| This dissertation examines how four hospice patients found meaning in their lives and dying through engagement in a creative process facilitated by the researcher, an artist-in-medicine. The data collected in this qualitative research study included (1) field notes of observations of participants in their process of creating and finding meaning in visual artwork, including watercolor paintings, oil paintings, drawings, and clay sculptures, and in written work, including poetry, letters, and memoirs; (2) field notes of discussions with participants regarding the same; and (3) photographs of participants' visual artwork. The data were analyzed through case studies that included detailed descriptions of participants' actions, experiences, and verbalized thoughts and feelings in their creative process, and through comparison of the case studies to find common themes. The data analysis was embedded in an interpretive, hermeneutic framework.;The research findings showed how participants expressed their hearts in their creative process and work, and used their creative work as a tool for reflection. Participants reflected on and found symbolic meanings in the figures and other imagery in their creative work in relation to their lives. These meanings were influenced by their emotional states, personal and sociocultural backgrounds, historical time and place, values, and religious and spiritual beliefs about the meaning of life and death and the ultimate mystery of existence. Their meaning finding processes deepened over time according to the degree of their motivation, commitment to, and trust in the creative process; the level of their self-awareness and self-understanding; and their ability and willingness to tolerate and work through the pain and suffering that they experienced in their illness and dying. Some participants used their creative process to gain insight into themselves and their situation, resolve their suffering in dying, and find renewed meaning, purpose, and hope in their lives.;Implications of the findings for the fields of death and dying, and of education are discussed, and a model for facilitating creating and finding meaning in visual and written texts is presented. |
