Creativity and Emotion - how's it connected?

[Dan Goodwin]

A discussion in other part of CCS about creating being "an emotional journey" has become very interesting, and I'm sure there's a wider group of people that would like to read and contribute to the discussion.

So here are some questions to start us off:

How is creating an emotional journey for you?

How are your emotions linked to creating?

How do feel while you're actually creating?

Do you have to have an emotional connection to the subject matter you're creating about?

Leave your thoughts and ideas below, we'd love to hear them...

[Dan Goodwin]

My initial thoughts on this are about the difference between the emotions we create about (the subject mattter if you like) and the emotions we actually feel ourselves whilst creating.

I think sometimes these overlap, sometimes they're wholly aligned, other times they can be the opposite.

I know personally I write in a way that I want the reader to be emotionally moved somehow. I want them to smile, or swoon, or shed a tear. It's a way of making the art memorable, treasured, lasting. It's a way of having an emotional connection with someone, even though you may never know them or meet them. I guess a way of having people like you and want to "be" with you more, via your words, and future words.

I'm reading a book at the moment where often I'll stop and think "Is this actually about me?", because I connect so strongly with the emotions, and relationships in it. That's what I want to do with my own writing, have people connect to the humanity, and think "Is this poem about ME?"

I think, ironically, it's by talking about the tiny, intricate beautiful details of life and love and nature, that we in fact gain an almost universal appeal, we connect with the kind of moments and memories in everyone where they've felt the same emotions.

[DJ]

I agree, Dan, about the desire to connect with other humans through our products. I want the work to "speak" to the viewer, so the viewer embraces the work and finds something special there.
Perhaps young artists get upset when viewers/readers don't perceive the same "message" from the finished product as the artist intended. They may feel a sense of failure in not conveying what they felt or saw. But experienced creatives know that a work can be open to interpretation and still be fulfilled by a viewer's love for the product.
As for emotions during the creative process, lately I find the very physical act of applying paint to a surface so....rewarding and pleasurable that I'm not overly worried about subject matter at this point. My work has been largely abstract with some unplanned landscapes thrown in for good measure. By the same token, I'm not worried about an audience's reception of the product right now, and have been posting results on my blog with abandon. If viewers don't like them, so be it. The process was reward enough for me during this part of my journey.
And, yes, this is all subject to change in the coming months, but for now, it's so much fun to walk into my studio and view all my children lining the walls.
I recently wrote this comment on an artist's blogpost who was talking about judges and acceptance as being alive in the art world or not accepted as being "dead":
"Dead or alive, I just have to make art. Period.
The "good or not good" judges can be quiet and go away.
I'll still be in my own 'dungeon', mushing paint around, happily."

[jane]

i agree with you DJ - in that one should never feel a sense of failure if the "viewer" or "reader" does not see the same message as you intended.... it doesnt necessarily mean that the product is any less valuable and often people get out of a work what they need.. as dan says about the book he is reading - he is identifying with it and sees himself inthe emotions expressed - and yet the writer's experiences are perhaps totally different to his own.

I do create more when stirred by emotions - good emotions and bad ones... its a form of expression - gets it all out - the turmoil that may be inside... (for the bad ones) and a visual celebration of the good emotions.

for me it seems to be extremes of emotions that makes me most productive... hmm.... not sure what that says about me.....

[Rosetta Leda]

For me,drawing is the fun part.
Like life, like sex, the journey holds a lot of joy.
Sometimes,I think we can try too hard to achieve something and it makes it more elusive.

I had so much fun playing with texture today ,it doesnt really bother me that theres nothing else that I want to add..it's just a sketch.I enjoyed the time I spent across from the table with my kid who was drawing too.

[DJ]

There's nothing like making art with children to remind ourselves of the innocent joy of creating.

[Dan Goodwin]

Very true, I think if we "grown up" artists spent more time with children we'd benefit greatly, in a number of ways.

[Dan Goodwin]

I think there's almost two kinds of art, or creating of art. One is with a conscious desire to connect to an audience, to convey meaning, to touch someone. Then the other kind is just creating with abandon and experimentation, enjoying the sensuality and experience of whatever you're creating, regardless of any emotional content it may or may not have.

I have a Barnett Newman print called Be I in my living room. It looks like this: Be I. I like it because of the colour, just the way it looks, and the minimal aesthetic of that thin white line. I have talked to others about how it could represent the tension between two sides of our personalities, or a couple in perfect balance, or that whatever chaos is outside, there's always a stillness and a pureness at the centre of us. Most people, when I go off on one of these possible explanations, say something like: "Rrriiiiiiiigght... I just see two red boxes with a white line between..."

[Wendy]

>> One is with a conscious desire to connect to an audience, to convey meaning, to touch someone.<<

I am usually expressing something fairly specific. Perhaps selfishly, I am wanting to give voice to what's inside of me...an emotion, event or dynamic. And, I'm hoping that the viewer is able to see or feel it with me.

I see the value in both kinds of art...each for very different goals.

[Dan Goodwin]

The desire to connect is such a fundamental human need, I believe. Art is just another way of doing it. I know when I get very comfortable with someone I'll show them stuff I've written, because I believe it gives a better impression of the real me than talking to me in person. I'm a better writer than conversationalist, I think.

I can be overwhelming to people who don't write though, as can any art. You get that look that kind of says: "and this kinda stuff goes round in your head all the time??" Ha ha... Yes!

Something you might create day to day, may to someone who's never even tried to create something like that, be seen as something magical, or very special, or very clever.

I'm not too concerned about trying to convey a very specific message. There's always going to be reader/viewer interpretation, which adds depth to the art, and the viewing experience.

I used to paint a bit, large abstract pieces, and the physical act was like nothing else creative I've experienced too. I think whilst we all have media we're more proficient in, and enjoy more than others, it good for all of us to experiment, because the feelings and emotions that come through writing may be very different to those from painting, or dancing, or sculpting.

[jane]

i have been experimenting with different mediums in the last two or three weeks... not very proficient at most... but its fun to try and some i definitely resonate with more than others - some i get quite lost in which is a sure sign that this is a medium i think i will enjoy...

its an intensely personal thing for me, any form of creative pursuit - i dont have aspirations to be published, or sell works, its an expression of me.... the only place i show anything i make is probably here on ccs... and i dont show much of that!

there is nothing like the feeling of creating something and thinking... yep.... i done good there! 8)

[DJ]

If you share your creations with us, my friend, we'll think the same...
"... yep.... (you) done good there! 8)"
hugs 'cross the pond!
Deej

[DJ]

It's a definite feeling of letting go, Wendy, so yes, it may take some work getting to that point. But well worth it.
It means that you aren't vulnerable to an audience's reaction; you have joy in your creation. They are responsible for their own joy. :-)