The Arts Offer Coping, Healing, and Healthy Self-Expression for Children

Cathedral Arts Project

This has been a year unlike any other. Children have been learning from their living rooms and through computer screens for nearly a year, educators continue to navigate new technology and teaching methods, and many workplaces remain closed.

As the ground continues to shift beneath our feet, the arts are providing a way for children to find sure footing. This year especially, children need tools to express their thoughts and feelings, find meaning, and build resilience.

That’s why the Cathedral Arts Project is providing free virtual arts education programs to children across Duval County. With highly qualified teaching artist fellows leading rigorous programs, CAP is delivering more than 60 visual and performing arts courses that are transforming children’s lives by empowering them to succeed, inspiring them to create, and encouraging them to connect with themselves and others.

Cathedral Arts Project

In addition to dance, music, theatre, and visual arts, CAP’s virtual arts offerings this year include several art-as-therapy courses led by Art Therapy Fellow Devon Schlegel, a board certified art therapist and licensed mental health counselor. Through visual art, she helps children explore and process daily challenges and emotions. One of the first things she establishes with every child is that there is no bad art. In order for a child to benefit from the healing power of art-making, they must first challenge the idea that there is a right and wrong way to create art. Instead, they focus on the concept of process art, where true success lies in being present and grounded in the moment. It is about the process of creating art rather than the finished product.

During one class, Devon asked each child to take their paintbrush for a walk while listening to music. This task was designed to encourage the children to respond to what they heard and focus on any abstract images like lines, shapes, or colors they saw. Each child created a painting inspired by what they heard and saw and was asked to share with the rest of the class.

One child who clearly enjoys making art, but often declines to share, volunteered to go first. She looked thoughtfully at her painting for a moment and said, “At first, I paid attention to the little voice in my head that told me this color was wrong or this line was bad, and I noticed I was getting frustrated. But then I remembered that it’s about how I feel while I’m making the painting and not what it looks like when I’m finished. Then I was able to feel calm and finish, and I like my painting a lot!”

Her classmates then began to share that some of them had been experiencing similar feelings. It was amazing to see that through the power of art she was able to overcome her inner critic and find a sense of calm in in her artmaking. She was also beaming with pride at having sparked a group discussion just by sharing her experiences.

In an ever-changing world, CAP instills creative thinking skills and lifelong learning. In times challenged by a decline in civil discourse, understanding and shared respect, CAP promotes ways of thinking that support curiosity, openness and kindness. For the increasing numbers of children in Northeast Florida dealing with depression and other emotional, mental and behavioral disorders, CAP offers a pathway to coping, healing and healthy self-expression.

The lessons instilled in these children through their CAP classes will stay with them for the rest of their lives. That is the power of arts education.

Cathedral Arts Project

The Cathedral Arts Project is a nationally recognized nonprofit provider of quality, comprehensive and ongoing instruction in the visual and performing arts for school-aged children in Duval County. The driving force behind all CAP programs is the belief that the arts matter — they provide essential skills, like creative thinking, perseverance, teamwork, and self-discipline, that benefit all people in all areas of their lives.

Enrollment for CAP’s free virtual arts courses is open from December 11, 2020 through January 15, 2021. Visit capkids.org/enroll to learn more and enroll!

Cathedral Arts Project

About the Author

Jennifer Clements is the Communications & Marketing Manager for the Cathedral Arts Project. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in Strategic Communications from Elon University in 2010. Before joining the CAP team in 2014 she worked in both development and operations at Jacksonville University and Greenshades Software. In her role at CAP, she ensures the organization’s mission and vision are consistently communicated both internally and externally. She also serves as CAP’s media liaison, helps implement all marketing campaigns and manages print production. Jennifer’s love for the arts began early in life, taking piano lessons from age 5, dancing throughout elementary and middle school, and singing in choruses throughout high school and college. She is a Jacksonville native and was a member of the Jacksonville Children’s Chorus. Jennifer performed in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in 2003 and has sung with the Jacksonville Symphony Chorus and Jacksonville University’s Choral Union.

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