Foster youth express themselves in art class

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Some things are hard to put into words. Fortunately, there's art. When words fail, art can help express difficult emotions.

The youth in Arthur's Artists know all about difficult emotions.

"All of our kids have gone through an abusive or neglectful situation at the hands of their parents, to a point where it was so severe they had to be removed from the parents' custody," said Nicola Herman, who works with youth in foster care through the Department of Human Services office in Howell.

Arthur's Artists is a group of Livingston County foster youth approaching adulthood who are preparing to transfer out of foster care or have recently done so. The group meets once a month at the Arthur Secunda Museum at Cleary University in Genoa Township. There, with artist Diane Kramer of Genoa Township serving as teacher and Grace Farley of Cleary University and Herman providing support, the youth learn about Secunda's art and use it as a jumping off point to create their own art.

"We haven't asked them to paint their feelings and think back on their past, but the majority of them have," Herman said. "To see them be able to work through those emotions and express those feelings through art is really powerful."

"My favorite project so far was the paper bird," said foster youth Amanda, whose last name was withheld by the Department of Human Services to protect her privacy. "I liked it the most because mine was different. I made it have a baby. When I was doing this, my train of thought was to show a mother leaving her baby bird."

     

Another girl, though a talented artist, had a hard time drawing a picture of herself.

"Some of them have been to (as many as) seven different foster homes, and they start to lose their identity," said Farley. "For one project, (the teacher) said, 'Draw a picture of the person across from you.' This girl drew an incredibly detailed and accurate depiction of the person across from her. Then we gave her a mirror and said, 'Draw yourself,' and she drew this beautiful head of hair with no face. She didn't know who she was."

Sketching out a plan

Farley originated the idea of Arthur's Artists in early 2013. She'd been working on a new nine-month program called Leadership Livingston Youth designed to introduce high school-age leaders to various adult community leaders and teach them how Livingston County delivers business, education, government, justice, and health and human services.

Herman had asked Farley about putting youth who were leaving or had recently left the foster care system in the program, but Farley didn't think most would be a good match for it at that point in their lives. As a population, members of this group are more likely to be transient, homeless or in jail, and transportation would be an issue.

"They were in survival mode, and you move at different levels when you're in survival mode," Farley said. "I didn't want to put pressure on her or these kids."

However, Farley continued to think about them. About the same time, she also started working with the Arthur Secunda Museum on the Cleary University campus.

"I had done a little research and found there's a lot of evidence that shows art programs work for therapeutic purposes for at-risk populations," Farley said.

She mentioned the idea of a foster youth art group to Herman, who liked it.

Artist Diane Kramer, whose "The Winged Guardian" sculpture is in the Brighton Sculpture Garden, came on board shortly afterward, acting on intuition.

"One day I was at the Secunda Museum on a tour and fell in love with the place, and had this feeling to connect with the person in charge of programs," Kramer said. "To be honest, it was some kind of intuitive nudging that inspired me to call. I spoke with Grace Farley and shared some of who I am and what I have done, really trying to find out if there was anything I could do that may revolve around art and healing. … A few meetings later, I found myself sitting around a round table with other people planning out a program, which would serve (this) population of teens."

The next step was to find funding.

"We worked on the funding part of it for a year," Farley said. "The Community Foundation for Livingston County came forward in June 2014 and said they would fund it, and the first (Arthur's Artist session) was in August 2014.

        

The art of resilience

Meetings of Arthur's Artists usually draw about 15 youth from ages 15 to 22. Herman encourages the youth she works with to participate, but it's not required.

"I chose to spend my time coming to do this art work because it really does make you think and shows feelings," said foster youth Amanda. "What I get out of this program is that art is a way to escape, to show emotions through creativity."

Kramer leads the students through projects, including everything from self-portrait to landscapes using mediums that include paint, wire sculpture and torn paper.

"I have a lot of fun doing the art projects," said foster youth Savannah. "I was never the best at art in school, but I feel like it's a judgment-free zone to just have fun and express ourselves. The mentors are also very helpful with constructive criticism and help me improve my art."

Any art is intensely personal, and none more so than this art. Kramer offers the occasional tip, but she treads lightly with constructive criticism.

"Any mark that is put down, whether it's sculptural or paintings or drawings, is a great one, because it's brave, and you're putting the work out there," Kramer said, adding, "The students are brave just for being there."

"I'm a fan of art from the heart," Kramer said. "I'm not easily impressed with technical skills. For something to excite me it really has to speak to me on an emotional level. When a work is honest or raw, to me that's a work that's alive. This work is genuine and honest … and powerful."

Although the youth in Arthur's Artists have been through hard times, they are resilient and are writing their own happy endings. Some, like Amanda, have found a place to belong in their foster families.

"I've waited so long to have a family, and I finally got one four years ago," Amanda said. "They are my motivation. They make me stay on track. I couldn't be any more proud of who I am."

Others, like Savannah, rely on perseverance as well as the support of friends and family.

"I would say my key to success is not giving up," she said. "I also get a lot of support from my families, friends and people from DHS. Nicola especially has helped me with so much. Having a good attitude and believing in yourself will get you far."

With Arthur's Artists, the current and former foster youth can use art to sort out the experiences of their past so they can move into their futures.

"Healing comes to us all when we open up, look inside and allow the creative process to live," Kramer said. "We never know what can open up, bloom and heal."

See the art work of Arthur's Artists

On June 20 from 1-4 p.m., when this year's Arthur's Artists program is finished, the group will display their art to the public at the Arthur Secunda Museum at Cleary University, 3750 Cleary Drive in Genoa Township.