My Doctoral research, findings and implications for practice.
SEEING HER STORIES is a full colour book of illustrated essays that present my Doctoral Research into sharing women’s stories through art.
“Seeing her stories” combines my fascination with the power of seeing artworks, commitment to sharing women’s stories, and interest in discursive perspectives.
This research adds layers of meaning to understandings about what happens when artworks are seen. I examine complex intersubjective relationships between people and artworks, in which seeing is at once a sense activity, a relational process and a discursive practice.
The findings of this inquiry have implications for how we conceive of what Art Therapy can be.
I was deeply honoured to receive these reviews from my examiners – two of Art Therapy’s most esteemed leaders – Shaun McNiff and Pat Allen.
“The thesis is an excellent and inspired work that has many threads of significance, all of which can be seminal sources for the growth and development of the arts and therapy.
The excellence of the art made and shown, and the clarity of the thesis vision, give me great confidence in terms of its ongoing impact on the world and Carla van Laar’s ability to transform art therapy.”
– Shaun McNiff, Ph.D., ATR. Author of Art Heals; Art as Medicine; Integrating the Arts in Therapy; Art-Based Research; Art as Research and other books.
“Carla has enacted fully, in all its complexity, a woman’s way of knowing and by doing so has given us all permission to do the same.
This is a radical act, that, as she points out, destabilizes well, pretty much everything we’ve come to believe in the institutional and professional realm.”
– Pat B. Allen, Ph.D., ATR. Author of Art is a way of knowing; Art is a spiritual path and Cronation.
Their words gave me tremendous encouragement to make my unique contribution accessible to anyone who wishes to engage with the ideas, methods, findings and implications. The research project and Doctoral journey is a long distance marathon, and, at many times, a rather solo journey.
In my commitment to sharing this important work, I have made the entire book freely available online. To make this possible, I have become a publisher and purchased ISBNs so that this work is internationally recognised, findable in data bases and easy to cite.
You can find the book here and also view my book launch video presentation:
I give my deep thanks to my fellow travellers. Co-researchers, supervisors, mentors, supporters, encouragers, designer, readers / viewers and sharers. This one is for my sisters and friends around the globe who strive for creativity, equality and human rights.
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