Artasia at St. Bernadette

Our time spent at St. Bernadette was very impactful for us as Artasia Team Members and for the kids as well. We made Process art with these kids, which focuses on the journey of creation and exploration rather than the outcome. This type of art is great for younger children because it focuses merely on the opportunity to create, explore, and experiment. Process art nurtures creativity, problem-solving, and confidence among children because it allows them to express themselves without worrying about how their art turns out. However, I would say building relationships with these kids was one of the most significant aspects of our programming. 

I joined Charlotte at St. Bernadette during the second week of programming, so they had all met her before but were meeting me for the first time during Week 2. I noticed that they were all quite comfortable around Charlotte, but were a little hesitant around me at first. However, through the weeks, I gained their trust and friendship, and found that they took inspiration from me with their art. One girl during our Wearable Art week made a lanyard just like the one I was wearing, another made me a purse, and a few others drew very beautiful scribbles for me to take home! 

Another, very significant, moment was with one child that had not been extremely engaged with either of us in previous weeks. He would always wear a lanyard with communication symbols on it to help him communicate, but he wasn’t wearing it this week. He noticed our lanyards with our names and once he saw that we were wearing something he would wear, he was really interested in interacting with us! It was an impactful moment because, even though he didn’t engage with the art project, he was all of a sudden very enthusiastic and eager to socialize with us when he found that we have something in common! This was really important because, although our approach is through art, our purpose is to empower children and help them to build confidence, which we did at St. Bernadette through building relationships. 

Caroline Edgar