Sibling Spotlight: Meet Roberto

Roberto is 8 years old and loves to play Roblox. His favorite animal is a cat.  He is creative, determined and loving.  Roberto is an only child, so he doesn’t have any siblings but we asked him to be part of our Sibling of the Month because we love all our kids here at Friends of Karen.  As an only sibling Roberto is grateful that he doesn’t have to hear any noises or crying.  He  also has a loving, fun Mom that plays video games with him! 

 

We asked Roberto to talk to us about making art because this is Art Therapy month.  At first he said art was just fun but after talking we realized when he makes art he is planning, problem solving and practicing discipline.  

 

Roberto draws characters from video games but also makes his own characters.  He explained that he becomes more creative when he makes mistakes.  “If I’m copying a character and I use the wrong color, it’s a mistake.  I don’t get too upset.  I change the plan. I make the character their brother or sister, so they look the same but are different colors.” So Roberto turned his mistake into a new piece of art.  He speaks about always having a backup plan.  He realizes often times in art, and life, things do not go as planned so he prepares himself with various options.  

 

Roberto seems to know that making mistakes is part of doing art.  He shared another story when he was struggling to finish an art piece for his Mom for Valentine’s Day.  He wanted to create an image of himself as his video game avatar.  But he couldn’t get it right.  “I tried 50 times to get it, maybe 15 times but it felt like 50 times.” His Mom was coming home so he had a deadline to meet. Roberto explains how art making requires discipline. “Some people would make the drawing easier, just draw hearts, instead of taking the harder route. People give up. I really wanted to just go on my tablet  but I had to stay focused. If you give up, you’re not giving any love.  You need to give love to the art.”   Roberto had a goal with high standards that he accomplished.  The results were him feeling proud and Mom loving her gift.

 

Roberto’s ability to manage difficulties in art making helps prepare him to manage things in life.  His Mom says “I feel like art helps him cope with his treatment. His artwork makes him feel proud.”  Roberto does not settle for a mistake, he finds a way for it to work for him. He also upholds his high standards. On top of this he shares his love by creating art for others.