I met Claire, the researcher today at the café in my local park. The cafe has outdoor seating and the weather was warm and pleasant, so we sat outside. I could look at the trees and grass as we sat and talked. She reminded me that I could do take my contribution out of the research at any point. That I my contribution would be completely anonymous.
And then the interview began.
She asked questions such as ‘what motivates you to do art? What does your creativity mean to you? What do you see when you look at your work? How do you feel when you look at your work? My answers were recorded – to be transcribed later.
I brought along a selection of photographs of my work and I spoke a bit about them. I touched on things such as my childhood creative experiences, times in my life when I had found it difficult to express myself in creative ways and how that felt, how it felt to make creative work. I spoke of how enjoyable stimulating it can be to do an art course, of how supportive it can be to be part of a creative group, what it was like preparing for an exhibition, how and when you can feel validated as an artist, what it was like to receive attention support, praise and/or pay for your work.
At the end of the interview, after she said, ‘thank you,’ she asked, ‘How long do you think that you’ve been talking for? I looked at her watch. thought that I had been speaking for about forty five minutes and that her watch agreed with me. In fact, an hour and a half had gone by.
I did find it a fun and worthwhile experience. I really felt as if I had just skimmed the surface of my own thoughts and feelings about art and that I could have said a lot more. Did I get any insights into my own practice? Well, I already knew that art is really important to me and that I’m passionate about it. But I did gain further insights. Creativity is often regarded as different or even anti- social in behaviour and attitudes. This can sometimes leave creative types feeling that they haven't got a voice or that somehow their voice is better kept hidden or quiet. Talking about it really brought home to me that sharing your creative experiences with others can bring support for your practice.
The researcher explained that she needed information to look into the psychology of creativity especially in regard to positive psychology. She offered to send me a copy of her research when it was finished. New information on the subject of creativity is of interest to any artist so… I look forward to seeing the conclusions of this research project.
