IN THE BEGINNING

There is a significant gap in art therapy research relating to the therapeutic potential of three-dimensional artmaking. It is the field of fine arts, particularly sculpture, that to date has provided the most insight into the nature of three dimensional artmaking. Read (1961) first described how sculpture took the artist from a sight space to a touch space. This concept contributed to my Master of Art Therapy final project, which investigated three-dimensional feltmaking and the skin as a container of psychic trauma.

I would like to build on this research by exploring the role of three dimensional art in accessing and working with emotion. The research would be co-operative and art-based utilising three dimensional art to elicit and extend the author’s and participants’ knowledge throughout the emergent process. It is intended to be a phenomenological exploration of touch through interacting with art and participating in artmaking. This research would involve four forms of inquiry:

1. A heuristic/autoethnographic component through the creation of cane, felt and fibre three dimensional objects and art postcards to be handled and touched at a public exhibition.

2. An art exhibition where the public and guests are invited as ‘participants in research’ to engage with the art through touch. Data on responses to the art will be gathered by:
• Observation by the artist and art therapists
• Video with informed consent and the option of blurring facial features
• Opportunities to write a response to the experience
• A postcard invitation to be interviewed about the exhibition

3. An inquiry into the lived experience of art therapists to explore what is already known about the nature of three dimensional artmaking in their practice.

4. An inquiry using three-dimensional artmaking with children who have experienced trauma. Recruitment of subjects would be through advertising at community health centres. An intersubjective response in three dimensional form (such as a chair, tepee, blanket) would be created in partnership by the parent and author to be given to the child to support the parent child relationship and healing post trauma.

It is anticipated that the data from these inquiries will be analysed and conceptual resources drawn from a number of different disciplines. Some of these conceptual resources may be:
• The haptic sense (Hertenstein, Keltner, App, Bulleit & Jaskolka, 2006; Kalagher & Jones, 2011; Lederman & Klatzy,2009)
• Brain neuroscience and trauma (McGlone, Vallbo, Olausson, Loken & Wessberg, 2007; Perry, 2002; Tishelman & Geffner, 2011)
• The Expressive Therapies Continuum (Hinz, 2010; Kagin & Lusebrink,1978; Lusebrink, 1990)
• The concept of touching the data (Paterson, 2009; Sparkes, 2009)
• Object relations theory and art therapy (Schmidt, 2012; Sholt & Gavron, 2011)


The applications of this research would be useful to clinicians – particularly art therapists - working with children and adults with severe cases of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder who have limited capacity to heal through verbal therapies.