Date of Award

Spring 5-2012

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Department

EVMS School of Health Professions

Program/Concentration

Art Therapy & Counseling

Committee Director

Matthew Bernier

Abstract

This qualitative study examined the phenomenological experience of four students in higher education relating to the involvement in a single reductive relief printmaking session. The indirect process of reductive relief printmaking is set apart from other methods due to the multiple steps and the use of various tools during the experience. It offers a reflective distance from the process, which allows the participant time to consider the meaning of an experience as it occurs. The production of multiple images during the process likewise lessens a participant’s resistance. The printed images are composed of layers; a metaphor for life’s process. Prior to this, no art therapy study has been completed on the experience of reductive printmaking.

The participants were given a basic introduction to the process and then created a multiple-colored and multiple-layered print. They were interviewed immediately following the art making experience, in order to understand associations and reactions to the tools used in the process, the final artwork that was created, and to the multiple-step process itself.

The process was found to be initially anxiety provoking for each participant, but by the completion of the process each participant was satisfied and felt a sense of accomplishment. The carving used in the process was particularly emotive; it provided opportunity for self-reflection and maintained intrigue in the art making.

The verbalizations from the participants in this study indicate that the process of reductive relief printmaking supports the theoretical construct provided in the Expressive Therapies Continuum. Additionally, the findings in this study support the need for further and expanded study of this art making methodology and suggest its successful clinical use in art therapy.

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DOI

10.25777/1cm7-9425

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