The clown team’s leader Viktoria Doroshenko organized a holiday for the kids, holding an art therapy session with visiting artists. She invited artists from Kyiv and Ivano-Frankivsk to Cherkasy. Ivan Mykhailov and Volodymyr Hryvinsky joined the children in creating pictures and introduced them to a unique hand-printing technique. Doroshenko is a psychologist by training. She says that depression always causes disease. Therefore, the clowness proposes the universal diet of laughter and calls on everyone to smile as often as possible. She believes in the effectiveness of clown doctors who take advantage of laughter therapy, play therapy, fairytale therapy, and various kinds of art therapy in their work. “When children learn about some unpleasant and sometimes terrifying disease they have, they come under stress. In such a situation, it helps to have a friend, a ‘hospital clown’ who gives the little ones an opportunity to picture another reality in their minds or on paper, treats them with laughter and smiles, maybe hugs them just because, tells a story, sings a lullaby, coming in this way to the aid of parents who need psychological assistance or even just a friendly support so much. You see, hospital environment is very tense and demanding, and this tension leads to stress, which you can get rid of by taking medicines or inviting a hospital clown,” Doroshenko said. She was the one to prompt the artists to hold a workshop for kids. The children liked the art therapy session. They eagerly tried on funny clownish noses, mastered the art of etching, and painted sun, flowers, and boats, while one of them even put on paper a portrait of a hospital clown. The organizers believe their actions have not only improved the sick kids’ morale, but strengthened their immunity, too.
