Ruth Faison Shaw was an art educator who developed a nontraditional educational perspective of teaching and a different vision about children's art. As such, she is considered by some to be the initiator of finger-painting in America (The History of Art Education Timeline 1930-1939, 2002.) Shaw developed the technique of finger-painting and a…

This paper reports on the introduction of an exploratory program on emotional development, "Drawing Emotions," through which instructors try to: (1) help the child learn how to deal with feelings; (2) ascertain relational difficulties; (3) apprehend their own questions which were not answered; and (4) interfere in the presence of risks…

The articles in this volume reflect a resolution passed by the International Society for Education Through Art (INSEA) World Council to provide children with opportunities to work in the arts so that the healing process that the arts can foster can be initiated. The lead article in this issue, "Heart Goes towards the Sun: Work with Children…

Compares and contrasts discipline-based art education with Viktor Lowenfeld's creative self-expression approach, using growth, medical, and molding metaphors. Maintains that these two approaches are similar because the views of the child, the teacher's role, and the relationship between them has not changed. (KM)

Presents three studies of children's ability to create and detect expressions of emotion in drawings. Compared to younger children, older children used more strategies, experimented with line and color, and were more likely to explore themes of death, aging, and illness. Includes sample drawings and statistical tables. (MJP)

The essays in this collection are grounded in theoretical underpinnings which range from Freud to Montessori. The focus encompasses educational and psychiatric concerns. Essays are organized in 4 parts. Part 1, "Theory of Art Therapy," includes: (1) "Art Therapy: Problems of Definition" (Elinor Ulman); (2) "Therapy is Not Enough: The Contribution…

Investigates the drawing and copying skills of nine autistic and eight mentally retarded children matched for mental age. Results indicate a similarity of performance for the drawing tasks and significant differences concerning the copying. Discusses the specific functions performed better by the autistic children and provides illustrative…

Recognition of the handicapped child's isolation from the environment is the basis for creative art therapy across handicapping conditions (physical disabilities, mental retardation, emotional disturbance, deafness, Blindness, speech impairment, cerebral palsy). Detachment may be overcome by self expression through drawings, paintings, and…

This resource book is intended to assist special education teachers in planning art lessons to meet specific goals. It is divided into sections covering mild and moderately handicapped students, severely and profoundly handicapped students, and student with specific sensory handicaps. Each section discusses definitions and characteristics of the…

Using children's art works as examples, explores the role of form of expression in art education and therapy. Outlines research approaches that see self-development symbolisms operating in these forms. Presents results from a West German intercultural study on the development and structure of art expression that ties artistic expression to an…

Reviews the results of a longitudinal study examining the development of drawing skills of six children with Williams Syndrome. Presents quantitative and qualitative data regarding recognizability, organization, and developmental progress. Reveals that, although extremely delayed, the children made consistent progress in a manner similar to normal…

Traces the development of artistic ability in a six-year-old boy with autism and mild mental retardation. Addresses questions concerning autism and artistic development including whether intellectual realism is a necessary precursor to visual realism and whether a two-dimensional photographic memory is used as opposed to three-dimensional…

Reviews the work of neurobiologist, David Marr, concerning artistic ability and autism. Summarizes Marr's theory of perceptual vision illuminating the relationships among object, observer, perceptual process, and image. Briefly reviews the cases of four autistic people with extraordinary drawing skills. (MJP)

Art in context of community is the theme of this newsletter. The theme is introduced in an editorial "Community-Enlarging the Definition" (Kit Grauer). Related articles include: (1) "The Children's Bridge is not Destroyed: Heart in the Middle of the World" (Emil Robert Tanay); (2) "Making Bridges: The Sock Doll…