Snipping, Gluing, Writing: The Properties of Collage as an Arts-Based Research Practice in Art Therapy

Abstract

This article describes an artistic inquiry conducted by two art therapists using a dialogic method of collage and letter writing over a period of 4 weeks. The goal of the project was to broaden understanding of arts-based research and to discover the properties of collage as a research practice in art therapy. A thematic analysis of the visual and textual data sources revealed three themes: collage making may enable (a) an integration of layers of theoretical, artistic, and intersubjective knowledge; (b) arts-based researcher identity development; and (c) embodied discoveries produced by hands-on experimentation. Recommendations for the use of collage as a qualitative research practice in art therapy are offered.