The Role of Artmaking in Individuation for Women Artists

Abstract

Women’s voices have historically been marginalized within patriarchal culture, and there is an ongoing need to engage women within research, including in psychology (Eagly & Riger, 2014; Johnston & Johnson, 2018). This study explored the role of visual artmaking in individuation for five woman identified artists. Drawing from C.G. Jung (1950/1975b), Stein (2006), Douglas (2000), and Irigaray (1991), individuation is defined as an emergent process with two key components; becoming a separate and unique individual self, and moving towards a wholeness that includes wider and wider aspects of one’s self. The study used a feminist relational qualitative method, The Listening Guide, resulting in a depth psychological description of psychological experience (Gilligan, 2015; Gilligan & Eddy, 2017). The findings included two contrapuntal voices, or self-states, that emerged as the participants described artmaking: The Feeling and Expressing Voice and The Outside Assessor Voice. The findings also include four themes that describe the participants’ experience with artmaking and individuation: Therapeutic Effects of Artmaking, Artmaking Bridges Inner and Outer Experiences, Artmaking as a Navigation of Social Roles and Relationships, and Entering “A Room of One’s Own.”