Theses and Dissertations Collection

This is a thesis investigating the body as medium and how to hold space for others while finding voice. How do we identify ourselves spiritually, emotionally, mentally, and how does being a female shift that conversation, if at all? 

My whole life, I have been taught to act and think a certain way, partly from societal influence and partly from family. “Rebellious” at an early age I fought back to have my voice heard. Instead of viewing me as passionate and independent, I was accused of being stubborn. But stubborn personalities rarely show growth, and evidence within my own personal lineage displays something other than a difficult headstrong disposition; perspective is everything.

Art allows us to find harmonious ground within our personal identities, personal practices, and/or personal experiences. Art is personal and the avenue which I have previously pursued to express artistic merit has been an emotionally cathartic occurrence. That at one time my studio practice was solely for me with the hope of purging all unhelpful psychological learned ways and traumas; that it would one day morph into something else with the momentum of healing others. I practice making art with a considerable amount of introspection. So much of the body of work investigated while in graduate school has been with the hopes of articulating visually, the space between transitions. There is a continuous thread of referencing the dark experiences with the forward motion of living from a place of joy. The continuity of such journeys has been from the perspective of being born a female in this lifetime. It hasn’t been until recently that, on a deeper level, I’ve been able to shed fear-based reasons for staying away from feminism. Connecting to the female energy that resides from within allows me to then extend into deeper association with a possible audience. I’m committed to holding space for others.