Art for Domestic Violence Awareness
Children: The Unseen Victims
This written and artistic project content is copyrighted. Art prints and content available. A downloadable link to the project will be available soon. Thank you.
Need Help? Reach The National Domestic Violence Hotline
House of the Broken Hearts Detail: 18x24 Mixed Media
Art has long been used to draw attention to closeted social ills. This is a selection from a series of twelve pieces, shown in multiple venues and by agencies fighting the scourge of domestic violence. My personal childhood and adolescent experiences indeed affected my life. As I have worked with survivors for 10 years, the similarities in our experiences and the resulting aftermath is clear.
This work has been called eerie, disturbing and enlightening. The focus is on children in these homes and the effects on their emotional and physical development. It is meant to make a clear statement: Children are not resilient. They may appear to be resilient simply because they do not respond to domestic violence as adults would; they do not yet have that ability. Their reactions are internalized as emotional issues that may not appear for years or externalized as "acting out," indeed, "acting out" their confusion, fear, and discomfort. Early intervention shows the most promise in supporting these children. My current project now in progress, which I started in 2016, supports emotional literacy programs for children. In my personal opinion, the availability of these programs in schools will reach children who may be reached no other way. My newest project details my thoughts.
It is my hope that by making this work and content available online, I can contribute to the incredibly important conversation on the impact of Domestic Violence.
HOW THE ART HAS BEEN USED:
Exhibited for 7 years by STAND for FAMILIES FREE OF VIOLENCE, Concord, California. Used in film, promotional materials, and in solo shows. Exhibited at Marilyn O'Rourke Gallery with cooperation and presentation by Safequest Solano. Individual prints auctioned by
FOSTER A DREAM. Resources for drawing classes offered for children in group home at Napa State Hospital.
Research shows children are not resilient. Their developing psyches and brains can be as impacted as those of combat soldiers. These are children living in a very personal war zone. They frequently develop symptoms of PTSD. They can't focus, they act out, hide out, struggle in school. They fill foster homes and youth detention centers and may end up in our adult prisons. We so easily label them "bad kids." As adults, they continue to suffer psychologically with depression, anxiety and a host of symptoms and relationship problems.
Awareness moves us toward right action. Prevention is cure.
For information on using these images, or to access the complete series and the accompanying research, please contact me.
If you know a child in this situation, don't hesitate to make an confidential call to the Domestic Violence Hotline for information.
Your call can change a child's life. http://www.thehotline.org/
This full series is now available. Request an individual piece, or ask to view the entire series which you can order directly. Use to raise awareness, for discussion at your organization, with clients, with those in need. This series was created to help.
The Monsters in our House are Real 18x24 Mixed Media
Monsters are not always under the bed; they can be hiding inside someone you love.
Smoke and Mirrors 18x24 Mixed Media
What is a child to believe? His parent, his caretaker, professes love, then acts violently. The ability to trust others ebbs away.
Every future relationship will be affected.
Every future relationship will be affected.
See No Evil 18 x 24 Mixed Media
Society ignores these children hoping for the "best." Neighbors, relatives, even law enforcement still fail to fully address the issue; they understandably aren't sure what to do. Children are too young to articulate their fears.
Often, no one reassures a terrified child who feels trapped.
Often, no one reassures a terrified child who feels trapped.
The Tender Fruit 18x24 Mixed Media
Children are not resilient. At their most innocent and vulnerable developmental stage, living with domestic violence causes psychological wounds that never heal.
Always Alone 18x24 Mixed Media
Few children will tell anyone about what is happening at home. They will internalize or externalize their thoughts and feelings when they don't know how to cope. Either brings confusion and isolation. They may become solitary and depressed or act out in anger. They may feel that everyone else has a happy home, so they don't feel a part of any group.
The House Carriers 18x24 Mixed Media
Everyday, children go to school, carrying what they experience. They may feel responsible, worried, and be distracted. They carry daily the heavy burden of what they cannot control.
Stories
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Tom Petty, describes his escape into music from an abusive home, the aftermath, kicking heroin and long-term therapy to address the problems from his childhood..
Tags: #domestic violence, #childofdomestic violence, #Childhoo trauma, #PTSD, #ComplexPTSD, #adultchild, #adultsurvivor, #at-riskyouth, #fosterchildren, child abuse, #childneglect, #earlyintervention, #domesticviolence, #domesticviolencesurvivor, #childhoodaggression, #childhooddepression, #juvenilejustice,
