Today was my second experience working with adolescents - adults who are mentally retarded. Our group took place at a different site, in Islandia NY. The group was comprised of what seems to be several different levels of development or impairments. Upon entering I detected varying levels of intensity circulating around the room. Some of the clients sat calmly together while others walked around, loudly talking to themselves; yet still some sat alone completely silent. When I entered most of the clients noticed me and took me in with their eyes - some expressed no emotion, others were open to introductions or even approached to ask my name or show me something, and some showed signs of anxiety due to my presence and avoided me.
The task, or thought to run with as the group began their creations, was centered around the themes of Christmas wishes. Being the last time we would meet with this group until christmas and the break had passed, an exception was made that group members could create work to take home and give as gifts. Normally the clients do not take home their artwork. It is kept by the art therapist Lauren, and documented. The clients were offered two choices, painting or drawing.
I had a difficult time deciphering what some o the verbal clients were saying. A female client in-particular was quite the talker, and asked many questions, most of which I could not understand. Faced with this, I once again found m teacher voice coming out - I noticed however that it was less present with another client who appears to be at a higher level of functioning and development than the rest of the consumers. A reminder that I must be more aware of my tone and body language.
I became nervous when I was interacting with a male client whose age I am unsure of but would estimate between 20 and 30 years old. I was not nervous in the sense of being in danger, but that he may go into an emotional tantrum. The client wanted to draw a bear - He showed me a picture of a bear that hung on the wall indicating he wanted to draw this particular bear. He offered the pencil to me asking me to draw it for him. Lauren who was watching, chimed in "She is not going to draw it for you. She can draw it on a separate paper but she won't draw it for you". And so I knew not to draw it for him.
I drew a rendition of the bear he pointed out - and then a second one. When the client approved the second drawing, he took it under his own paper and began to trace it. He quickly became frustrated that he was not able to produce exactly what I had drawn and asked several times for me to draw it. I repeated several times that I would not draw it for him, offered him encouragement as a mean of confidence boosters and motivator. However this lead him to becoming increasingly frustrated - tearing up and looking imploringly at me. Once again I repeated that I would not draw it for him and that I thought he was doing a great job and could continue to do so.
The client did continue to draw the bear, but grudgingly. He was growling (for lack of a better word) under his breath while doing it. When he was unhappy with his drawing he nearly began to cry. With more nudging he continued - and his finished product, a superman bear, was very successful! Lauren explained that the client love superman and the motif appears in many of his drawings.
When the client was first trying to communicate his choice of subject to draw, he was communicating verbally, but coupled it with physical indicators or signs. He began by flicking his ears and following it by point towards the area where the bear hung. Seeing that I did not understand he beckoned me to follow and pointed out the picture. When he had finished his drawing of the bear, he asked for a new sheet of paper. I asked what he would draw and he responded by making a motion with both hands as if he were draping something around his neck. I was able to make out the words "for my mom" and asked if he wanted to make a necklace for his moth - he said yes. and handed me the pencil. With a crayon on a separate sheet of paper I drew a 'pearl necklace', and handed it to the client to trace. He glanced at it and put it down. he began to draw, without my drawing. I was surprised to see the he drew a heart. I later found out that his physical signal was one that was recognized by lauren and other staff members as meaning Heart. A reminder that time will aide in the communication between therapist and consumer.
The session in Islandia had an overall learning experience feeling to it. I felt positive, and calm - communicating unabashedly - I did not feel timid or held back. I will hope to work on communicating, allowing myself to repeat, and ask the same question several time to develop a means of uncovering what the client is trying to express verbally
Monday, December 28, 2009
Day 2 12/22/2009
The holiday interrupted my first week interning with art therapists Ed Regensburg and Lauren Fabrizio at Family Residences and Essential Enterprises (FREE). We ended our week on Wednesday December 23rd, and I had a total of three group art therapy sessions under my belt.
The first took place in Farmingdale NY [on 12/22/2009], at a unique store called Fancy Free. In truth describing Fancy Free simply as a store is doing it an injustice - while there is a lovely store front that sells hand made crafts and accessories, there is also a classroom area in the back as well as a kitchen and office area. In the classroom area is where I met with my first art therapy group. Fancy Free functions as a boutique, on a main strip in Farmingdale, yet it is not a typical boutique; the proceeds of the merchandise, as well as art work created by the mentally retarded adults who attend the art therapy group, go to FREE, to support its programs, including art therapy, and its clients (or consumers). There has been a great deal of success in terms of selling the work created by the art therapy clients, in fact 14 of 17 paintings/drawings were purchased, as well as the majority of the hand painted wine glasses and votive candles.
