This article questioned a lot of methods of thinking about the creative process that I have been wondering about recently. The image of the ladder was particularly meaningful because it reminded me of an essay I read by Richard Hugo called “The Triggering Town.” The audience for Hugo’s essay is different because it is geared towards poets; however, I find many similarities between the two. Both speak of the importance of starting with what you know. With Hugo, he speaks of your hometown and in this article, a specific event from childhood. Right now, what I am interested in is how to take what you know intimately from an authentic corporeal experience and turn this experience into an expression that can be universally felt. The emotional investment I have with this personal experience is what I hope will carry me through the creative process because I know once I get stuck I can always go back to what I know.
Other aspects of this article that piqued my interest were body habits. This summer I took a few Feldenkrais classes and what is so powerful about this practice is its ability to help the body re-learn and let go of harmful movement patterns. When I am working in the studio and feel as though I am doing just the same old thing over and over again that’s when I remember to start noticing my movement habits such as why do I always roll over to my right or why do I always tend to do this jump? Once this awareness comes I can begin to move beyond those nerve pathways to discover new ones. The same goes for writing and thinking. Simply through noticing my brain patterns can I begin to move away from them. In Nature and Creativity, we discussed the Automatic Nervous System and how by accessing our ‘gut,’ energy is able to flow more freely throughout the body.
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