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

own self according to the reaction of the other.

      Jacques Lacan, one of the greatest psychoanalysts, has written a lot about the role of the gaze and its meaning to the process of the infant’s growth. This stage of development of awareness to the existence of a “self” and of an “other”, was named by Lacan “the mirror stage.” According to Lacan, this is a process in which the “me” begins to form out of the image and the reflection of the “other” within him.

      The journey of finding the “real self” and the attempt to estimate how much the other is embedded within, along with the extent of the influence of the other – begins only now. The dialogue between the child obeying the expectations of an “other,” and the child obeying his own needs and desires, will go on for many years to follow. From what we can gather, attention and awareness given to the manner of observing, along with a response which encourages the child to create in an honest and a carefree way, are very important in keeping the child’s “self,” his confidence, and the feeling that he is loved for who he is. This response will have an influence on his happiness and creativity.

      During the following chapters, I will describe in more depth and detail the movements and the development of the child, which occur simultaneously in his drawings and in his inner emotional world.