For sometime before my arrival, Ed and Lauren (Ed attends the sessions at fancy free) have had the clients painting wine glasses and votive candles for the purpose of production - while this may not seem like a therapeutic session, it does in fact serve as an exercise that gears the consumers to build self worth in a progressive manner, as well as life skills. The group members have been painting holiday orient themes as of late. These include Christmas, Hanukkah, and most recently the new year. In this session we pushed the clients to begin producing for the next holiday, Valentines Day.
I was amazed to see just how high functioning the group was (having been told they were "high functioning" prior to meeting). I have personal experience with mental retardation, and I believe I generalized the diagnosis of MRDD based on my singular knowledge of it. --> Lesson #1: There are varying levels of mental retardation - not one person classified as MRDD is the same. Lesson # 2: Not one person in each classified level ("High Functioning" "Intermediate" or "Low Functioning") is the same or will behave the same.
I was somewhat nervous when I the group first began to filter in. Lauren introduced me to some of the clients individually as they came to say hello, and they hesitantly replied, all the while looking me over with the question I can only assume - 'Can I trust her?'. Yet as we began the group, and after a brief introduction by Lauren my presence as a new person nearly disappeared. All clients, with only one exception - an elderly woman whom I had observed sitting idle for some time - were open to, even eager to have my help and opinion. I approached the idle woman and asked if she needed material. She responded quietly, "I think I am Okay.". I prompted her again, and this time she stated that she would wait for Lauren or Ed. Not wanting to push anything on her I said that was alright and continued on my way around the room.
I was so glad to see how happy everyone was in their creative process. Each consumer was wiling to show her sketches, and hoping for feedback - and once feedback was given they ungrudgingly made suggested changes.
The end of the session gave me a small insight into how quickly the atmosphere can change. When Lauren and Ed attempted to sum up the session by using two clients' pieces as examples of "production like work" to strive for, an argument as to whose were the best broke out between two clients. Lauren and Ed allowed it to go on for a short moment - as the argument was a misunderstanding - and 1 sided. The second party was trying to explain the differences in the pieces. In pointing these differences, out she meant to compliment her fellow client, who inadvertently took it as a negative comment. The consumer was unabel to communicate her thoughts which lead to an argument, and therefor Ed and Lauren stepped in, ending the session by asking each group member to strive to create work that was on that level.
I thanked the group members for allowing me to help out and for trusting me enough to be there.
Reflections:
I believe that when I began I may have been using my teacher, or little kid voice (speaking as if I was speaking to a child or student). This is something I noticed and reprimanded myself for. I do not want to treat any of the clients any different (in terms of tone and demeanor etc) than you or me. I am not sure if it went unnoticed by the clients but it will be something I keep an eye on throughout as I believe it may be a pesky tendency of mine.
I must have noticed it through my observation of both Ed and Lauren who spoke with the clients much like they would speak to me or others. That is very important I think, in terms of forming a solid connection and tapping into a therapeutic notch.
I was truly happy - I felt great fulfillment and am eager to meet with this group next week.
Please check out this article that give a brief explanation of Fancy Free
http://www.newsday.com/business/nonprofit-opens-farmingdale-store-to-train-disabled-1.1233809
Art-ing about it :)
The first took place in Farmingdale NY [on 12/22/2009], at a unique store called Fancy Free. In truth describing Fancy Free simply as a store is doing it an injustice - while there is a lovely store front that sells hand made crafts and accessories, there is also a classroom area in the back as well as a kitchen and office area. In the classroom area is where I met with my first art therapy group. Fancy Free functions as a boutique, on a main strip in Farmingdale, yet it is not a typical boutique; the proceeds of the merchandise, as well as art work created by the mentally retarded adults who attend the art therapy group, go to FREE, to support its programs, including art therapy, and its clients (or consumers). There has been a great deal of success in terms of selling the work created by the art therapy clients, in fact 14 of 17 paintings/drawings were purchased, as well as the majority of the hand painted wine glasses and votive candles.
For sometime before my arrival, Ed and Lauren (Ed attends the sessions at fancy free) have had the clients painting wine glasses and votive candles for the purpose of production - while this may not seem like a therapeutic session, it does in fact serve as an exercise that gears the consumers to build self worth in a progressive manner, as well as life skills. The group members have been painting holiday orient themes as of late. These include Christmas, Hanukkah, and most recently the new year. In this session we pushed the clients to begin producing for the next holiday, Valentines Day.
