behave in order to re-establish balance, to return to homeostasis. Think Goldilocks and the bear that got it “just right”. Partly I reacted against this theory because I was in my early 20’s, had lots of youthful energy, and was motivated by the excitement of exploring the world, certainly not any quest for balance. It was also the ‘60’s so I had plenty of company.

Years later, this willingness to explore is selective and needs to be managed with a guiding hand differently in the physical vs. creative aspects of my life. For example, I routinely need many safeguards and the support of others to try new physical stuff. I’m pretty brave about tai chi, but even hikes in new territory can get me little anxious.

 Not so in the realm of the arts. There my happy confidence leads me astray repeatedly. In the excitement of – “oh, let's try this!” – I can lose sight of the goal of actually creating pieces and have a jolly old time learning new techniques, language, equipment. The exuberance may be short lived. And I don’t know ahead of time when it will lead to a dead end and when to a fruitful new direction. I need my own quieter guidance to know when to cut these happy side trips short or bring the “new stuff” back into my ongoing work. And, yes, sometimes to start a whole new direction.

If I were a little more interested in learning things systematically and from the best teachers, I could reduce my risk. Even though in physical pursuits, I envy those more extraverted and brave, in artwork I sometimes envy the more cautious. This week, however, I am happily welcoming in the New Year by dripping paint on fabric in new and unbalanced ways.

II. Energy Management: Translations from the Psych Research Lab, the Board Room and the Shrink’s Couch  
Exuberance. Kaye Redfield Jamison has written before on topics of interest to all artists: Touched with Fire: Manic-Depressive Illness and the Artistic Temperament (1996). At that time she came out of the closet about her own bipolar wiring, and wrote with intimate knowledge about dancing on the edge of mania and creativity. In her latest book, Exuberance, she weaves her science research skills and love of literature to give us a wonderful romping visit to the state of exuberance, as inhabited by creatures as varied as the Australian wombat, John Muir, and Toad of Toad Hall from The Wind in the Willows.

There are tidbits of research linking exuberance and its faithful companion, laughter, to our chemistry and our genes.  Other research just gets us thinking: for example, college students in a positive mood do better on verbal tasks but worse on visual ones than more anxious students. One overall theme is that exuberant folk are less anxious in general and that they take more chances than others. She points out the  upsides and downsides of this and doesn’t flinch from examples of how the very exuberant can be both irritating to live with and pretty exhausting to others.

In terms of creativity, she references Robert Louis Stevenson (manic-depressive author of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde) and his writings on the importance of adventure, exploration, and play for creative work. He points out that if an artist asks the question “Is it worth doing?” the answer is not only implicitly a negative, but the spirit of play and creativity is effectively doused cold.

Another theme of great practical interest is a chicken/egg question: does an elevated mood stimulate creativity or does being creative leads to exuberance? There’s good research to support the first sequence, so the advice to artists would be to do those things you know to elevate your mood and then head for your work room.  There just isn’t much research on how being creative leads to feelings of well-being or exuberance. Can we leave that experiment to each of you? Notice your moods as you leave your studio area and appreciate every bubble of exuberance you get.

III. Friends in Print: When you feel like reading
Jamison, Kay Redfield. Exuberance: The Passion for Life. 2004. (See above.)

Baker, Dan & Staub, Cameron. What Happy People Know: How the New Science of Happiness Can Change Your Life for the Better. 2004.
This author has honed his presentation of positive psychology while working at a health resort where many of his guests were already well-functioning. He sidesteps problem and therapy-oriented approaches to focus on how our brains work. His real-life examples demonstrate how to use his tools to go past functioning to happiness and joy.

Maisel, Eric. Fearless Creating. 1995.
Maisel, a well-known creativity coach, shows his background as a psychotherapist in this proposal that there are six stages of creating and each has its own type of anxiety. He lays out ways to embrace and work with these feelings as part and parcel of the creative process.

IV. Creative Links.
www.howmuchjoy.com.  A personal coach whose upbeat site offers biweekly newsletters, free articles, and access to her two motivational books: Living Your Joy and How Much Joy Can You Stand. Special attention to writers, but encouragement for those going for their dreams in any area.

www.painterskeys.com  This site is named after the Robert Genn’s one book on the business side of art (The Painter’s Keys, 1997). You can read one of the chapters online and he offers other resources including a twice a week newsletter by email.

V. Newsletter Info
E-mail changes. To change your e-mail address, subscribe, or unsubscribe please e-mail connect@dianereardon.com. If you use a spam filter, please add this e-mail address to your list of approved senders. This material is included on the breakTHROUGH Creativity Coaching website (www.dianereardon.com). All material is copyrighted ©, 31 December 2004, Diane Reardon. All rights reserved. Visit the website for back issues and details on scheduling a complimentary one-hour coaching session.