Following Sedna: An Arts-Based Self-Study of Spiritual Transformation

• Author / Creator

  Rhonda Anne Miller

• This research is about opening to the possibilities of the creative process. Experiencing the healing and revealing powers of artmaking as a student of art therapy, I wondered if I could find the same kind of solace in the art if I brought my struggles concerning faith. After losing faith in Evangelical Fundamentalism I experienced an ever present spiritual vacuum. I asked the question; “Can I recover a sense of spirituality by intuitively following a numinous image through artmaking, with the intention to tell the story of my journey with Fundamentalism?” I turned to the open studio process which consists of setting an intention, making art and engaging with the images through witness writing. The findings show that artmaking and the creative process are effective methods for tending to our deepest soul questions and needs. They also demonstrate the importance of integrating various art modalities for transformation.

• Subjects / Keywords

  • Spiritual Transformation
  • Art-making

• Graduation date

  2013

• Type of Item

  Thesis

• Degree

  Master of Psychotherapy and Spirituality (Art Therapy Specialization)

• DOI

  https://doi.org/10.7939/R3WD3QF92

• License

  This thesis is made available by the University of Alberta Libraries with permission of the copyright owner solely for non-commercial purposes. This thesis, or any portion thereof, may not otherwise be copied or reproduced without the written consent of the copyright owner, except to the extent permitted by Canadian copyright law.