The greatest opportunities for creative transformation are often lodged in our discontents. Art is an alchemical process that feeds on emotional energy. When we realize that a perfect equilibrium in our lives might not be the best basis for making art, then we can begin to re-vision our stress points. So rather than try to rid your life of tension, consider doing something more creative with it.
Shaun McNiffCreative freedom is determined by how we behold the world. Any one of us can make new things with our perceptions that serve as doorways to the creative imagination. No one is excluded.
Shaun McNiffCreation is a sentient and instinctual flow that determines where to go and what to change or omit.
Shaun McNiffA person's license to create is irrevocable, and it opens to every corner of daily life. But it is always hard to see that doubt, fear, and indirectness are eternal aspects of the creative path.
Shaun McNiffCreativity is a force moving through us, and only through practice do we learn how to cooperate with it. The 'process' is like a muscle. It needs to be exercised in order to function effortlessly.
Shaun McNiffCreative energy manifests in the 'aura' of the environment - the distinct atmosphere, quality and 'air of the place.' It has a contagious effect on people. When we walk into the environment, we know immediately whether or not the energy is present. Most of us need communities as sources of motivation and vitality; and in keeping with the basic movements of energy in nature, people charge one another in positive and negative ways.
Shaun McNiff