Psychological atmosphere and art therapy at sculpture classes

The article is devoted to the theoretical substantiation and practical approbation of the need to create a positive psychological atmosphere at classes of Artistic and Creative Activity (Sculpture), as well as the possibility of overcoming psychological stress through art therapy exercises. It is important to identify those means and methods of organizing students’ educational process at Sculpture classes which are most effective in creating such a psychological atmosphere that might promote artistic and creative activities and activate students’ artistic potential. In particular, the phenomena of a psychological atmosphere and art therapy, their features in the context of artistic and creative activities alongside the possibility of including these issues in the educational process of the Art and Graphic Faculty of the State institution “South Ukrainian National Pedagogical University named after K. D. Ushynsky” (Ushynsky University) are considered. That is, it is about creating such a situation in the educational process at Sculpture classes in which students will feel their psychological security, motivation to study and creative effort. The adaptation of the educational environment in accordance with modern criteria for preserving psychological health, which helps to overcome the problems of mental imbalance of future teachers of art specialties. The article presents the development of art therapy exercises with sculpturing which help in overcoming stress, students’ internal tension and emotional burnout. The experience of implementing this development in the educational process intended for future teachers of art disciplines is highlighted. The importance of forming psychologically healthy graduates majoring in pedagogy is emphasized. The proposed methods and techniques were tested on the students of the Faculty of Art and Graphics of Ushynsky University. The practice of applying the methods mentioned in the article and observing the results have been carried out for several years. The analysis of the primary observation results of the students’ psychological state after classes using the proposed methods and conducting art therapy exercises demonstrates an increase in the inclusion of students in the educational process, as well as their activation of artistic and creative abilities. The authors identified the main ways of forming a psychologically healthy atmosphere during the study of sculptural art, which can be adapted to other educational subjects of the art cycle. The presented article does not cover all aspects of the specified topic; it does not pretend to be complete in the matter either. In particular, further research is needed to determine the level of effectiveness of the proposed methods and exercises through questionnaires, testing and mathematical analysis of the obtained results in order to consolidate the primary conclusions made during the students’ field observation. This demonstrates the potential of the chosen topic and the need for further work in this direction. However, those decisions and conclusions on the specified issues which were made in the research process allow us to form a number of methodological principles for creating a positive psychological atmosphere and overcoming a psychological stress at classes of Artistic and Creative Activities (Sculpture), which is an important step in the formation of the future psychologically healthy society.