There is so much in this letter that resonates, Emily. Delighted to have discovered your stack and to come along for the ride. There is a need for this kind of deep enquiry into the 'why create' and the impact on the self of both consuming and making art, whatever that might be.
I've been attuned to the connection between ideas for writing and being at live music events recently, for example. I sense the music somehow is allowing me to access a different part of my creative brain, unlocking something very interesting that sees me rushing to scribble something down. It's a kind of cross-pollination, I suppose.
And YES to the way that fiction reading allows us to try on or simulate life experiences and emotional states that might aid us in our preparedness for actual real life! In my day job for a national literacy charity here in Scotland, we talk so much about this in children's literature. A means to help them develop emotional literacy and empathy. It applies to us adults though, too!
Thank you for the read and your thoughts! I am very much interested in the experience of creatives and what they think is going on when they make versus consume art. I hope more creatives will comment and share. Oatley talks a lot about how art (prose, plays, poems, etc) delivers ideas in the abstract allowing the audience to more easily integrate the concepts (themes, archetypes, etc) into their own psyche. I definitely feel (and it is a feeling!) that music and music w/lyrics is a delicious vehicle for abstractions to enter in my head, mix with and impact my own personal soup of thoughts and experiences, and yield a new understanding of my self, my place in the world, and the world I live in. And, absolutely, art, particularly stories of other people's lives is a way to put one's self in the proverbial shoes of another, developing an appreciation for the variety of human experience and this develop empathy.
"I definitely feel (and it is a feeling!) that music and music w/lyrics is a delicious vehicle for abstractions to enter in my head, mix with and impact my own personal soup of thoughts and experiences, and yield a new understanding of my self, my place in the world, and the world I live in," so perfect, Emily!
Really interested to see what chimes with other creatives here.
Have you read “Women Who Run With Wolves”? I’m currently reading it and it sounds very similar to “Hagitude” I’ve really enjoyed the explosion of women’s instinct, folktales and archetypes.
Thank you for your comment. I have indeed! I read it during a very tumultuous time in my life and it was a balm and salve in so many ways. Hagitude is Blackie's most recent book and draws on the same mythical stories of the land but moreso as it relates to elder women archetypes. Let me know if you break open Hagitude!
I actually think consuming art and creating art are essential to my life and wellbeing. Your questions are gold! I've never really reflected on it this way but I know the art and stories I have consumed have shaped my outlook, for sure.
I think empathy is a huge one. I'm quite an empath naturally anyway, but it's through stories that this part of me has intensified.
I'm going to keep reflecting as I know you will be too!
I'm appreciative of your share! I feel the same. What we bring in to our minds certainly interacts with what's already in there and yields new outlooks, deeper understandings, and development. I hope to continue the conversation here and am glad you have joined in!
For me, there's a multiple step process, something like the following: boredom, curiosity, interest, desire to copy (multiple reasons) and eventually repetition/persistence forms a habit. I do very little visual art, my main outlet is writing.
Thank you for reading Mark and your comment! It might have taken me too long to get to the main thrust of my question in my post (noob mistake!). So further down in the post I ask more about how creativity (writing or reading) supports personal transformation? For instance, what does a strong writing habit do to carry you through midlife? You don't have to answer, but that's the stage of life I'm at and the sort of question I'm asking. I'm finding that reading and writing is working some magic on pulling me through a confusing time of life.
I am interested in your book suggestions, Emily, especially Hagitude. I think I read Virginia Woolf as an English major when I far too young to really understand or appreciate it, so it's time for a revisit of her work too.
A long time ago, I took a class that provided an overview of the major movements in European art, but unlike most courses, the instructor considered each period as a cultural whole, also looking at the concurrent music, architecture, literary output, and so forth. Decades later, here I am still extolling his approach...
Thank you for your post Joan! I highly recommend Hagitude, especially if you like myth, legend and all things archetypal. Sharon Blackie has a Substack which has a ton of excellent free content.
There is so much in this letter that resonates, Emily. Delighted to have discovered your stack and to come along for the ride. There is a need for this kind of deep enquiry into the 'why create' and the impact on the self of both consuming and making art, whatever that might be.
