There was a particular moment in my teaching career when I asked a room full of graduate students to imagine a world beyond what they saw around them. We were discussing creativity, and I could sense their hesitation—they were accustomed to relying on facts, on what was tangible and “real.” I shared that Einstein once…
I once heard Terry Gross interview the celebrated filmmaker David Lynch interviewed on her program, NPR’s Fresh Air. Gross asked Lynch something about what he does when he makes a movie and Lynch responded, “When I work on a movie, I don’t really know what I’m doing.” I loved hearing that. When the amazing David…
I taught creative process courses for several years in a graduate program at the Sophia Center at Holy Names University. The thing I enjoyed most about teaching this course was that I got to share the things that inspired me. Week to week all I did was bring in what inspired me. So on that…
In alphabetical order, 17 potent, inspiring, and relatively unknown books on the power of art, imagination, learning, and metaphor. (These are books not commonly known, so that’s why some popular books on creativity and imagination aren’t listed.) Enjoy. THE AESTHETIC DIMENSION: Towards a Critique of Marxist Aesthetics by Herbert Marcuse ALONE WITH THE ALONE: Creative…
One of my favorite books about art-making and creativity is Robert Henri’s The Art Spirit. Here are a few passages that stood out to me: “…we must get rid of this outside feeling of looking in on art. We must get on the inside and press out. Art is simply a result of expression during…
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