ST. STEPHEN's COLLEGE EMPOWERMENT THROUGH ALTERED BOOKS by Marie Anne Muggeridge a Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of St. Step
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ST. STEPHEN’S COLLEGE EMPOWERMENT THROUGH ALTERED BOOKS by Marie Anne Muggeridge A thesis submitted to the Faculty of St. Stephen’s College in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF PSYCHOTHERAPY AND SPIRITUALITY (ART THERAPY SPECIALIZATION) © Marie Anne Muggeridge Fall 2016 Edmonton, Alberta Permission is hereby granted to St. Stephen’s College to reproduce single copies of this thesis and to lend or sell such copies for private, scholarly or scientific research purposes only. Where the thesis is converted to, or otherwise made available in digital form, St. Stephen’s College will advise potential users of the thesis of these terms. The author reserves all other publication and other rights in association with the copyright in the thesis and, except as herein before provided, neither the thesis nor any substantial portion thereof may be printed or otherwise reproduced in any material form whatsoever without the author’s prior written permission. ii I dedicate this thesis to those who to courageously seek to embrace their authentic voice. iii ABSTRACT The following is an Arts Based and Collaborative Inquiry research thesis, in which four female adolescent co-researchers engaged in group sessions to make altered books. The objective of this thesis is to explore the experience of empowerment of young women through creating altered books. The research question is, what happens when young women are given an opportunity to express themselves through the art practice of altered bookmaking? Four sessions of artmaking were held with the co-researchers as a group; subsequently, individuals met privately with the researcher to develop their chapters. The researcher used wit(h)nessed-art making to further investigate the empowerment of female adolescent voice. The findings included several themes: trusting the Spirit and therapeutic relationship, claiming authentic voice and wit(h)nessing spiritual connection. Key words: altered books, Arts Based Research, art making, Collaborative Inquiry, female adolescents, meaning making, spiritual connection, witnessing iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I acknowledge with gratitude my parents: my mother, Elaine Muggeridge, for her abundant support through this thesis process and my life, and my father, Kenneth Muggeridge, for his quiet service to my spirit, mind and body. I am eternally grateful for their unwavering belief in my success. I acknowledge with gratitude my thesis supervisor Dr. Gioia Chilton, whose encouragement and knowledgeable guidance made this thesis possible. I am grateful for her commitment to my creative process and to the field of Arts Based Research. I acknowledge with gratitude my dear friends and family who have supported me through prayer, encouragement and love. Their presence in my life has made this thesis possible. I also humbly thank the co-researchers for their authentic participation through the thank- you cards presented to each co-researcher as imaged below: v Table of Contents OPENING ......................................................................................................... 1 CHAPTER 1: RATIONAL, METHODS AND METHODOLOGIES ......... 2 General Statement of the Problem Area ............................................. 2 The Research Question and Identification of Methodology ..................... 2 Researcher’s Personal Interest in the Subject ................................. 3 Paradigm, Ontology ................................................................................. 6 Research Methodology ..................................................................... 8 Research Method Overview ..................................................................... 14 Investigational Methods and Procedures ............................................. 15 Ethical Concerns ................................................................................. 19 Definition of Terms ................................................................................. 20 CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW ......................................................... 22 Being Without a Voice ..................................................................... 22 Hearing Their Voice ................................................................................. 24 Female Adolescents’ Mental Health Issues ............................................. 30 Expression through Art Making ......................................................... 35 Conclusion ............................................................................................. 39 FOREWORD TO CO-RESEARCHERS’ CHAPTERS ................................. 40 CHATPER 3: AMANDA .................................................................................................. 41 CHAPTER 4: Erin Jaeger ................................................................................. 48 CHAPTER 5: LUCY HARTFILIA .......................................................................... 55 vi CHAPTER 7: WIT(H)NESSING ..................................................................... 70 Session One – The Art Animal ......................................................... 72 Session Two – The Nebulous ..................................................................... 75 Session Three – The Protecting Woman ............................................. 77 Session Four – The Eerie Peace Sign ......................................................... 80 Subsequent Artwork ................................................................................. 82 Artwork – The Praying Woman, The Animal and The Self Portrait ........ 83 Artwork – Focusing IN ..................................................................... 89 Artwork – Chameleon Eye ..................................................................... 94 Artwork – Wit(h)ness ................................................................................. 97 Artwork – Light Filled Egg ..................................................................... 100 Creative Synthesis ................................................................................. 103 CHAPTER 8: CONCLUSION ..................................................................... 108 Revisiting the Literature ..................................................................... 108 Further Topics of Inquiry ..................................................................... 112 Areas of Further Application ..................................................................... 112 The Affirming Voice ................................................................................. 113 Personal Statement ................................................................................. 114 REFERENCES ............................................................................................. 115 APPENDIX A ............................................................................................. 120 Altered Book Poster APPENDIX B ............................................................................................. 121 Consent Letter for Altered Books Workshop Session APPENDIX C ............................................................................................. 123 Information Handout for St. Mark’s School Staff 1 OPENING The following thesis developed into a personal journey of discovery. I have spent many years in search of a personal means of connecting with the Spirit. It is through my thesis process that I have come to embrace my way of connecting to the Spirit, through art making. Throughout the following thesis, you will witness the transformative power of collaboration, listening and trusting myself and the Spirit that became the focus of my research. The first chapter outlines the inspiration and motivation for this thesis. Arts Based and a form of Collaborative Inquiry research will be defined as relevant to this research. A full explanation of methods used in the research gathering will also be elaborated. The end of the chapter explains the unique data presentation pertaining to the methodologies employed. In the second chapter the literature reviewed relates to three major areas of study: being without a voice, female adolescents’ knowing and articulating their own voices and mental health issues. Each of these areas studied aided me in developing a deeper understanding of the potential issues the co-researchers may be facing. The next four chapters were collaboratively created with each co-researcher. Honouring the authenticity of each female’s experience, the co-researchers were able to express themselves through their own chapters. I maintained their voices as the predominant feature of the research data, as it is only the co-researchers who can speak their truth. The seventh chapter is my personal witnessing to the experience of the sessions with the co-researchers. This chapter has deep personal insights which were possible 2 through the making of authentic art. Through creating this chapter, I have been able to more fully embrace my unique connection to the Spirit which guides me. CHAPTER 1: RATIONAL, METHODS AND METHODOLOGIES General Statement of the Problem Area Researchers have shown that the second leading cause of death for young Canadians is suicide, seen more commonly in female adolescents (Cheung & Dewa, 2007, p. 228). To address this mental health need, therapists can help clients find their voice though creative expression. “Artworks tend to potently express feelings” encouraging the voice of the adolescent to be