I've been attuned to the connection between ideas for writing and being at live music events recently, for example. I sense the music somehow is allowing me to access a different part of my creative brain, unlocking something very interesting that sees me rushing to scribble something down. It's a kind of cross-pollination, I suppose.
And YES to the way that fiction reading allows us to try on or simulate life experiences and emotional states that might aid us in our preparedness for actual real life! In my day job for a national literacy charity here in Scotland, we talk so much about this in children's literature. A means to help them develop emotional literacy and empathy. It applies to us adults though, too!
Thank you for the read and your thoughts! I am very much interested in the experience of creatives and what they think is going on when they make versus consume art. I hope more creatives will comment and share. Oatley talks a lot about how art (prose, plays, poems, etc) delivers ideas in the abstract allowing the audience to more easily integrate the concepts (themes, archetypes, etc) into their own psyche. I definitely feel (and it is a feeling!) that music and music w/lyrics is a delicious vehicle for abstractions to enter in my head, mix with and impact my own personal soup of thoughts and experiences, and yield a new understanding of my self, my place in the world, and the world I live in. And, absolutely, art, particularly stories of other people's lives is a way to put one's self in the proverbial shoes of another, developing an appreciation for the variety of human experience and this develop empathy.
"I definitely feel (and it is a feeling!) that music and music w/lyrics is a delicious vehicle for abstractions to enter in my head, mix with and impact my own personal soup of thoughts and experiences, and yield a new understanding of my self, my place in the world, and the world I live in," so perfect, Emily!
Really interested to see what chimes with other creatives here.
Have you read “Women Who Run With Wolves”? I’m currently reading it and it sounds very similar to “Hagitude” I’ve really enjoyed the explosion of women’s instinct, folktales and archetypes.
Thank you for your comment. I have indeed! I read it during a very tumultuous time in my life and it was a balm and salve in so many ways. Hagitude is Blackie's most recent book and draws on the same mythical stories of the land but moreso as it relates to elder women archetypes. Let me know if you break open Hagitude!
Awesome!! I’ll request it as soon as it is available at my library.
I love reading about arty stuff, and i've been arting for a few years. Making art thrusts me into the flow state and i really enjoy looking at them.
Wonderful! What's your favorite art to make?
Watercolor paintings. And sometimes pencil sketches of trees.
Thank you for writing this, Emily.
I actually think consuming art and creating art are essential to my life and wellbeing. Your questions are gold! I've never really reflected on it this way but I know the art and stories I have consumed have shaped my outlook, for sure.
I think empathy is a huge one. I'm quite an empath naturally anyway, but it's through stories that this part of me has intensified.
I'm going to keep reflecting as I know you will be too!
I'm appreciative of your share! I feel the same. What we bring in to our minds certainly interacts with what's already in there and yields new outlooks, deeper understandings, and development. I hope to continue the conversation here and am glad you have joined in!
For me, there's a multiple step process, something like the following: boredom, curiosity, interest, desire to copy (multiple reasons) and eventually repetition/persistence forms a habit. I do very little visual art, my main outlet is writing.
Thank you for reading Mark and your comment! It might have taken me too long to get to the main thrust of my question in my post (noob mistake!). So further down in the post I ask more about how creativity (writing or reading) supports personal transformation? For instance, what does a strong writing habit do to carry you through midlife? You don't have to answer, but that's the stage of life I'm at and the sort of question I'm asking. I'm finding that reading and writing is working some magic on pulling me through a confusing time of life.
I am interested in your book suggestions, Emily, especially Hagitude. I think I read Virginia Woolf as an English major when I far too young to really understand or appreciate it, so it's time for a revisit of her work too.
A long time ago, I took a class that provided an overview of the major movements in European art, but unlike most courses, the instructor considered each period as a cultural whole, also looking at the concurrent music, architecture, literary output, and so forth. Decades later, here I am still extolling his approach...
https://open.substack.com/pub/sharonblackie?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android&r=789qr
Thank you for your post Joan! I highly recommend Hagitude, especially if you like myth, legend and all things archetypal. Sharon Blackie has a Substack which has a ton of excellent free content.