Ingrid Hartmann
Project title: “Call to the Well”: An arts-based inquiry into how an embodied approach can potentiate transformational experiences for Women in Midlife.
Ingrid is a practising Clinical Counsellor using the expressive arts in her practice, based in Northern Rivers, NSW. She has a longstanding interest in the processes of art and design and began her journey with a Diploma in Arts at the Sydney Institute of Technology. One of Ingrid’s primary interests has been the manifestation of structure and form through model making. This approach allows the media to play a pivotal role in the shaping of the final work. The use of natural materials in Ingrid's art has also led her to appreciate and integrate organic shapes, patterns, and textures. This has helped Ingrid to develop a refined sense of their qualities and applications.
Exploring nature writing within her Bachelor of Human Services at USQ led Ingrid to having her work published. The regular process of generating field notes in-situ consolidated her interest in creative expression through attunement with natural cycles and phenomena. This experience has helped inform and structure Ingrid’s Research Project. This thesis addresses the paucity of positive transition rituals for women in midlife. Using an Arts-Based Heuristic Inquiry this thesis draws upon nature based ancestral mythology, archetypes and symbolism, including the imagery of the sacred well and lunar phases. These central themes symbolising ancient sources of female power were explored to determine if they can reconnect women in midlife to the rhythms, processes and power available to them through the natural world.
A phenomenological approach to art making was used in the research process, emphasising the value of being fully present in the creative moment, allowing insight and transformation to arise naturally after mindful engagement. This approach allowed surprising and novel experiences to well up from the unconscious and manifest in both natural and dream world settings, reminding the researcher to remain open and available to the validity of her intuition and symbolic insights. Response art pieces manifested through beeswax, collage and plant-based paints revealed central themes of liminality, transition and rites of passage. With the study's progress, it became clear that the dual role of researcher and participant introduced further dimensions to investigate regarding power of the research to create change and shape interventions for people at this stage of life. As an emerging art therapist, it was essential to come to terms that this research is an ongoing investigation into how the intertwining of the mythic and mundane through arts-based processes can support women to remember their sovereign connection with the natural world.
Beeswax on paper
54 x 42cm
Beginning my research journey felt daunting, so I created this image from the feeling of being tethered to many ‘shoulds’ and ‘oughts.’ A character emerged carrying an overflowing cauldron, a wellspring of curiosity and creativity for the journey ahead.
Beeswax, watercolour paper, sandpaper, timber, acrylic paint and LED lighting
22 x 26cm
Observing a vintage plane, the pilot at one with the elements, made me contemplate, “how deep will my research go, and will I land safely?” Throughout the process of reworking this piece, I learned to let go and just trust.
Acrylic paint with medium on canvas
122 x 61cm
Between the waxing and the waning Lunar crescents lies a horned gateway. The Moon is recognised worldwide as a symbol of transition, an eternal process of endings in beginnings and beginnings in endings.
Beeswax, watercolour paper, sandpaper, Perspex, timber and LED lighting
15 x 26cm
The Goddesses Cauldron of Plenty is recognised as the original Grail, symbolising the womb of the Great Goddess. For me, the cauldron becoming filled with fire represented the need to burn away what is extraneous, as I continue through midlife.
Beeswax, cotton thread, Perspex, timber and LED lighting
19 x 27cm
The Celtic Goddess, Bridget represents healing and the replenishment of the planet's wells. The bees symbolise prime matter and the golden sweetness of new life, encouraging women to reclaim their sovereignty and allow the natural cycles to flow through them.
Beeswax, watercolour paper, Perspex, timber and LED lighting
24 x 27cm
Folklore tells us that contemplative regard of the Moon in her fullest phase can give a quality of focus for the month ahead. The ritual of Drawing down the Moon is best performed in a private, uninterrupted natural setting.
Watercolour paper and acrylic paint
46 x 59cm
This ancient Assyrian symbol of magic and the cyclical nature of time depicts the Magna Mater or Great Mother's monthly journey through the twelve signs of the Zodiac. It serves as a celestial guide for working with natural rhythms.
The Bee
Beeswax, card, Perspex, wire, timber and LED lighting
18 x 26cm
The Neolithic goddess of regeneration is symbolised by bee and butterfly. My use of beeswax represents an alchemical process of transmuting sunlight and flowers into wax that then, under the warmth of the hand and the mind, transforms into phenomena.