role. The best way for me to respond to this is to obviously create a piece of art. Hard part is... what do I create? I think I'm contemplating it too much and taking away valuable time that could be dedicated to the art making process. A self-portrait seems to easy... what else could I create?