Discovery from Discomfort; Embracing the Liminal in Auto‐Ethnographic, Biographical and Arts‐Based Research Methods

Abstract

AbstractIn this article I offer reflections on my experiences of using autoethnographic and arts‐based methodology in order to research within the realm of arts education. This approach enabled me to deeply analyse my own lived‐experiences and interact with the work and responses of others. Liminal spaces between identities of artist, researcher and teacher are explored through the creation of artwork, using discarded and leftover marks found in the classroom or recorded through the lens of a camera. Zones of discovery emerge from embracing initial discomfort. The images and photographs used throughout this research project, alongside the glimpses into both my own and interviewees’ lives, professional and personal, generate stories that begin to create a larger narrative. It has been recognised that stories can be found in moments and the visual representations offered by participants and through my own mark‐making and recording frame these moments. Ideas and findings were recorded as they emerged using a research journal and sketchbook, intentionally accepting my own contribution to the research, building on this, as opposed to pretending, that our interests and ways of making sense of others is, or should be, divorced from the people and experiences we are. This approach provided rich insights. Through shared experiences I felt that there was the space and opportunity for collaboratively generating meaning with participants as ideas, feelings and issues were clarified, mapped and negotiated through discussion, using both image and word.