Managing the Frustrations of the Creative Process: The “Michelangelo” Approach

Writing can be a very liberating and exciting experience when the inspiration is abundant and the ideas are flowing.  On the other hand, it can be very challenging when it is difficult to think of ideas or the ideas are there but not quite connecting in the right way.  In the past, becoming “stuck” in my writing was a very frustrating experience, especially when I had already committed many ideas and words to the page.  Even more exasperating was when several sections of a piece of writing had been written well but for some reason or another did not connect, affecting the entire flow and overall meaning. For a school assignment, this might mean completely starting over and when writing a short story or a poem for fun, it might mean abandoning the piece and not pursuing a writing activity for quite a time afterward.

This summer, my friend Grace’s comment on my blog entry, “The Power of Cropping and Mentors” inspired me to think about the act of writing in a new way—revolutionizing the way that I have approached and thought about the revision process.  She compared the act of cropping photographs to the act of writing. “With photography, it can be analogous to writing -- what are the important parts of your story. The same for photographs, what is the important feature of your photo?” 

This started the wheels in my head turning, and I wrote this in response:  “I really like this idea of comparing writing to photography. Interesting to think about revising in a different way. Instead of taking away the "bad parts" or what does not work, revision can be thought of as taking away words to enhance or highlight the most important parts. This way, the reader can focus on the most interesting parts of the writing. In reading your comment, I immediately thought of what Michaelangelo said when asked how he made his statue of David. "I just chipped away the stone that didn't look like David."

This new philosophy about revision has really come in handy the past few days.  Wanting to write and post a blog entry for the past week, I was excited when an idea began percolating in my head, inspired by a comment that once again, Grace had made.  She spoke of enjoying having people to “bounce” with as she teaches.   Suddenly, a flurry of neurons were fired in my brain, furiously brainstorming the different ways that the word bounce can be used:  “bounce” or body with hair, “bouncing” with the ball chairs in the classroom, ideas “bouncing” rapidly in someone’s head like pinballs in a pinball machine, and “bouncing” ideas off of someone as a sounding board or in collaborating on ideas.  Using these various definitions of the word “bounce” I began thinking about how they are related to Parker Palmer’s idea of holding the tension of paradoxes in the classroom, especially that a teaching and learning space should be both bounded and open.

When I started my piece, I thought I was really onto something and in fact, many of the points that I made in my still unfinished blog entry are interesting and thought provoking.  Unfortunately, the paragraphs read better separately paragraphs than as one united piece.  Finally, I decided that as a blog entry, it was just not working.  In the past, I would have become completely frustrated, giving up on writing the piece and writing altogether for a period of time. 

However, now I am thinking that I may have created pieces of what will eventually become parts of different masterpieces, presenting themselves to me at some later point in the future.  I also feel better because I no longer feel disappointed about not writing a blog post.  Realizing that this blog is about teaching, learning, and the creative process—I realized that it is just as worthwhile to write about the challenges of the artistic process, as it is the successes.  Having accomplished my goal of writing a blog entry, I am now once again motivated and inspired to keep on writing.


Questions to Ponder:
How do you deal with the frustrations and challenges of the artistic process?  How do you help your students manage their frustrations? 

Experimenting and Taking Risks: Keeping Our Craft Fresh

In photography, just like in teaching, some of our best work comes about when we experiment and take risks.  Trying different techniques and new ideas keeps us on our toes and our craft fresh.  Often our minds are more open to new ideas when we are playful and these are the times that we are often at our most creative.

When I take pictures, I like to experiment with light.  I love to see the different ways that light can affect photographs.

1.  Light can have very striking effects on clouds, creating textured pictures in the sky, such as in the picture below:

2.  Light can also highlight the underside of clouds, creating a three-dimensional effect.

3.  Taking pictures at different times of day can affect the lighting in the sky, especially at sunset.  This can result in some very pretty colors that contrast well with dark objects, such as the buildings in this picture:

4.   Light can accentuate a silhouette, highlighting its shape.

5.  Light can also give a picture a dramatic effect, especially the role that it plays with clouds before or after a storm.  The lighting can affect the entire mood of a scene.  In this case, it creates a sense of impending doom that a storm is coming or one of hope that it is leaving.

6.  Light can give a photograph a magical effect when it streams through an object, such as in the picture below:

Light can also create a luminescent effect in a picture:

When the sun hits an object or a scene at a certain angle, shadows are created.  I've also enjoyed experimenting with the role that shadows play in my pictures.



1.  Shadows can add depth to a picture, making it more interesting.

2.  Shadows can become the subject of a picture, especially when they have shapes that engage the viewer.  Look carefully at this picture.  It looks like the shadow on the left of the tree is trying to sneak up on the one on the ground!  Both look kind of scary.

3.  Shadows can also be funny.  (Just think about using your hands to make animal shapes with the light of an overhead projector.)  In this picture, I captured my shadow taking a picture.  For some reason, it looks like I have the head of a clown!

4.  Last, shadows can create striking patterns, giving a photograph texture.  I like how the shadow of the banister creates stripes that look like a flag.

In experimenting with the role of light and shadows in my pictures, I have taken risks with the ways that I frame subjects, the angles at which I shoot pictures, and how I crop my photographs.  Continuing to play around with my techniques keeps my ideas fresh.  Since the environment, the lighting, and the weather are different every time I go outside to take pictures, it is helpful to have a repertoire of different techniques to use.  Similarly, in our classrooms, the environment is different each year-- shaped by our new crop of students.  Having a wide range of techniques and strategies to experiment with helps us to reach the variety of learners in our classrooms and to keep our teaching new and fresh each year.

Questions to Ponder:  How can you take risks and experiment with your art?   How can you tweek a technique that you've been using in your art or in your classsroom to make it different this year-- to make an old idea new?   What risks will you take in your teaching this year?  With what techniques or ideas will you experiment?