Mini El Duende for older adults with substance use disorder
· Each step a different material or technique?
· Tape painting as a mask; further containment
· No blank page anxiety
· Companion, by product, process
· Physical record of different moments
· Grief work, saying goodbye to things, and keeping some things
· Safe container transformation
· Photography, time in between essential to process
· Record of change is a metaphor
· What are we gaining or losing?
· Protect honor vs cover over
· Reusable
· Temporary quality (a metaphor for thoughts)
· Emphasis on the process, not the product
· Erasure, masking, redoing, remaking, fresh starts, pulling back layers, palimpsest
· Responding to the imagery, ritual of the process, engagement with change and transformation, a metaphor of own awareness transforming
The El Duende process began lightly for me, as I knew that I was going to put down layer upon layer. Would this help people who have a hard time working on a blank page, or would the ability to wash the whole surface create the same difficult situation again and again? I appreciated the time in between to step away from the process. Upon returning I often found something undiscovered about the piece. I would make sure to look at the piece from all orientations. (Robb & Miller, 2017).
The mini El Duende reflects the metaphor of change and transformation for older adults recovering from substance abuse. Alongside covering over imagery, bring the discussion of personal shame or guilt that often pursues this population. The deconstruction of the work makes tangible that if a boundary is removed something new will be able to begin. Within the process of layering and changing the painting is embedded an understanding that change is inevitable, and also that feelings and thoughts are always changing. For the older adults, the ability to keep working on this one piece may provide support in their desire to keep working on themselves, even as they are getting older. Another valuable aspect of the El Duende, is that the process is emphasized rather than resulting in a final product. This is a powerful metaphor for older adults working to change their lives. This process may be best for clients who are ready to be vulnerable, as Rosiek expressed, “The practice of art involves the cultivation of receptivity to a phenomenon or experience, which brings with it a condition of vulnerability to being changed by it” (2017, p. 640 as cited in Chilton et al., 2020).
“Where is the soft heart? Where is yes? What does not want to be seen? What is the journey? What does the central figure need? What is painting saying? When is it finished?”
References
Chilton, G., Lynskey, K., Ohnstad, E., & Manders, E. (2020). A case of el duende: Art-based supervision in addiction treatment. Art Therapy, 1-9. https://doi.org/10.1080/07421656.2020.1771138