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!
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