Previews • 7children. By the time she was six, Jenny was able to include both Jon and Nona in her drawing,
although she still put herself on the periphery—and the dog in the attic (B).
Nona, our middle child, was angry with me at age four because I had said she would have
to get a haircut if she wouldn’t allow anyone to brush her hair. The day her hair was cut, she
brought two paintings home from preschool. The first (Figure 1.5) was entitled “A Girl Who
Has Grown Long Hair and Locked Her Mommy in the Garage” (C). In the second painting,
the girl is sitting triumphantly on top of the garage, the mommy (smaller) is still inside, and
“The Girl Has the Key” (D). Although Nona couldn’t control me in reality, in art she could
be more powerful than her mother.
Meanwhile, Jonathan, the youngest child and only boy in the family, also had some prob-
lems with aggression. When he was four, he dealt with his scary monster dreams by paint-
ing pictures of his fears (E). As he got older, he mastered his impulses through pictorial
attacks on family members including his sister (F), his mother (G), and his father (H). Later,
he drew armed ships and planes (I), as well as powerful soldiers and superheroes. By adoles-
cence, he was reading science fiction, and thinking of becoming a cartoonist (Figure 1.6),
while creating humorous fantasy creatures (J).
Stories from the Art Therapy Studio (DVD 1.10)
These early learning experiences convinced me that art could be therapeutic for all kinds
of people, from me and my children to psychotic hospitalized youngsters. In the process,
Figure 1.4 Jenny in art class at the time of Jon’s birth.