As the art consultant at two JFS { Family Violence Project shelters, Louise Taubman sees the transformations that take place in battered women and children when they are given the opportunity to express themselves through creating a piece of art.
“It’s wonderful when the FVP clients come together for an art class,” Louise explains. “The most rewarding thing is watching a client come in for the first time, and leave a short time later feeling transformed. They are calmer, more comfortable, more self-assured after they take the opportunity to create something.”
Louise first began working with Family Violence Project clients more than two and a half years ago. After completing FVP’s 40-hour volunteer training, she began doing informal art therapy with the women and children living in JFS { Tamar House Shelter and JFS { Hope Cottage, and after seeing the positivity that came of it, JFS applied and received a scholarship for Louise to attend training with A Window Between Worlds in early 2011.
A national program based in Venice, A Window Between Worlds provides art supplies and workshops that aid domestic violence counselors in helping survivors of domestic violence and their children begin rebuilding their lives by expressing their creativity through art. AWBW believes that creating art builds self-confidence, which helps the women find strength in making positive decisions about their relationships, their children, and their future.
Louise’s art classes take place weekly at Tamar House and several times a month at Hope Cottage. She begins each session with a meditation, and explains the day’s project, sharing a specific word or prompt for them to create from. The women talk to one another and enjoy the music playing in the background, all while concentrating on their piece at hand. Every class brings a new type of project – self-portrait masks, affirmation jars, drawing journals, homemade lotus flowers, and canvas collages, to name a few.
Louise values these sessions and freely acknowledges the impact that working with survivors of domestic violence has on her. She considers the time she spends with the women and children to be an honor. “I am privileged to be a part of their journey of healing,” says Louise. “I am constantly surprised by their creativity, their talent, and the way they look at things, but most of all, I am humbled by their incredible strength.”
Portions of this feature originally appeared in the Spring 2012 JFS { Family Violence Project newsletter. To read the full story, please click here.
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