Art therapy
Lyddie's got through about half a ream of paper since the dog died. She started when the dog was ill, roughly last Wednesday evening, rattling off drawings and paintings, at a rate of about 10 per hour, mostly featuring the dog.
Since then she's progressed onto collages and jewellery-making, at a slightly slower rate.
I seem to remember posting something on this blog quite some time ago, in which I said I couldn't really understand the point of just creating pictures and art work for the sake of it, but watching Lyddie in the past week or two has maybe helped me to understand a bit more about that.
And I'm tempted to make this a footer on every single post I write on this blog now:
Thank goodness for home ed, which gives the children time to process things in their own time and in their own way. The more the years pass, the more convinced I am that these natural processes are vital to a child's wellbeing.
posted by Gill at 9:38 am
8 Comments:
I'm not arty at all so I struggle with seeing the point too but two of my children do this sort of thing too. It must be a natural process, I'm sure it will help her come to terms with it in her won way.
Some of my children draw obsessively all the time and others never, ever pick up a paintbrush. I think it is an outlet and means of processing stuff for some people and not others.
It is great that she has the time, space and support to be able to deal with the situation in the best way she can. It must be so much harder for those little ones who have to soldier on through hard times, separated from thier parents, fitting into a classroom timetable.
Cool. But don't call art therapy, it's undermining.
Denise, same here. Lyddie is the first of my children to want to create so much art just for the sake of it and she does it especially when upset, so it does seem to be a healing process for her or at least part of one. The older 3 were at school at this age though, so I don't think they got chance to find out if such high quantities of artwork output would be useful to them or not.
Ruth, you've got more children than I have. I'll bow to your superior knowledge and extra experience and take your word for it xx
Claire, yes those were my thoughts too. I really feel for those children.
Leo, in what way do you think it's undermining, and of what is it undermining, in your opinion, please?
You see your child's grief in her art, you think its purpose is healing, so you call it therapy. But her purpose, what she learns and creates, you can only guess. What she does has value beyond that.
I personally see a very creative and prolific girl and envy her genius.
Art is art, it's one of the many interesting things in life, it has objective value on itself.
Ok, I see your point. I hadn't called it therapy (or anything else) to her, and won't now. Thanks.
I'll bow to your superior knowledge and extra experience and take your word for it
LOL :)
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