Journal 4
Sewing
Population: Adolescent
Diagnosis: Depressive Disorders
I found sewing to be incredibly natural for me. I have sewed since I was young, and it is a central part of my cultural background. I had already started to create a story cloth. I used a skirt of my grandmother’s who died when I was eight. She was a very central figure in my life as well as in my mother's. Sewing was a tradition that was passed down over the years to women in my family and it has been used as a connecting force. I added to my story cloth for this dive into sewing. I used applique, embroidery, and beading as techniques. I found that I was able to be abstract in such a controlled space and although the cloth base itself is large, using an embroidery hoop and only focusing on what was in the hoop was very helpful and containing.
I chose to use this project to document times in my life, who I was, and who I have become. I used the inspiration of the Arpilleras of Chile, discussed by Marjorie Agosin. In the video, she points to the women of Chile who lost family and how stitching by hand commemorated, memorialized, and made concrete their loved ones. It displayed a message, a sociopolitical movement through their craft. Although my story cloth is not necessarily political it is about my life, about loss, and about grief. The act of stitching, of sewing meaning into cloth makes the abstract tangible.
The population I have chosen to work with this week is adolescents with depression. It is my personal style to bring lots of energy and life to my work as an art therapist in training. This is natural for me. With adolescents with depression, this would be counterproductive and potentially be overwhelming to lower energy clients. I wonder if we look to meeting people with depression where they are, rather than trying to oppose their energy might create a space of non-judgment and gradual trust-building. Homer discusses in the chapter “Embroidering Pieces of Place” in Craft in Art Therapy that embroidery may help place emphasis on the “slowing of time” (2020 p. 102). “Slow embraces making use of what resources are available and promotes change. Slow encourages looking at the how, what, why and where of the work a person does, in relation to selves and others” (p.102).
In thinking about this idea with adolescents, identity, and place in time are incredibly important during this stage of development. Giving time to process, emphasizing that we can dwell on material and soothe with slow, repetitive motions may give some acceptance of the state a client is in when depressed. The artwork and content itself can give space and containment for then the deliberate reflection and examining of the “how, what, why and where” of the depression and the adolescent in their context (p.102). I think sometimes we place too much emphasis on pulling people out of their symptoms rather than sitting in them and exploring them in depth. We may be able to learn about them and reflect on them while creating a place of unconditional positive regard, something I believe is essential for this age group.
References
Homer, E. S. (2020). Embroidering Pieces of Place. In 1055144847 805158418 L. Leone (Author), Craft in art therapy: Diverse approaches to the transformative power of craft materials and methods (pp. 99-117). New York, NY: Routledge.
Agosin, M. (2020). The Arpilleras of Chile (with Marjorie Agosin). Retrieved November 15, 2020, from https://www.facinghistory.org/resource-library/video/arpilleras-chile-marjorie-agosin
