I wanted to share something personal as well as professional with all of you.
My beloved black Chinese Pug dog, Olive, was hit by a vehicle and died immediately the night before last. In my quest for healing through things that have personal meaning to me and my family, I have discovered beautiful things.
First of all I collaged the box in which I placed my darling baby. I wrote poetry, drew, had others do the same, attached e-mail condolences and pictures, etc., ending with lining the box with tissue paper and tying a big red bow around it.
Then, at school, I told my students (on the first day that I met some of them, since it's now the second semester, and I now have the fourth - sixth graders, plus a section of second graders at one school). I told them how art can help us through hard times. I told them about my box, and then I gave them all a blank piece of white paper. I told them they could either make something for me or something personal for themselves (wow - the stories they all had to share). I am so in awe of their creations. There were drawings of Olive (I put her photograph on the overhead camera), letters, pop up cards and patterns inside of her name. A second grade girl drew a pencil drawing of Olive sitting with a pointed birthday hat, with presents (complete with tags and ribbons) all around her. There was a plate of cake in front of her and a "Happy Birthday" banner above her head. That really struck me. How profound. The more I thought about it, the more amazed I was. Someone asked for a
bit of clay and made a tiny sculpture of his own dog. Someone else made a 3D picture frame with the words "Picture Here" as directions for where to put her picture when she got home. One boy sat for a half an hour and drew circular scribbles on his paper, first with pencil, then with a handfull of crayons at one time. It was almost like he was in an artistic mantra like trance. Others cut out snowflake-like patterns. Some asked for rulers and tracing shapes, compasses and colored paper. They needed my stapler and some glue and tape. They all created from their own needs. It also made me think about the teachers who use the choice based teaching techniques.
At any rate, this is getting long so I'll wrap it up. Some classes created large group puzzle pictures of her (like others have described on the lists before - I planned the lesson before I knew this would even happen). Other students took turns creating a large tracing of Olive as her photograph was projected. It was in lifelike colors. Tomorrow I'm going to have others do any colors they want on the same picture next to it.
Anyway, as part of my healing process, I wanted to share this with all of you. I know the power of art therapy personally or with children, and I am so happy that I was able to take the time to think what would help me through this extremely difficult time in my life.
Thank you for listening.
~ Kathleen in Phoenix, AZ
P. S. I would be interested to hear how anyone else has creatively dealt with grief. Thanks.
"Art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life."- Pablo Picasso
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