I was amazed to see just how high functioning the group was (having been told they were "high functioning" prior to meeting). I have personal experience with mental retardation, and I believe I generalized the diagnosis of MRDD based on my singular knowledge of it. --> Lesson #1: There are varying levels of mental retardation - not one person classified as MRDD is the same. Lesson # 2: Not one person in each classified level ("High Functioning" "Intermediate" or "Low Functioning") is the same or will behave the same.
I was somewhat nervous when I the group first began to filter in. Lauren introduced me to some of the clients individually as they came to say hello, and they hesitantly replied, all the while looking me over with the question I can only assume - 'Can I trust her?'. Yet as we began the group, and after a brief introduction by Lauren my presence as a new person nearly disappeared. All clients, with only one exception - an elderly woman whom I had observed sitting idle for some time - were open to, even eager to have my help and opinion. I approached the idle woman and asked if she needed material. She responded quietly, "I think I am Okay.". I prompted her again, and this time she stated that she would wait for Lauren or Ed. Not wanting to push anything on her I said that was alright and continued on my way around the room.
I was so glad to see how happy everyone was in their creative process. Each consumer was wiling to show her sketches, and hoping for feedback - and once feedback was given they ungrudgingly made suggested changes.
The end of the session gave me a small insight into how quickly the atmosphere can change. When Lauren and Ed attempted to sum up the session by using two clients' pieces as examples of "production like work" to strive for, an argument as to whose were the best broke out between two clients. Lauren and Ed allowed it to go on for a short moment - as the argument was a misunderstanding - and 1 sided. The second party was trying to explain the differences in the pieces. In pointing these differences, out she meant to compliment her fellow client, who inadvertently took it as a negative comment. The consumer was unabel to communicate her thoughts which lead to an argument, and therefor Ed and Lauren stepped in, ending the session by asking each group member to strive to create work that was on that level.
I thanked the group members for allowing me to help out and for trusting me enough to be there.
Reflections:
I believe that when I began I may have been using my teacher, or little kid voice (speaking as if I was speaking to a child or student). This is something I noticed and reprimanded myself for. I do not want to treat any of the clients any different (in terms of tone and demeanor etc) than you or me. I am not sure if it went unnoticed by the clients but it will be something I keep an eye on throughout as I believe it may be a pesky tendency of mine.
I must have noticed it through my observation of both Ed and Lauren who spoke with the clients much like they would speak to me or others. That is very important I think, in terms of forming a solid connection and tapping into a therapeutic notch.
I was truly happy - I felt great fulfillment and am eager to meet with this group next week.
Please check out this article that give a brief explanation of Fancy Free
http://www.newsday.com/business/nonprofit-opens-farmingdale-store-to-train-disabled-1.1233809
Art-ing about it :)
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Art Therapy Internship | Day 1
My anxieties about traffic and first day introductions melted away when I met Ed in the lobby. His warm but down to business nature was all I needed to recharge my confidence and get excited for the day's programs. I handled the paper work needed to clear me for the volunteer position, and then went to meet Lauren Fabrizio, the art therapist I will be shadowing for the next month.
I was of course nervous to meet her but we quickly began to talk about what i could expect in each program. Lauren showed me some of the work done by the children with autism. This included some handmade books - The Book of Circles - which was a compilation of circle drawing from an extended period. They were binded so that as she flipped through the pages, the most recent were the first to be seen. As she flipped through the pages, a clear progression was visible, when comparing the most recent drawing to the later ones in the back of the book. Lauren explained to me that the 'draw a circle' exercise was an effort of the art therapists to bring some order and filter out the chaos - In this way there was most definitely a delineation between the before and after.
The activity was set up in this way:
Each child received a piece of paper with a pre drawn circle of the same diameter. They were then asked to draw within it (echoing it in a sense).
The earliest drawings were scribbles of varying weights and colors, that essentially disregarded the presence of the circle. The later drawings showed a more concentrated focus by the child to contain the drawing within the circle.
Having reached this point with the children, Lauren showed me the more recent endeavor she was using to promote this idea of filtering and bringing order by way of the idea of containment. Spread across the table were sheets with rolled tissue paper following the outline of that old circle. Some of the pieces had 3d borders, the others were more flattened out. Inside the circles were scribble drawings - that were much more minimal than all the drawings in the 'book of scribbles'. There was one child who actually used the tissue paper to decorate the inside of her circle, bringing to mind mandalas and reminding me to read up on the concepts behind them.
Ed and Lauren have been working towards their second Art Therapy Gallery Show, with a theme of containment. The circle drawings are perfect pieces to include in the show.
