Child Case Studies at Butterfly Art Project

Every week The Butterfly Art Project in Cape Town/ South Africa creates space for Community Art Facilitators to talk about the children they work with. Any child can be presented, not just the problematic or withdrawn ones, every child benefits from the right art intervention. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe was a German scientist and artist born in 1749. He did a lot of nature studies and developed a system we now call the Goethean observation method. We look at 4 elements which one finds in nature, the human being and even in a child's artwork. The physical body of the human being is like the mineral world. All the rocks and crystals are pure matter, not alive. Science can measure it. The etheric body can be called life forces too and we have them in common with plants and trees. Saps run through them, make them alive. Like blood in human beings and breathing. All the life functions belong to the etheric body. The astral body is about sensations and perceptions. Animals have an astral body too. They have instinct, move around, have feelings. And the “I” is the self-consciousness only a healthy adult human being has full contact with. In education and therapy, the adult helps the child with their “I”; to find their healthy way into the world. For a child case study, it is the best to choose a free artwork. A drawing, painting or a free clay artwork. We take time to look at the physical of a child's artwork. We talk about the details like colour, the medium, size, shape, proportions, all the facts anyone who sees the artwork would agree with, no feelings or ideas. All must be measurable. For exploring the etheric we describe the contrasts, polarities, markings, movement and change of direction. Rhythms. Patterns. Composition. Theories. Ideas. And thoughts. To grasp the astral elements of the artwork and work with our own projection, we name what feelings come to us out of the artwork. And then the most important: What kind of psycho-social support is suitable? What kind of art activities are recommended? That is the “I”, the ego of the facilitator finding the way forward in the healing art process. The collaboration of the group enhances the experience and perception for everyone. We all come away having been enriched. To join the next hub or to present a child case kindly contact Zain Nazier at [email protected] or 073 4934114. Come join our child case study hub to get to know the process. www.butterflyartproject.org