Pens, Pencils, & Pain(t) is an exploration of and reflection on my experiences with chronic low back pain through art. While those close to me knew about my pain, I struggled to describe my experiences and even found I had trouble coping emotionally. To create an effective body of work, I used the design-thinking method. This begins with defining the problem, then coming up with ideas, testing and making prototypes, building/creating the idea, and lastly analyzing the work. The analysis was crucial in this process, as it forced me to reflect on the creative process and how I responded to the problem at hand. The resulting body of work is raw and reflects not just a struggle with pain, but an internal conflict between acceptance and rejection. The pieces, unframed, with ragged edges, and nailed to the wall emphasize the harsh reality of the situation. At times the work conflicts stylistically, showing my discomfort at confronting powerful emotions. The design-thinking method combined with the creative process helped me better understand my conflict between rejecting and accepting my emotional responses towards pain. By acknowledging and confronting this internal struggle, I found that I could validate my own experiences.

Creator

• Hamilton, Sarah

贡献者

• Wolverton, Rhonda

Publisher

• University of Indianapolis

Language

• en

Identifier

• Hamilton_Sarah_Final Honors Project.pdf

关键词

• Baccalaureate 'with distinction'

• Strain Honors College

Date created

• 2017-04-24

Rights statement

• http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/