The two programs for the day were unfortunately canceled due to the two day old snow fall. Lauren was not informed about the cancelation of the 12:30 Day Habilitation program and so we took the trip out to Islandia, only to find there were no consumers, or clients. Our trip however was rather beneficial, at least for me I had the opportunity to interact with Lauren further which helped to familiarize and create a more comfortable atmosphere between us. I also had the opportunity to pick her brain about Graduate School. Lauren recently graduated from the School of Visual Arts (SVA) in New york City. I have been formulating plans for my future studies in art therapy, and was quite taken by the program and areas of concentration offered by SVA's art therapy degree program. Lauren was an advocate of the school and program. She mentioned how she felt she drew real experience out of her internship opportunities - due to their duration. The program requires two, year long internship. She also mentioned that they were quite on top of things, and good at keeping tabs on your progress - this is very appealing to me. In regards to school of thought Lauren feels SVA falls right in the middle of purely expressional and purely clinical - combing each at the right level for a well rounded experience. This is also appealing to me because I am very interested in the science behind the profession, as well as the spirituality and expressional nature of the practice.
Back at the warehouse Ed gave me a binder that he and Lauren have been working on - It should eventually consist of their mission statement, protocol for practitioners at different levels (volunteer, intern, professional with 2 years experience, professional with 5+ years experience, etc...), and patient profiles. The patient profiles included, were currently only for the children with autism. These gave me such an insight into the many layers and differences that I will encounter when I begin working with these children - each child has certain likes and dislikes, and various triggers that cause tantrums or panics - and each reacts in this sense, in a different way.
The cancellation for the programs were not a ba thing in the end. I was able to have a slower introductory experience, giving me a chance to become more comfortable with my two supervisors. I am feeling very fortunate to have such wonderful resources and this amazing opportunity!
Bellow is an artwork I created in response to my days experience. Each subsequent blog regarding the internship will be accompanied with one or more artworks. Creating a visual record of my experience is an additional aid during my advisement period with Ed, as well as to help me process my emotions while understanding them better myself!
I was of course nervous to meet her but we quickly began to talk about what i could expect in each program. Lauren showed me some of the work done by the children with autism. This included some handmade books - The Book of Circles - which was a compilation of circle drawing from an extended period. They were binded so that as she flipped through the pages, the most recent were the first to be seen. As she flipped through the pages, a clear progression was visible, when comparing the most recent drawing to the later ones in the back of the book. Lauren explained to me that the 'draw a circle' exercise was an effort of the art therapists to bring some order and filter out the chaos - In this way there was most definitely a delineation between the before and after.
The activity was set up in this way:
Each child received a piece of paper with a pre drawn circle of the same diameter. They were then asked to draw within it (echoing it in a sense).
The earliest drawings were scribbles of varying weights and colors, that essentially disregarded the presence of the circle. The later drawings showed a more concentrated focus by the child to contain the drawing within the circle.
Having reached this point with the children, Lauren showed me the more recent endeavor she was using to promote this idea of filtering and bringing order by way of the idea of containment. Spread across the table were sheets with rolled tissue paper following the outline of that old circle. Some of the pieces had 3d borders, the others were more flattened out. Inside the circles were scribble drawings - that were much more minimal than all the drawings in the 'book of scribbles'. There was one child who actually used the tissue paper to decorate the inside of her circle, bringing to mind mandalas and reminding me to read up on the concepts behind them.
Ed and Lauren have been working towards their second Art Therapy Gallery Show, with a theme of containment. The circle drawings are perfect pieces to include in the show.
The two programs for the day were unfortunately canceled due to the two day old snow fall. Lauren was not informed about the cancelation of the 12:30 Day Habilitation program and so we took the trip out to Islandia, only to find there were no consumers, or clients. Our trip however was rather beneficial, at least for me I had the opportunity to interact with Lauren further which helped to familiarize and create a more comfortable atmosphere between us. I also had the opportunity to pick her brain about Graduate School. Lauren recently graduated from the School of Visual Arts (SVA) in New york City. I have been formulating plans for my future studies in art therapy, and was quite taken by the program and areas of concentration offered by SVA's art therapy degree program. Lauren was an advocate of the school and program. She mentioned how she felt she drew real experience out of her internship opportunities - due to their duration. The program requires two, year long internship. She also mentioned that they were quite on top of things, and good at keeping tabs on your progress - this is very appealing to me. In regards to school of thought Lauren feels SVA falls right in the middle of purely expressional and purely clinical - combing each at the right level for a well rounded experience. This is also appealing to me because I am very interested in the science behind the profession, as well as the spirituality and expressional nature of the practice.
