Today was the second meeting of the art group. We had a few less people because of another program that was going on simultaneously. Because of this I did not assign a theme for this week. We started off with people sharing their collages from last week. They went around in a circle explaining why they chose to cut out each picture, and what each aspect of their art work said about them.
The warm-up activity this week was seemingly more successful than the last one. I suggested that they draw something, anything they wanted, with their non-dominant hands. Again I was met with hesitation. However, many more of them seemed to find it more intriguing than intimidating. Across the board, I think they were surprised at how well their pictures turned out. These drawings sparked conversations about winter, and the benefits of being ambidextrous.
This particular warm-up activity is important when dealing with people who are particularly stuck on the end results of art making. By encouraging them to use the hand that they don't normally use, I found that the residents thought it more acceptable to create a less-than-perfect drawing. It also made those individuals who were more concerned about the results more comfortable when drawing in the presence of others.
Some examples of the non-dominant hand warm-up activity:
We noticed a large prevalence of nature in these pictures, which was funny when we stopped and shared. None of the residents had been looking at what anyone else came up with, yet each person had such a similar subject. "Nature is more forgiving, I guess," someone said. Another woman commented- "Perhaps we should practice using our other hands more often, in case we don't have use of our favored hands in the future." Once again, the residents were laughing and chatting amongst themselves in response to an activity. Between the warm-up and the sharing of thoughts on the warm-up, it has twice taken about a half hour. Initially I had expected to treat the warm-up more like an introductory exercise and have the residents spend more time on the activity to follow. The time limit is frustrating, but I have had to remind myself that the goals of this experience are to facilitate positive group dynamics and to make sure everyone enjoys themselves. Though the chatter takes time from the project in itself, giving the residents time to sort out their feelings and thoughts on each activity is important in achieving these goals.
I had a handful of ideas for the main activity today, but I finally settled on the Dream Imagery exercise that I had previously tried out with Kenley. When a few of the residents couldn't seem to think of a recurring or noteworthy dream, I suggested they opt to illustrate a memory. Here are the results:
-The first is a depiction of a little girl standing at the edge of a cliff. The woman said she had this dream often until she found out that when she was very young, she fell off an embankment into the water. After she learned that, she stopped having this dream.
-The second drawing is a woman walking up to a lighthouse at the beach. She said when she walked up to it, it began to crumble like it was made of sand. She interpreted this dream to have something to do with her father's death.
-For the third drawing, this woman said she couldn't think of a dream, so she just drew what appealed to her. It shows some mountains, and a boat in the water below.
-The fourth drawing is a continuation of the warm-up activity. This woman decided that she wanted to draw her memory with her non-dominant hand. She illustrated a beach party. Her choice to continue the second exercise with her other hand was interesting to me because she was having the most trouble getting over her unfamiliarity with art. By drawing with her non-dominant hand I think she was able to give herself an excuse for what she thought was a "bad" drawing.
-The woman to create the last drawing said that she went on a dream retreat and had a dream that she walked into an office but there was nobody there. On the desk in the office was a picture frame, and when she went to see what the picture was of, it was her.
One thing I noticed from today was that everyone really enjoys sharing their work. I'm pretty sure that they enjoy telling each other about themselves more than they like creating the work in the first place. It doesn't matter though, because the creation and analysis of the work both play a role in the overall goal of a positive experience.
The warm-up activity this week was seemingly more successful than the last one. I suggested that they draw something, anything they wanted, with their non-dominant hands. Again I was met with hesitation. However, many more of them seemed to find it more intriguing than intimidating. Across the board, I think they were surprised at how well their pictures turned out. These drawings sparked conversations about winter, and the benefits of being ambidextrous.
This particular warm-up activity is important when dealing with people who are particularly stuck on the end results of art making. By encouraging them to use the hand that they don't normally use, I found that the residents thought it more acceptable to create a less-than-perfect drawing. It also made those individuals who were more concerned about the results more comfortable when drawing in the presence of others.
Some examples of the non-dominant hand warm-up activity:
We noticed a large prevalence of nature in these pictures, which was funny when we stopped and shared. None of the residents had been looking at what anyone else came up with, yet each person had such a similar subject. "Nature is more forgiving, I guess," someone said. Another woman commented- "Perhaps we should practice using our other hands more often, in case we don't have use of our favored hands in the future." Once again, the residents were laughing and chatting amongst themselves in response to an activity. Between the warm-up and the sharing of thoughts on the warm-up, it has twice taken about a half hour. Initially I had expected to treat the warm-up more like an introductory exercise and have the residents spend more time on the activity to follow. The time limit is frustrating, but I have had to remind myself that the goals of this experience are to facilitate positive group dynamics and to make sure everyone enjoys themselves. Though the chatter takes time from the project in itself, giving the residents time to sort out their feelings and thoughts on each activity is important in achieving these goals.
I had a handful of ideas for the main activity today, but I finally settled on the Dream Imagery exercise that I had previously tried out with Kenley. When a few of the residents couldn't seem to think of a recurring or noteworthy dream, I suggested they opt to illustrate a memory. Here are the results:
-The first is a depiction of a little girl standing at the edge of a cliff. The woman said she had this dream often until she found out that when she was very young, she fell off an embankment into the water. After she learned that, she stopped having this dream.
-The second drawing is a woman walking up to a lighthouse at the beach. She said when she walked up to it, it began to crumble like it was made of sand. She interpreted this dream to have something to do with her father's death.
-For the third drawing, this woman said she couldn't think of a dream, so she just drew what appealed to her. It shows some mountains, and a boat in the water below.
-The fourth drawing is a continuation of the warm-up activity. This woman decided that she wanted to draw her memory with her non-dominant hand. She illustrated a beach party. Her choice to continue the second exercise with her other hand was interesting to me because she was having the most trouble getting over her unfamiliarity with art. By drawing with her non-dominant hand I think she was able to give herself an excuse for what she thought was a "bad" drawing.
-The woman to create the last drawing said that she went on a dream retreat and had a dream that she walked into an office but there was nobody there. On the desk in the office was a picture frame, and when she went to see what the picture was of, it was her.
One thing I noticed from today was that everyone really enjoys sharing their work. I'm pretty sure that they enjoy telling each other about themselves more than they like creating the work in the first place. It doesn't matter though, because the creation and analysis of the work both play a role in the overall goal of a positive experience.
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