PORT TOWNSEND — A Port Townsend native who used art therapy for the rehabilitation of a badly injured South African boy will present a documentary about the healing process at the Rose Theatre next month.
The 26-minute movie, “Driving William,” tells the story of William Smith, a 12-year-old who was so severely burned when he climbed a telephone pole and was electrocuted that both arms were amputated.
The film shows how art “instilled in him a new sense of confidence once he realized all he was still capable of doing even without having his arms,” said Sascha Archer, 36, who was in charge of the boy’s rehabilitation at the Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital in Cape Town.
“Driving William” will be shown at
9:30 p.m. Friday, July 8, and 1 p.m. Sunday, July 10, at the Rose Theatre, 235 Taylor St., Port Townsend.
Admission will be $10, with proceeds going to the purchase of prosthetics for William and other patients.
Archer, who has all the originals of William’s art, will be on hand to discuss the movie and answer questions.
She will return to Port Townsend on Tuesday to spend at least six months in the United States, after which she hopes to return to South Africa.
William — from the Hex River Valley some two hours of travel time north of Cape Town — spent four days in intensive care before he was transferred to the burn unit, Archer said.
He was “ in deep shock, highly traumatized, very depressed and not coping well,” said Archer, newly arrived in South Africa as an art therapist, who began working with the boy shortly after he was moved to the burn unit.
During more than four months in the hospital, the boy underwent a series of physical and emotional therapies — including relearning how to walk because of burns on his right leg and severe nerve damage.
He had lost all of his right arm and much of his left arm.
“It was obvious that he would not be able to do art in the same way as the other children in the ward,” Archer said.
“But I was determined to show him how he would still be able to paint, draw and write in other capacities and that he was not bound by the loss of his arms.”
During the first two sessions, Archer drew and told stories. William did not respond, she said.
In their third session, Archer showed him how to hold a pencil in his mouth to write.
This led to drawing, painting and writing using his mouth and eventually led to painting and writing with his feet.
“From that point forward, there was no turning back,” Archer said.
“William transformed quickly into an incredibly outgoing, joyful, enthusiastic, lively and busy child whose determination and will is both mind-boggling and truly inspirational.”
William has created more than 100 drawings and paintings.
He also plays musical instruments with his feet and partial limb.
“I believe the art gave him a voice and new lease on life,” Archer said.
A 1993 graduate of Port Townsend High School, Archer earned a graduate degree in art therapy in 2009 from the Vancouver Arts Therapy Institute in Vancouver, B.C.
She wanted to put her skills as an art therapist to work “and venture out into the world to a place where I felt I could truly make a profound difference.” She chose South Africa because the country had no accredited art therapy programs.
“With so many children and families that are both marginalized and traumatized and communities living in poverty and dealing with HIV, I felt that as an art therapist, I could provide support, healing, a means for individuals to tell their story and a mode of creative nonverbal therapy,” she said.
Jefferson County Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Teresa Verraes, who grew up with Archer, wasn’t really surprised by the move.
“When she told me she was going to South Africa to work with AIDS patients and burn victims, I said, ‘What are you thinking?’” Verraes said.
“But that’s what she is all about. She wants to travel and make a difference.”
Verraes said Archer’s role as a documentarian is a natural one.
“She takes wonderful pictures, and she is a great writer,” Verraes said.
“There is a large group of us who grew up here, and Sascha documents all of our lives.”
Copies of William’s artwork and other information about him can be found at www.drivingwilliam.com.
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Jefferson County Reporter Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or at charlie.bermant@peninsuladailynews.com.