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SOPHIA DUNN

CONTENT

Art therapy course work
school experience
art collage workshop

Metafora art therapy introductory

I attended a week course at Metafora Art Studios in Sant Marti, Barcelona
The course was so insightful into the world of Art Therapy and really solidified my hopes of pursuing this career. Please see my full course review here.

Artwork 2: Grandad's Garden

Oil pastel on paper

I had no initial intentions for this art piece and just went with the flow and found myself producing a collage of colours to which I had assigned each colour to a different family member. Through further observations, I found reference in my artwork to my Grandad's garden. My grandfather took great care in his garden and worked hard to keep it growing and blooming, he also cared deeply for his family and our family was the most important thing to him and what he instilled in us from young. Ths painting made me reminise of life before he passed and the memories i spent in that garden.

Observing this image as a whole can also symbolise a foetus or distorted baby's face, similar to that on an ultrasound. This provokes questions about rebirth, regrowth and expands on the theme of safety and home. There is also relation to my relatives who i am no longer in contact with and my niece who I have not been able to see since she was a young child.

Emotions of joy, nostalgia, sentiment, grief and sadness are present in this work.

Group work 1

Observing as a whole the artwork looks like a figure or body laying down incapsulated by the frame of the paper. There is very free, curved feminine lines nd movement throughout the work. There is the present of nature and flowers which suggest to me rebirth or rejuvenation, and nudity which also connects to the devine feminine and themese such as empowerment, freedom and regrowth. There seems to be a lot of optimism in this image and hope perhaps for change or a shift in our ( the group or individuals of the group) lives.

Group work 1

Group artwork piece produced through discussion of recurring theme. Exploring our individual roles within the group and our roles as a collective. Do we take more of a back role in the process and let someone else lead?

Through observation of my art and mark making, it is clear that I work in unison and aroudn the art of others, assisting and expanding on their mark making. In sections I have made effort to connect artworks or lines together, perhaps trying to play the role of fixer or being the glue to hold everyone in or accommodate others instead of myself.

reference to the orange lines

education & workshops

I have been working as a SEN Assistant in schools and SEN Lead for a tech camp for just over a year now. I have gained a great deal of experience working with children with ASL.

I am currently working with a 5 year old boy with autism. For confidentiality, I will refer to him as K.

K is non-verbal and requires visual card to assist communication. I have been working with K, incorporating daily art practises and mark making into his curriculum as a way for him to regulate and express himself. He loves circular objects and mark-making, using multicolours and will often colour in the same colour sequences.

Below is a series of artworks produced over the last several months. Most of which are created at the same time each morning. I have attempted some response pieces of my own to mirror his interests and style and build on engagement and trust with him.

Response 1:

19.03.2024
Pencil on paper

Mirroring mark making of child's work. During process, child took interest in my art and sat and observed me drawing, they then chose the colours and assisted me hand ove hand, guiding me to where they wanted the circles drawn on paper. this was the first time the child engaged in a chosen art activity with an adult and showed interest and intrigue in the art process.

Work 4 (1 of 3)

10.06.2024 Pencil and pen on paper, A4

1 of 3 artworks (Work4, Work 5, Work 6)

K shows confidence in morning drawing. He his beginning to understand the routine of sitting at the table and took it upon himself to start drawing.

Observations
K as recently started with darker colours such as grey pencil, black and brown.
He works confidently and independently to choose the colours.

I assisted by ensuring the colours were easily accessible and made sure all colours were there and sharpened.

Occasionally, K will come away from the canvas and start drawing on the table,

K has showed calmness and focus with strong hard pencil marking with almost a sense of urgency or frustrations.

my artwork

I enjoy exploring many mediums in art and try not to limit myself to a specific style or medium. I believe all art is good art and try not to be too critical of my work as I believe the process of art making often shares more significance than the final work itself. Below are some personal art projects I have worked on to explore various materials and rhythms in the art making.

exploration of anxiety through nature

Nature

This is a personal project where I explored visualising mental health and viewing my own anxiety through a creative lens. I wanted to explore various materials including fine liner, watercolour and various flowers, leaves and plants in my art making. The plants collected by myself and my sister showed great sentiment in my work as my sister has also been a strong emotional support throughout my journey of mental health - like a reenactment of her being there helping me pick up the pieces of a scattered mind (represented by the leaves and flower pickings) and encouraging me (my art vision) to rebuild something beautiful from it. I often take a playful approach which is where I find most creative outlets.

I enjoy the sensory engagement and dance with the materials in my hands which helps playing around with the composition and form. Working with objects helps me explore without committing to a final art piece and really working out what feels right and have e this ongoing evolution of art flow. I wanted to explore with watercolours and various printing and stencilling techniques taking on a very explorative and child-like approach with this - the final artwork are a series of self portraits of my brain chaos and a visualisation of how my anxiety might look and manifest itself into art.

social collage club

Collage

reports & reviews

01.

Metafora Introductory
Course

02.

Edith Kramer

03.

Joy Schavarien:
The Embodied Image

04.

Balloon Museum Exhibition

05.

Reading list

work experience

Qualifications