Tilling the Garden of Joy/Sorrow: A Poetic Inquiry into the Rhizomatic Complexities of Growing into and through Collective Spaces

Authors

  • Joanna Szabo Mount Royal University
  • Bev Mathison Mount Royal University
  • Sonya L. Jakubec Mount Royal University
  • Sonya Flessati Mount Royal University
  • Genevieve Currie Mount Royal University

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18432/ari29357

Keywords:

rhizomatic complexity, poetic inquiry, campus community garden

Abstract

A pilot research project turned ongoing program sought to explore the experience of participating in an inclusive Campus Community Garden.  In the confines of institutional research the project undertook a specific focus on uncovering the perceived benefits and barriers to participating preschoolers, older adults, individuals with mixed abilities and their caregivers from residential and intermediate care facilities. This paper describes a parallel exploration as an occurrent act of art making; an evolving rhizomatic process of poetic reflection on images and privileged notes from the field. In this work, the authors uncover the shape, movement, and colour of the joy/sorrow of tilling the garden through creative expression.

Author Biographies

Joanna Szabo, Mount Royal University

Joanna Szabo, RN, PhD, is an Associate Professor in the School of Nursing and Midwifery at Mount Royal University in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Joanna considers herself a collectively-minded inquirer and her work explores reflective practice, relational ethics, ecohealth and complexity thinking in healthcare and community contexts. Coming from a pediatric and critical care nursing background, she is currently using poetic inquiry and methods to explore parents’ experience of having a child with a rare disease.

Bev Mathison, Mount Royal University

Bev Mathison is an Associate Professor in the Department of Child Studies & Social  Work at Mount Royal University in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. As a former public school teacher and faculty member in a Department of Education, her pedagogical focus rests within an inquiry-based approach to teaching and learning. Her way of being is owed to her interests in ecological mindedness, a strong recognition of the interconnectedness of all beings and non-beings, interpretive studies, and the role of contemplative practice in work and life. She is currently embarking on a study of flourishing in the academy.

Sonya L. Jakubec, Mount Royal University

Sonya L. Jakubec, PhD, RN, is an Associate Professor in the School of Nursing and Midwifery at Mount Royal University in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. A community mental health nurse and community-engaged researcher, her work explores the connection of lifespan health/wellbeing and physical, social and political environments. She is currently studying the place of parks and nature in palliative and grief care.

Sonya Flessati, Mount Royal University

Sonya Flessati, PhD, RPsych is an Associate Professor and Psychologist in Student Counselling Services at Mount Royal University in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Her practice is focused on the use of strength-based approaches in the promotion of resilience, mental and physical health.  She is currently exploring the impact of mindfulness on the well-being of students.  

Genevieve Currie, Mount Royal University

Genevieve Currie, RN, MN, is an Associate Professor in the School of Nursing and Midwifery at Mount Royal University in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Her background is pediatric nursing, community health, and family health. She is currently exploring the parents’ experience of having a child with a rare disease.

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Cover image by John Rae, No limit, 76 X 56 cm acrylic and collage

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Published

2018-09-15

How to Cite

Szabo, J., Mathison, B., Jakubec, S. L., Flessati, S., & Currie, G. (2018). Tilling the Garden of Joy/Sorrow: A Poetic Inquiry into the Rhizomatic Complexities of Growing into and through Collective Spaces. Art/Research/International:/A/Transdisciplinary/Journal, 3(2), 296–324. https://doi.org/10.18432/ari29357

Issue

Vol. 3 No. 2 (2018): Art/Research International: A Transdisciplinary Journal

Section

Art/Research In Action

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