by Tessa Whyatt
This year I had the pleasure of teaching on the first Masters in Art Therapy. It has been a wonderful experience running a studio practice group but challenging, as the sessions have been online throughout the year. We met each week for 2 hours, as a group of ten students and myself, as facilitator and teacher holding the space. At times we had to remind ourselves this was a teaching space and not an art therapy group. That was the danger of the online space because the students were not interacting with each other except in the check in and then the sharing check out. Sometimes the check-out was all together in plenary, but then the depth of experience had to be distilled into three minutes for each person to share – this felt very short so sometimes they went into smaller groups for more in-depth sharing and time.
We tried working with sound on the hear each other’s art-making and feel more part of the group, however it was too noisy and distracting with all the car, wind, dog and cat noises in addition to the scratchings of art distorted by the computer mikes.
Thus the students worked with cameras on but sound off. They stood or sat in their own spaces with their art makings and own noises. And I sat…. in silence. The absolute silence of everyone on Mute. My ticking clock and the outside birds were my companion. As I sat in my stillness and observed all the activity of making. And when the students went into smaller break out rooms, I sat in the quiet with no students. This was a lot of time for me to breathe and reflect, and yet it felt important to maintain my presence and connection, so I was careful not to allow other distractions to creep in, even at this time when they were not in the ‘room’ with me.
The depth and breadth of what was processed and produced in these 25 online sessions is quite astounding. There isn’t space to go into detail of all that was created. Just to say that I would not have expected this richness from an online space. And I am grateful for the addition, as it allows students from all over South Africa to come together in learning this modality.
However, when we finally met in person for the contact week in November, it was such an amazing time of connection and noise, activity and tactility. I could see and hear everyone and their art-making, and I could smell and touch all the art and art materials again! I enjoyed walking around and observing the group working in their spaces, as well as sitting with them in a physical circle for some of the activities. This was a great experience for everyone, and a reminder for me of the importance of using all of our senses in our work.
The group artwork created (image 2) was very physical –newspapers torn noisily and thrown in the air, then bunched together, held and wrapped with string; held and carried by all the group, and balanced and strung up; then ‘decorated’ with their individual images and objects they had brought into the space. The physicality and tactility and noise of this activity was a striking comparison to the silence of the Zoom sessions.
This group now goes into their second year, and their own art practice will continue as a visual diary and come together in a year end exhibition. I am looking forward to both the online and contact time with the new group of Masters students starting in 2023.
