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especially the properties of art materials, is called ‘material interaction’. All other aspects regarding the application of art materials in art therapy assessment were related to this concept. Therefore, we labeled material interaction as the core category. Material interaction refers to the “action”
of the art making.
Therapist 4: “If the client doesn’t use art materials, nothing will happen in art therapy.”
Therapist 2: “I look at how the client uses the art materials. Is there a one-sided process in which the client either ignores the properties of the art materials or gets overwhelmed by them? Or is there actual interaction in which the client makes use of the properties and experiments with them?”
The way in which a client interacted with art materials reflected aspects of their mental health according to the art therapists, and this interaction was consequently informative in the art therapy assessment.
Therapist 1: “Based on the properties of water-based ink he could have used it in many other ways. Apparently, the interaction with the properties of art materials is client specific; he applies the material based on his per- sonal drive. It’s his way and it is his only way at this point.”
Therapist 4:” The way the client uses the material, is typical and matches how he makes his way in life. Often this is more striking then anything else.”
Art therapists in this study observed the material interaction in the properties movement, dynamic, space, tempo, pressure, lining, shaping, repetition and control.
These properties were expressed along a continuum from not present to explicitly present (e.g., from small, short gestures to large movements and from light pressure to strong pressure). The combination of these properties and that were observed repeatedly characterized the client’s individual manner of interacting with art material properties. The art therapists recognized patterns in individual material interaction that provided information about the client’s mental health. Material interaction led to material experience and finally, an art product (see also Figure 2). Therefore, material interaction, material experience and the art product were
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