Arts and Humanities Commons^™

A Trauma-Informed Socially Just Approach To Working With Juvenile Justice-Involved Youth Utilizing Expressive Arts Therapy, Ciara Carr

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

Youth involved with the juvenile justice system often have a history of trauma and oppression resulting from their positionality and circumstances. Most juvenile justice-involved youth are boys, youth of color, low-income, LGBTQIA2S+, disabled, and traumatized. This literature review explores the history of the juvenile justice system, issues with the present-day model, and trauma-informed and transformative justice approaches to practice. The implementation of socially just, trauma-informed expressive arts therapy programs is proposed as a more equitable practice to replace commonly used punitive practices across the United States. More research is needed to understand the impact of such programs on this population …

My Daily Grounds: A Journal Of Creative Alchemy, Kathleen A. Donovan

Creativity and Change Leadership Graduate Student Master's Projects

My Daily Grounds: A Journal of Creative Alchemy is a project intended to renew artistic confidence and prepare a mindset for a writing retreat in Ireland in June 2024 by revisiting childhood memories and exploring the impact of early domestic abuse through a visual journaling process. This endeavor aims to stir up the creative voice and find authenticity in creation by gathering and clarifying personal data visually, following the Creative (CPS) approach to unlock new insights and ideas for writing. The resulting essays will illuminate the unseen effects of trauma and are intended for publication, reflecting a co-creative process between …

Art Of Aging – A Portraiture Study, Alaina Mann

Theses/Capstones/Creative Projects

The process of aging can be viewed through different lenses within our society. In the past, scientists and medical professionals performed various studies to better understand and analyze different facets of aging, medicine, and health in general. Historically the arts have reflected multiple aspects of medicine and treatments while more recently, the arts have been used in a research capacity to provide different ways to represent illness, suffering, and care. This study used art-based research methods and portraiture to gather qualitative observations on the older populations within our community. Data collected included drawings, a field journal, and interviews. This study …

Eco-Interoception: What Plants, Fungi And Protista Have Taught My Body, Sara Riley Dotterer

Art Theses and Dissertations

To me, ecology is the relational, full-body awareness that I am made up of and deeply connected to everything around me; and for better or worse, this is reciprocal. I form ecotones, an ecological transitional zone between two ecosystems, with the world around me. I use this ecotonal lens to blur binaries and dissolve boundaries between me and the world “outside my body.” During my Masters of Fine Arts at Southern Methodist University, I have continuously explored and represented the lives of various more-than-human species outside of my body, including plants, fungi and protista through an ecotonal lens. Although these …

Transcendence: Exploring The Connections Between Transgender/Gender Non-Conforming Identities And Experiences Of Nature Through Art, Mc Jackson

Undergraduate Theses

“Transcendence: Exploring the connections between transgender/gender non-conforming identities and experiences of nature through art” is the written portion of a creative thesis revolving around an immersive art installation and short film. Transcendence, the installation, was created to promote connection by exploring the overlap between transgender and gender non-conforming (GNC) experiences and experiences of nature. Part of this installation is a short film of interviews conducted with transgender and GNC individuals about nature, their gender experiences, and the transcendent nature of the two. The written thesis analyzes existing literature on nature as a restorative, therapeutic, spiritual setting, offers insight into …

Inner Portraits, Bethany Salisbury

Graduate Theses

This paper investigates the many interconnected layers of women’s mental health through portraiture and how animal and plant symbolism can represent the way women's hormones and bodily health affect their mental health. I reveal how the artwork created presents these connections and inner mental health narratives to the viewer, creating a space of empathy, destigmatization, and self-reflection. This body of portraiture art connects five women through a series of both two-and three-dimensional portraits based on interviews using my own adaptation of Sara Lawrence-Lightfoots’ (1983) portrait methodology.

Women and non-binary individuals have always dealt with difficult interactions of bodily and mental …

The Color Of Sound: An Insight On Chromesthesia, Lupe Rodriguez

Honors Capstones

Many people can see with their eyes, but there are some people who can see through sound. Chromesthesia is when sound involuntarily evokes an experience of color through shapes and movement. The goal of this project is to show what this experience is like and give people an opportunity to experience it in a way themselves.

The Color of Sound Website Prototype

The Effects Of School-Based Art Therapy On Depressed Adolescents, Jasmine Nicolas

Nursing | Senior Theses

Depression in adolescents is associated with deficient behavioral and health outcomes (Fletcher, 2019). Art therapy has been shown to be effective in treating mental health condition such as depression. A student’s academic success heavily depends on treating their depression. Community health nurses can play a vital role in advocating for adequate mental health support to improve a student’s overall well-being and academic success. The literature review contains six articles on the prevalence and impact of depression among adolescents, art therapy as an intervention for improving psychological outcomes and resilience among adolescents, and experiences of adolescent clients in art therapy within …

Defiantly Childlike: Using Aesthetic Resistance To Heal, Sarah K. Reagan

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examines an alternative processing mechanism surrounding the act of healing after traumatic experiences in life. Using a methodology of iterative patterning and tool-pathing, a collection of inflatable garments and wooden mannequins analyzes defense mechanisms learned in early childhood development. This work highlights an essential body of recent scholarship that takes cuteification seriously to restore a childlike approach to mastering fear. This paper will review the definitions of cuteness and childlike humor and then describe how visual culture has implemented these components to subvert established power.

