The arts as catalyst, catharsis, and crucible: Towards a personal philosophy of art

This qualitative arts-based research explores the role of the arts in human development from a holistic educational perspective. The guiding question of this inquiry is: How does the artistic process facilitate holistic learning and personal transformation? With specific focus on the visual arts it examines the three levels of experience within the artistic process: the role of the artistic medium; the role of artistic representation and the imagination; and the role of the creative act.;The key experiences in the arts for each participant are varied in their biographical details however, there are three commonalities: through encountering a holistic approach to the visual arts their relationship to the artistic process changed; they valued and cultivated a profound connection to nature and spirituality; and each indicated the important connection between the spirit of play and creativity.;Key emergent themes include: the development of heightened awareness; learning to perceive and discern in new ways; becoming literate with the various artistic languages; developing greater soul-spiritual capacities; and finally, the arts as crucial catalysts for personal transformation.;In this study, the participants spoke repeatedly of how the artistic process facilitates personal transformation through the three active agents: the medium, the imagination and the creative act. They acknowledged the role of the artistic process in the enhancement of capacities from bodily abilities, to soul capacities to spiritual faculties.;This study uses narrative portraiture as inquiry and examines the lived experiences and personal practical knowledge of three visual artist educators. It examines their ongoing narratives within the arts, key experiences of holistic learning in the visual arts and their experiences of how the artistic process facilitates personal transformation.;This study concludes that within the visual arts the artistic process acts on the senses like a central catalyst for change. The imagination acts as a powerful and critical agent for catharsis, and enables the creative acts of the artist to create a crucial crucible for the becoming of the artist.;This study makes significant contributions to the fields of holistic education, arts education, transformative learning, teacher development, and arts-based methodology.