Page 108 - Hrobat Virloget, Katja, et al., eds. (2015). Stone narratives: heritage, mobility, performance. University of Primorska Press, Koper.
P. 108
stone narratives
Case presentation: Mosaic construction with primary school children
This project was performed within the summer festival »Country Without Borders« (Zemlja bez Granica) in Osijek,
Croatia, in the summer of 2014. Participants were primary school children who signed up for the three day »The Bre-
athing Tree« mosaic workshop. At the beginning of the workshop, the materials, tools, technique and the rules of mosa-
ic-making were presented. Some breathing exercises were also performed, including deep breathing. Children and two
leaders worked together in every part of the process, from the sketching the mosaic, tile cutting, preparation of the ce-
ment-based adhesive, and placement of the tiles. One parent participated in the workshop and helped the group at every
stage of process. In the beginning, children were afraid of making mistakes. During the construction process they beca-
me more relaxed and sought more independence from the workshop leaders in the decision making and more collabo-
ration with other participants at the workshop when compared with the preschool children. Growing cohesiveness and
loss of restraints were identified from the direct observations and informal interviews with the group.
saic construction phase. On the other hand, the construction of the mosaic with primary
school children was completely different. At the beginning of the workshop they behaved
as if they were in school, not in an informal workshop. During the cutting and positioning
of the tiles they were disappointed as tiles can be positioned in different ways in a mosaic.
Their fear of making a mistake slowed down the construction process. The children needed
some time to adapt their behaviour to a completely different type of work and atmosphere,
where even a mistake can become an interesting feature of a final mosaic. In such an atmos-
phere, participants can experience cohesiveness and relaxation. These observations are in
accordance with various studies which state that younger children can easily get involved in
a creative process as they behave more naturally (Rubin, 2005; Danescue, 2013), they tend
to be more curious, spontaneous, and original (Danescue, 2013). On the other hand, older
children tend to be more restrained when they are introduced to the creative process and
may need more support to build self-confidence (Rubin, 2005).
Mosaic as a tool for the activation of citizens and institutions in the
creation of the environment
Helping people to engage in a community art practice can help them to (re)gain an aware-
ness of their own capacities and enhance the sense of community. This is especially use-
ful when a certain social group encounters life situations that produce feelings of helpless-
ness and even isolation due to poverty, oppression, financial situation, natural disasters etc.
(Levin & Levin, 2011). In the last decades, a new approach in therapy arose in this field,
i.e., social action art therapy. It puts emphasis on societal factors and work to create social
change, increase awareness of social problems, provide community service and increase the
sensitivity to the social context (Kaplan, 2007).
In the expressive therapy continuum perspective, making art in a group can enhance
empathy and finding a collective working rhythm through the kinaesthetic component of
making a mosaic, which shows the participants that the group is more than just a sum of
individuals; it can promote tolerance towards the diversity of views and beliefs, a growth
in trust and relationship through the perceptual component and can also enhance nego-
tiation skills through interaction and influence between participants, where the cognitive
component is activated (Hinz, 2009).
Creativity is very important for the survival of culture and the act of creating is not
just in »God’s hands« or in the hands of talented individuals (Czsikszenmihaly, 1996).
Designing an environment that fosters creativity is an important challenge for societies.
106
Case presentation: Mosaic construction with primary school children
This project was performed within the summer festival »Country Without Borders« (Zemlja bez Granica) in Osijek,
Croatia, in the summer of 2014. Participants were primary school children who signed up for the three day »The Bre-
athing Tree« mosaic workshop. At the beginning of the workshop, the materials, tools, technique and the rules of mosa-
ic-making were presented. Some breathing exercises were also performed, including deep breathing. Children and two
leaders worked together in every part of the process, from the sketching the mosaic, tile cutting, preparation of the ce-
ment-based adhesive, and placement of the tiles. One parent participated in the workshop and helped the group at every
stage of process. In the beginning, children were afraid of making mistakes. During the construction process they beca-
me more relaxed and sought more independence from the workshop leaders in the decision making and more collabo-
ration with other participants at the workshop when compared with the preschool children. Growing cohesiveness and
loss of restraints were identified from the direct observations and informal interviews with the group.
saic construction phase. On the other hand, the construction of the mosaic with primary
school children was completely different. At the beginning of the workshop they behaved
as if they were in school, not in an informal workshop. During the cutting and positioning
of the tiles they were disappointed as tiles can be positioned in different ways in a mosaic.
Their fear of making a mistake slowed down the construction process. The children needed
some time to adapt their behaviour to a completely different type of work and atmosphere,
where even a mistake can become an interesting feature of a final mosaic. In such an atmos-
phere, participants can experience cohesiveness and relaxation. These observations are in
accordance with various studies which state that younger children can easily get involved in
a creative process as they behave more naturally (Rubin, 2005; Danescue, 2013), they tend
to be more curious, spontaneous, and original (Danescue, 2013). On the other hand, older
children tend to be more restrained when they are introduced to the creative process and
may need more support to build self-confidence (Rubin, 2005).
Mosaic as a tool for the activation of citizens and institutions in the
creation of the environment
Helping people to engage in a community art practice can help them to (re)gain an aware-
ness of their own capacities and enhance the sense of community. This is especially use-
ful when a certain social group encounters life situations that produce feelings of helpless-
ness and even isolation due to poverty, oppression, financial situation, natural disasters etc.
(Levin & Levin, 2011). In the last decades, a new approach in therapy arose in this field,
i.e., social action art therapy. It puts emphasis on societal factors and work to create social
change, increase awareness of social problems, provide community service and increase the
sensitivity to the social context (Kaplan, 2007).
In the expressive therapy continuum perspective, making art in a group can enhance
empathy and finding a collective working rhythm through the kinaesthetic component of
making a mosaic, which shows the participants that the group is more than just a sum of
individuals; it can promote tolerance towards the diversity of views and beliefs, a growth
in trust and relationship through the perceptual component and can also enhance nego-
tiation skills through interaction and influence between participants, where the cognitive
component is activated (Hinz, 2009).
Creativity is very important for the survival of culture and the act of creating is not
just in »God’s hands« or in the hands of talented individuals (Czsikszenmihaly, 1996).
Designing an environment that fosters creativity is an important challenge for societies.
106
