Documenting a collective arts-based methodology: an approach to working with and through complexity

Gray's Anatomy houses a series of diagrams of the body. Veins, muscles, organs, tendons, and bones all rendered accurately; the body turned into an object that is broken down into sections and mapped. This paper outlines a 'collective arts-based methodology' that responds to the provocation: If Gray were to try to produce Gray's Education, with education turned into an object that is broken down into sections and mapped, would he or could he? Three lecturers from a school of teacher education came together to explore their shared interest in combining academic and arts-based skills and also to document a methodology. We were also interested to hand over to a process and see what emerged as a result. On completion of the project, we have found a strong connection to the field in the work of Samaras, who writes about self-study arts-based methodologies. Having designed and implemented this methodology we imagine that it will be useful to others in situations where curiosity is accompanied with confusion and the desire is to move towards an interim resting point. This paper will appeal to those interested in techniques that support the navigation of tense complex spaces.