Do not Disturb! I'm Drawing. Michal Bogin Feinberg

between shapes and meanings. When I share these insights with my students, they all enthusiastically report a change that occurs in their approach toward doodling, and toward the early drawings of their own children and patients, and they all mention how much this new attitude influences the creativity of these children.

      Later, I also found a resemblance between the process of development in children’s drawing and the process of development in the drawings that were drawn by the adults with whom I work. It was interesting to discover that adults drawings demonstrate a similar, parallel relationship between the two processes of emotional and graphic development. That way, through the process of creation, many doodles and drawings of crosses and circles were created, enabling a person to redefine his own “self,” to enhance it, to rearrange the process of his separation from the “other” and his connection to the “other,” and also to improve the quality of the dialogue between his internal and external world.

      I have designated the final pages of this book to the documentation of the children’s drawings, so that, later on, they can serve as a reminder for your child of this particular process of transition from doodling to drawing a figure. Adults always like to know what has happened in the past, and how they were when they were little. These drawings are a testimony of an exciting and important process of progression. This can help your children—in the present and in the future—to have a better understanding of who they are, and will most likely contribute to the realization of how much they were, and still are, important to you.

      Try to imagine this: in front of you is a drawing you drew when you were three years old. How do you feel when you look at it now? How does it feel to have an almost tangible grasp on a scrap of your own childhood? Once, I attended a school reunion to which someone brought a booklet of her classmates drawings, which had been given to her when she was sick. Even after all those years, the excitement this booklet brought about was huge, and many even went as far as taking photos of it to show their own kids. “It’s an archeology of time“ „... a journey into a time tunnel” “… a time capsule,” were only a few of their reactions. It was as if this was a testimony of a childhood which no longer existed.

      Here are a few examples from that booklet that caused so much interest at the school reunion:

      To Nili—

      A present to you from your First Grades class (written in the drawing)

      It looks like children’s drawing haven’t changed much through the years, or even across decades. Isn’t this incredible?

      I wish you all an exciting and pleasant read filled with curiosity and creativity!

      “Wisdom is the daughter of experience.“

      Leonardo Da Vinci

Chapter One

      A look into art therapy

      Art therapy is an instrument that aids us in expressing and communicating emotions. It combines the gaze of the distant observer, a view which represents insights and meanings—with the hand touching of the materials, which represents the sensory side sensuality and creativity. Through contact with concrete materials, such as different types of paints, clay, and various other materials, along with the presence of the therapist, a unique experience is created, one which enables the patient to express his own inner world using spontaneous images of the conscious and the subconscious.

      Throughout the process of creation, the patient can express his early memories and pre-verbal experiences and put them into visual form – and, by doing so, he is able to make them more accessible and comprehensible. In this process, ambiguous thoughts can also become clearer. Creative work gives tangible shapes, colors and textures to feelings that have arisen and are now being revealed. During the process, it’s as though these works of art are almost asked to be expressed, created and seen. There’s a great deal of importance in the process of the expression itself, as well as to the visibility of the works and to their sharing. Later on, it’s also possible to come up with additional interpretations from analysis and processing of the drawings. In art therapy, sometimes emphasis is given to the creative process rather than to words. At other times, the observation process combines words and becomes a conversation about the meaning of the drawing.

      Each detail in the process of creation holds a meaning. A seven year-old girl who came to therapy in order to build up her self-esteem, has drawn during this process on a larger piece of paper, which she had chosen herself. Suddenly, while drawing, she said, “I now have a bigger voice!” Even an allegedly minor detail such as the size of the paper on which she chose to drew influenced her and reflected on her sense of confidence and happiness.

      Art therapy places huge importance on observing the patient and listening to his associations. This creates a major opportunity, one in which the therapist and the patient observe the work together and then discuss its meaning, (only in cases when the patient is interested in doing so). Such observations and conversations are held with adults and children alike.

      The meaning and interpretation given to the drawings are complex, and there is more than one right answer. If, for one patient, the color green can represent growth, for another it can represent fear or jealousy. If, for one patient, the sun can be aggressive, threatening and burning, to another it can be soft, warm and caressing. Sometimes the two different options can be applicable to the very same patient; it’s possible—and advisable—to learn to live with opposite meanings that can occur in different situations.

      Art therapy is very much about the reaction of the observer: an encouraging, validating observation, an observation which is devoid of any criticism or preaching, will influence the manner in which the child (or the adult) will draw. It will influence his ability to go on with the work or to abstain from working. Donald Winnicott writes about the great importance of this gaze, right from the beginning of infancy. He makes repeated observations on mothers and babies (in his book Playing and Reality) while asking: what does the baby see while looking into his mother’s face? These observations allowed Winnicott to come up with the insight that, according to him, what the baby sees when he gazes into his mother’s eyes is himself.

      The gaze of the observer plays a great role in constructing the child’s sense of self. Additionally, the therapist (or any other kind of observer) observing the drawing, reflects the drawing toddler’s own sense of self, replicated in his drawing.

      Heinz Kohut, the psychoanalyst and founder of the self psychology—a psychology that deals with the development of an ordinary sense of “self”—has emphasized in his writings (How Does Analysis Cure?) the child’s need for adoration as well as his need to adore, as a force that contributes to leading a creative life from a young age. This is a basic need in the process of healthy narcissism development, which, in essence, is the child’s ability to feel appreciated, valued and loved. The child needs the adoring and admiring reflection of the mother (when it is authentic).The authentic look of encouragement and joy on the observer’s part is the part of the process that deals with constructing a sense of security and vitality within the child, so that he can grow and carry this confidence within him.

      The art therapist is skilled in observing in a manner which does not judge, but accepts and supports, as well as sowing enjoyment. Observing is a profound and complex process. When the observation benefits the patient during the creation process, his confidence will increase. Once he frees himself of thoughts such as, “This is what I needed (and wanted) to see,” and of his own judgment, the observation becomes more open. It’s at this point, that the patient begins to reveal more.

      In this book, we will focus on a few basic principles