Writing on Drawing by Garner Steve

Author:Garner, Steve
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: National Book Network International
Published: 2008-08-14T16:00:00+00:00

Therapy

In the specialised field of art therapy, within the discipline of clinical psychology, children’s drawings have been used as windows into their emotional states. Malchiodi26 combined extensive clinical experience with an understanding of research into children’s drawing. She adopted a phenomenological approach to understanding children and their drawings, by which she meant that she studied them in their own right, rather than through the lens of preconceived theories. She argued that children draw for reasons that are uniquely related to their own developmental trajectories, or motivation, or personal experiences. The skill of the art therapist is to build up a relationship of trust with their clients. They must bring an open mind to interpreting what the drawings mean, tuning in to pre-occupations expressed directly in drawings and talk around drawing episodes.

Other research focused on children with exceptional drawing abilities; sometimes those diagnosed as having autistic tendencies. For example, Selfe27 made a detailed study of the exceptional drawings of an autistic child. Nadia’s drawings flourished during the period of early childhood (from three- to six-years-old) when her speech and social development were severely delayed. Selfe hypothesises that the spate of drawings was precipitated by trauma related to her mother’s hospitalisation for cancer treatment and eventual death.

Golomb28 made detailed longitudinal studies of children. She commented on the gendered nature of children’s drawings: ‘the spontaneous productions of boys reveal an intense concern with warfare, actions of violence and destruction, machinery and sports contests, whereas the girls depict more tranquil scenes of romance, family life, landscapes and children at play’.29 Dyson reported on her five-month study of children drawing freely in a kindergarten. She observed that boys chose to draw ‘explosions, battles, and displays of power and motion’, with an emphasis on narratives characterised by action. Girls drew ‘happy little girls and cheerful small animals’.30

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