Merging theory and practice through artefact and exegesis

For the last three and a half years I have been completing a PhD by artefact and exegesis. Whilst writing a young adult novel (the artefact), I have been scrutinising my writing practice in the light of current research on creative practice, eco psychology and narrative theory: the results of this scrutiny are documented in the exegesis component of the PhD. This paper, which is derived from the preface to my exegesis, discusses the conclusions I reached when I considered how the artefact and the exegesis interact with each other. It begins with a brief overview of both, then offers a short discussion of how practice and theory co-exist, before moving on to a closer examination of the elements of form, process, methodology and theory. The paper considers how these elements merge, and what grows from this. It concludes that in the collision of ideas and creativity, new meanings can emerge.