Drawing on past experiences

LIFE-SIZE: Meg O'Halloran (left) and Katherine McDermid-Smith, arts co-ordinator at the Quarry Arts Centre, prepare an exhibition of work created by children who have been through trauma.PHOTO/JOHN STONE

Art therapy gained real traction helping soldiers overcome the horrors of World War I and now it is helping Whangarei youngsters who have been through trauma and challenging life circumstances to work through their issues.

A children's art exhibition - Art from the Heart - opened last night at the Quarry Art Centre's Yvonne Rust Gallery, with life-sized works done through the art therapy sessions provided by counselling and social services agency Family Works.

The exhibition, which has 18 life-sized paintings, runs to September 1 and will showcase the artwork of children who, through Family Works Whangarei services and art sessions, have been given an outlet to express their stories.

Entry is by koha, with all proceeds going towards art materials and renovations of the workspace used by the young people so therapy sessions can be held, Meg O'Halloran, who runs the art sessions, says.

Ms O'Halloran said the children, who range from ages 5 to 16, had been through a variety of traumatic experiences and the art therapy helped them deal with their issues, and come through the other side.

Children and youth, who had experienced trauma, often did not want to talk about their experiences.

"The positive thing about art is that there is no right or wrong answer, which is empowering for the children. We use colour, symbols and metaphor to help them externalise the pain and lighten the load," she said.

The children and young people have painted their perspectives of the world around them, concentrating on three themes: worries and concerns; dreams and goals; and emotional resiliency and strengths.

They also identify the one major emotion that brought them to counselling.

Ms O'Halloran said art therapy first came into focus during WWI, when veterans were deeply traumatised by what they had experienced and witnessed.

Nurses and doctors at a loss as to how to help, began providing the soldiers with canvases and paints and noticed a positive emotional shift in their patients, even though they had not received any "therapy" as such.