Where The Glass Glows: Unpacking The Therapeutic Experiences Of Adult Students In A Community-Based Open Glass Studio During A Pandemic, Shelly A. Palmer

Art Therapy | Electronic Master's Theses 2015 - 2021

This qualitative study used categorizing and theming analysis to learn about how adult students of stained glass and makers of stained glass in a community-based open glass studio understand their experience of working with glass during the CO VID-19 pandemic. The aim of this study was to acquire an understanding about how working with glass was therapeutic during a pandemic. Open-ended surveys were used to understand the experiences of glass makers (n = 11) and students in a stained-glass studio (n = 26) and their responses were thematically categorized. The findings presented illustrate that creating stained glass objects both inside …

Using Art To Mitigate Burnout For Those Working In Direct Care, Jessica E. Goodchild

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

Through a critical review of the existing literature, this capstone thesis seeks to investigate the potential benefits and drawbacks to the integration of guided artistic practices within the workplace. The literature reviewed focused on both qualitative and quantitative studies of burnout and explored the professional benefits that art making can provide in mitigating burnout for those within a western culture working in the field of mental health and social services, particularly in the capacity of a direct care worker (DCW). Through the review of the literature a case can be made for the benefits of using visual art to engage …

Zentangles For Mental Health Awareness, Rachel Immel

Honors Projects

The world is starting to see the rise of a stress related epidemic. Finding time to balance the struggles of everyday life, like academics, finances, careers and relationships, while also maintaining personal mental health is becoming increasingly difficult. This is what prompted me to use my project as an opportunity to help people relieve stress and create a community through the use of art, especially during a time where social interaction has been severely limited due to COVID-19.

My project is a series of live-streamed Zentangle art classes I hosted personally that were open to the public through Zoom. Zentangle …

Empathy In Aging, Morgan Kranz, James Charles Arendt

Honors Theses

Empathy in Agingis a project exploring how to show compassion for the inevitable aging process. This form of care is physical and mental. The concept for this work comes from my time working as a nursing assistantin a nursing home. Through my experiences, this project explores what I took away through observation and interaction

Saudade: An Exploration Of The Choreographic Process And The Power Of Dance, Audrey Erickson

Honors Theses

This paper serves as a reflection on my choreographic process as a LINES BFA senior and as an investigation into the innate power of human creative movement. I will document the challenges and joys of producing movement in the dancing arts, as well as illuminate the physical and psychological power of movement harbored within the practice of Dance Movement Therapy, an enduring form of psychotherapeutic movement used to promote emotional, social, cognitive, and physical well-being. The main goals of my personal choreographic experience, as well as those of my fellow Dance Majors were three-fold: 1) the cultivation of an encouraging …

Artful Bionics: Pushing The Limits Of Visual Expression In Prosthetic Design, Anna Kester

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Traditional prosthetic design revolves around functionality, aiming to hide and downplay an individual's limb difference as much as possible. This may not only negatively affect the user's desire to wear their prosthetic but may also negatively affect their self-confidence and sense of identity. Expression is a primary way to communicate identity, yet some traditional prosthetics may deny expression, leaving users without an immediate means to express themselves apart from the stigmatizing label of 'disability'. This study examines the ability of art when combined with bionic prosthetic technology to change the perception of disability, empower self confidence in prosthetics users, and …

Art That Heals, Christina Cardona

Capstones

Beryl Brenner was a creative arts therapist for 40 years, and helped veterans heal from war traumas through art all across the city. For the past 11 years, she was at the Brooklyn Campus of the VA NY Harbor Healthcare system in Bay Ridge, where she developed the art therapy program. https://christinacardona1.wordpress.com

Inside Exploration, Reagan E. Long

Chancellor’s Honors Program Projects

No abstract provided.

You Shouldn't Be Reading These, Taylor Jacobs

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

This research was based on an introspective view of one's inner dialogue and the science behind when it came into existence for all of us, and why we continue to use it as adults

Artist Statement:

This body of work originated in the shower, where my best and worst thoughts are conjured. My constant stream of thoughts are typically about the connections I have with the people in my life- friends, family, people no longer in my life, and those who have passed. I consistently try to organize my thoughts and feelings.

Some friendships are constant and stable, and I …

Creative Expression And Dementia, Danielle A. Lavee-Dixon

Senior Theses

Art is the expression or application of human creative skills using that individual’s imagination. While most often taught amongst young people, I believe that art is a tool that can be used at all ages to promote reflection, pleasure, and personal passions. As a way to investigate the benefits of artistic expression amongst different groups of people, I have focused on the rewards achieved with art practiced by individuals living with dementia. Highlighting the difficulties a patient with dementia may encounter, and some of the benefits art can have on those patients; I was able to create art workshops that …

Interpreting, Stephanie Jo Kent

Doctoral Dissertations

What do community interpreting for the Deaf in western societies, conference interpreting for the European Parliament, and language brokering in international management have in common? Academic research and professional training have historically emphasized the linguistic and cognitive challenges of interpreting, neglecting or ignoring the social aspects that structure communication. All forms of interpreting are inherently social; they involve relationships among at least three people and two languages. The contexts explored here, American Sign Language/English interpreting and spoken language interpreting within the European Parliament, show that simultaneous interpreting involves attitudes, norms and values about intercultural communication that overemphasize information and discount …

The Silhouettes Of Autism, Chloe J. Dobbert

CMC Senior Theses

My passion as a student at the Claremont Colleges is to help children with Autism Spectrum Disorder grow and learn as normal children and to help prepare them for life outside the Autism Center at Claremont McKenna College. In my thesis project, I am exploring the concept of silhouettes through photography and my perceptions of the stories told to me by the children I teach. Esthetically, I am inspired by Kara Walker’s installation of large cutout silhouettes but I am using different mediums to accomplish my project: Artistically, I am inspired by the detailed descriptions of the obsessive stories and …