Back at the warehouse Ed gave me a binder that he and Lauren have been working on - It should eventually consist of their mission statement, protocol for practitioners at different levels (volunteer, intern, professional with 2 years experience, professional with 5+ years experience, etc...), and patient profiles. The patient profiles included, were currently only for the children with autism. These gave me such an insight into the many layers and differences that I will encounter when I begin working with these children - each child has certain likes and dislikes, and various triggers that cause tantrums or panics - and each reacts in this sense, in a different way.
The cancellation for the programs were not a ba thing in the end. I was able to have a slower introductory experience, giving me a chance to become more comfortable with my two supervisors. I am feeling very fortunate to have such wonderful resources and this amazing opportunity!
Bellow is an artwork I created in response to my days experience. Each subsequent blog regarding the internship will be accompanied with one or more artworks. Creating a visual record of my experience is an additional aid during my advisement period with Ed, as well as to help me process my emotions while understanding them better myself!
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Internship
Tonight I am preparing myself for the first day of an exciting internship! I will be shadowing an Art Therapist named Lauren Fabrizio, who is working at Family Residences and Essential Enterprises (FREE) under the Director of Art Therapy, Ed Regensuburg. I was able to secure this opportunity though old fashioned communication - I took a look at the New York Art Therapy Association website (http://nyarttherapy.org/) and basically wrote to all the practicing art therapists from Albany to Long Island [after taking a look at their website and statements of course]. I received a call from Ed Regensburg very shortly after his receipt of the message, and he offered me this wonderful opportunity to shadow an art therapist and conference with him to discuss questions, reactions and feelings regarding my entire experience. Additionally, in each of our meetings we will go over a piece of expressive art that I have created in response to my experience.
The internship will be based in Long Island, and I will be traveling from Westchester, NY, each day to be there. Lauren Fabrizio is a recent graduate of the School of Visual Arts in New York City. This is very appealing to me because I have been looking into their addictionology program in art therapy, and will now have someone to talk to about this!
The internship will last from December 20th 2009 to January 20th 2010. In this time I will be working with three different populations. These include autistic children, mentally challenged adults, and developmentally disabled adults.
It will be very refreshing for me to finally immerse myself in the field that I truly want to pursue. I love art, I love making, but I want to do with it, what it has done for me - to help!
I will be blogging on a near to daily basis to provide an updated account of the development of this amazing internship!
The internship will be based in Long Island, and I will be traveling from Westchester, NY, each day to be there. Lauren Fabrizio is a recent graduate of the School of Visual Arts in New York City. This is very appealing to me because I have been looking into their addictionology program in art therapy, and will now have someone to talk to about this!
The internship will last from December 20th 2009 to January 20th 2010. In this time I will be working with three different populations. These include autistic children, mentally challenged adults, and developmentally disabled adults.
It will be very refreshing for me to finally immerse myself in the field that I truly want to pursue. I love art, I love making, but I want to do with it, what it has done for me - to help!
I will be blogging on a near to daily basis to provide an updated account of the development of this amazing internship!
Light Sculpture
Following are the photographs of my recent exploration with translucent porcelain and lighting. I am hoping to move more towards the sculptural vein and less towards decorative lighting in future projects. The pictures are arranged from the first steps of exploration to the most recent.
Photographs
Here are Photographs of my recent work, dealing with multiples and regarding the pressures of time. The sculpture is untitled as of now. Suggestions are welcome!
To Close the Book on Fall 2009
The semester ended in a whirlwind of work to complete, without enough time. The story of my life. After a four our studio clean up with the majority of our studio members and professors, we enjoyed a potluck dinner with our graduates, currents students and newly accepted BFA students. We had a wonderful time revealing secret santas and eating great food out of handmade ceramic dishes.
Returning the 17th I was met with our familiar Janitor who commented, "you just can't keep away huh?" and flashed a smile. I spent the evening cleaning my studio space and preparing it for a month of absence. I then proceeded to photograph the work I had completed since the midterm point. It consisted of two different bodies: The first, a theme/concept I feel will be developed towards my thesis show, and the second, and experiment with translucent porcelain to create Light. I am hoping to develop both bodies together, in an effort to present a nostalgic narrative of time passed.
The following post will show Photographs of the ceramic work completed in my last half of the Fall 2009 semester
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Photos from Octobers Anagama Firing!
Here is a small insight into the process of anagama firing!
Begining with a full view of the Anagama Kiln with its door bricked up, I then added a view showing the stooking hole and fire pit! I added subsequent pictures to show a small portion of the firing process in which we toss the wood ash to create a large part of the desired effects of a wood firing. The pots are not visible due to the brightness of the flame in the last photograph - but at this point every pot was a glowing white!
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
Posts
