An Art-Based Inquiry into the Presence of Resiliency in the Open Studio Process
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Author
Douglass Nuding, Dawn Virginia
Date
2011
Degree
Master of Arts in Art Therapy
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between the open
art studio and resiliency protective factors. Specific protective factors found within
resilient children and their environments are being adapted in areas of discipline,
education and mental health treatment to promote resiliency in general student
populations. Literature draws a clear correlation between these protective factors and
the art process, but no research to date explores the relationship in an open studio
setting specifically. Using the model established by the Open Studio Project, an artbased inquiry explored this relationship (Block, Harris, & Laing, 2005). Over a
three-week period, data in the form of artwork and reflective writing created in the
open studio was collected from a group consisting of elementary and middle school
student subjects and the researcher. As anticipated, this inquiry revealed the presence
of resiliency protective factors in student subjects both in the open studio process and
in the images created there.