July 24, 2009

"I facilitated a workshop with a group of older kids which focused on self-reflection.  We were expecting eight children but only one twelve year old boy and his ten year old sister attended the session.The siblings come from a long history of domestic violence perpetrated by their father. Their mother called the police one day and decided to leave him. Their father currently resides in Mexico and has had no contact with either of his children. The siblings were so quiet at the beginning of the group that it was hard just to get their names. As the boy drew in silence he was intensely focused on his creation.  The creation process engaged this child in particular because through his drawing he was able to express how lost he felt by drawing himself surrounded by darkness. When speaking about his art he said, ‘I am looking for someone, I feel lost.’ The boy explained that he was struggling with missing his father and the art gave him a way in which to communicate those feelings. It was amazing to see how the art activity allowed the boy to express his feelings of anger, loneliness, and loss. After that session the boy agreed to attend the next art workshop."