Arts Based Research Workbook Presentation

Integrated Learning Specialist Program

Stacey Lea Blakeman

Pathway to Discovery

My journey began with “recovering” this factory made

journal to make it my own.

And that was about as far as I got before I was stuck. I didn’t want to see the

pathway that was waiting for me…

The theme of storytelling is like this bright star that keeps pulling me in – so I let go of the resistance and

let it begin to guide my path.

Word associations that resonated with me:

EMPATHYpersonal

FOLKLOREtruthfiction

IDENTITYculture

community family

chosen familyPAST

PRESENTashamed

proudlearned stories

runaway

Our stories begin before we are even born.

But what stories do we choose to tell?

Does telling our own story make us more capable of

hearing other people’s stories?

Empathy

Professional Development

Culturally Relevant Teaching

I continue on my pathway with even more questions in

mind…

Do we choose our paths or do they choose us?

When should we deviate?

When should we continue?

I love the word folklore. I’ve searched for the

meaning of the word many times in many different

places.

How do we define our own folklore?

What is my folklore?

Where do I come from?

Tall tell or the truth?

Past or present?

Who decides?

Through each exploration I find that my folklore is

ALIVE.

It is constant, yet growing and changing with me.

It is the identity which I have both inherited and created

on my own.

In order to find one’s folklore, there is a process of uncovering stories from our past in order to rediscover ourselves in the present.

Sometimes these stories are difficult to tell as they reveal

hidden truths.

Hidden truths = discomfort

DISEQUILIBRIUM

Yet, it is imperative for this process to take place so that one can gain self-

awareness on a path to self discovery.

But are we ever fully discovered?

How do people begin to tell their stories?

Explore Your Truths

In Safe Environment

THE ARTS!

The craft of storytelling by Bill T. Jones incorporates:

MovementPoetry

TheaterMusic

Visual ArtMulti Media

Mixed in with the truth and a little bit of controversy.

We all want someone to listen to our stories.

We all want validation.

But are we listening to our community?

Have we heard their stories?

Community can be built in many different ways.

Stories can be told in many different ways.

Stories can be moved in many different ways.

Moving to ExpressMoving to Change

Does the story change when

we move it?

Who decides?

A Good Man – PBS Documentary

Bill T. Jones Exploration of Abraham Lincoln

Fond Connection

Love Unconditionally

Continuous Revision

Deviation from Path

Pushing Boundaries

Collaboration

Bringing Past into Present

Every Voice/Story Matters

Some of the best storytelling in the world can

be heard in a country song.

My training ground for storytelling:

Singing Coal Miner’s Daughter in the kitchen with

Grandma

Listening to Willie Nelson on every family road trip

No matter how hard we might try to push our roots

away they always keep ahold of us.

Deviations along our path often lead back to the same

place.

Simple truths can educate

Storytelling naturally develops the art of language.Stories track time.

We learn about other cultures through their stories.Storytelling is a part of our evolution as human beings.

Do humans have an evolutionary advantage

because we have developed into

STORYTELLING CREATURES?

Does new technology allow us to say too much too

often?

When should stories should be sacred?

Who decides?

How does my journey apply to ILSP?

Personal Storytelling as

Professional Development

True or False?

Participants explore the term folklore – looking for applications to self identity through daily routines &

personal belongings.

Journal Article:Oh, that’s Just Folklore

Mini Documentary:People’s Stuff

Mini Art Installation:What’s in Your Bag?

Narrative Story:What Speaks to You?

1. Write your autobiography using only six words.

2. Create three to six movement gestures to represent your story.

3. Turn to your neighbor and share your story.

Let’s try a three minute version of this lesson!

Was writing your own story in six words difficult?

Did the gestures come naturally to you?

Were you hesitant to share your story?

Did your story reveal hidden truths?

Did you find commonalities in your shared stories?

Do you know your neighbor a little better now?

People have been telling their stories through quilts for thousands of years. Some of the first known quilts date back as far as the

Pharaohs in ancient Egyptian times.

The many different patches in this quilt represent all of the stories that make-up a person’s life (thus far).

The pathway running through the quilt is representative of the process of storytelling – and the path has yet to cross each of our stories. Some we have

chosen not to tell and some are our hidden truths that we have yet to remember.

The netting application on top represents the protective layer of our stories. At times the netting is removed during the process of uncovering and

rediscovering ourselves through our stories.

The quilt remains unfinished as we will never be able to reveal all of our stories. We are continually in the process of discovering ourselves and creating our

folklore.

The Unfinished Quilt