Evaluation

This project has opened my eyes to the concepts of Art Therapy. Before I was unsure as to what the exact definition of this form of therapy was, however I have a clear understanding of the practice and in a broad sense; Art Therapy is a form of psychotherapy that uses art media as its primary mode of communication. My relationship to this form of communication technology in this specific area is very limited, however, having done the background research I am eager to pursue this direction a lot further. The basic technologies that are used, including photo manipulation software, scanners, photo copiers, printers, internet, email etc. all of these I am experienced in using. What has surprised me from my research is the low tech methods they use, there are no complex machinery required which came as a shock. I envisaged there being a lot of specialized mechanics needed to fulfill the needs of clients. This opens up a lot of creative opportunities for pursuing the area, by applying my knowledge and experience and being confident in the ability to set up workshops. This is my ultimate ambition, to be able to use my practice to benefit others in the form of art therapy. The limitations that I would face would be the shortcomings of the technology available. With it being a limited amount of software and programs it would concern me that there is a limit to pushing out of the boundaries with the technology available. A challenge that I would be willing to face and see more as an opportunity than an hindrance. 

The research I have conducted is appropriate to my subject area, although there was only so much available to use out of the masses of information on the topic. It was a very specialized topic, 'technology and art therapy' but I found there wasn't enough information at hand on this specific area. It was broader and less focussed which set me back in my productivity of the project. Cathy Malchiodi's book, 'Art therapy and computer technology' has been vital in the research process, it seemed to be a concise record of the technology used in this area. However with this being the only book directly related, limited me having a wide expanse of knowledge. 

My rationale for this project was pretty non-existent, I decided what I was going to be researching and went away and did it. My tutorials with Sam were always helpful, however not having her readily available in college did sometimes prove quite difficult when a query cropped up. When this happened I just spoke to my peers for advice and this was adequate. However with this form of communication I do worry that I might not be following the right path and might be wandering off on a tangent. I had to make my own decisions on what information to use and wether it would be relevant, and my main concern was whether I should tie in what I have been doing for my 'send and receive' project. I feel it is relevant to mention as I have been working in a Primary School doing a collaborative felt-making project. It involved the whole school making an individual piece of felt to represent the village where they live. The project turned out to be a huge success however there were hurdles along the way. In particular there was a young boy who appeared very disruptive to the class, he tended to have some form of social disorder and we on the team were warned of this. However when we got down to being creative he transformed into a totally different character. He engaged in what we were doing, he focussed and concentrated and in the end produced a fabulous piece of work. It was so refreshing to see the effects of creativity first hand and see what art can do for people. It would not have occurred to me that this was possible without having done this research and constructed a study so in-depth.  

In coherence with the study I have been doing for 'send and receive', I decided to conduct an experiment among my peers in the form of action research. I wanted to compare and contrast the differences between a high technological method and a low tech one. I wanted to look at the difference between two activities, one being a simple task of 'drawing yourself' and then using '2nd life'. One being totally fantasy based and 'virtual' and one which is a traditional pencil and paper activity. With this I would then ask each participant individually "how it made them feel? and what did they experience?". This was to look at the different forms of therapy and see which, if any suited people. I generally found that people really enjoyed the light-hearted drawing activity and felt it was fun, however, I cannot form a direct comparison with 2nd life as nobody I asked was willing to co-operate. Everybody I spoke to had no interest in this part of the experiment, which left me the only one to carry out the investigation. I have to say, I hated it. I had no interest in entering a 'Virtual' world and having done so, I wouldn't do it again. Initially I found it very hard to log on, the server was breaking down frequently which was really frustrating. It was really hard to control and navigate, and I just felt there weren't enough other people using it. It needs to be a lot more accessible and user-friendly before it would have any chance of being a success with me personally. 

Regarding independent study, I have found this project far too long. I feel it could have been completed in half the time and possibly more effectively. I feel because we have had so long to do this, especially with it being a research based project, that I lost interest half way through and never really got back on track. I am so disappointed with this and myself as I would have really like to excel in a project. I haven't managed my time very well and as a result, I didn't quite achieve what I know I am capable of. In contrast I knew straight away that 'send and receive' was an area I would be interested in, and as a result that is where my focus has lied and where I have been prioritizing.