Most of us have a variety of emotional experiences as a child, often with some degree of hurt, or even trauma or abuse, and these experiences can deeply impact our creative lives. William H. Macy once commented, “Nobody became an actor because he had a good childhood.” That is such a wry and amusing comment, […]
creative passion
James C. Kaufman on creativity research
James C. Kaufman, PhD, is a Professor at the University of Connecticut Neag School of Education, and a creativity researcher and author. At the time of our interview, he was an Associate Professor at California State University, San Bernardino. His books include : The Psychology of Creative Writing Creativity 101. Nurturing Creativity in the Classroom Topics […]
Melora Hardin on acting, directing, singing
Melora Hardin has wide-ranging passions as an artist, including acting, directing, dancing, writing and singing. She played “Jan” on the tv series “The Office” and has roles in a number of film and tv projects. At 13, she won a scholarship to study with the Joffrey Ballet Company in New York. She sang as Fantine […]
Doing creative work with a confusion of emotion
Creativity takes many forms, some involving more intellectual or technical aspects, but for many artists intense emotions are at the core of their creative expression. Nicole Kidman made a wonderful comment about this: “You live with a lot of complicated emotions as an actor, and they whirl around you and create havoc at times. “And […]
Stay connected with your emotional creative space
Where we do our creative work – at home, in a studio, at a workplace – affects the quality and pleasure of that work; but even more important is our inner emotional creative space. The photo is Stephen King at his desk; he relates an early experience that affected his emotional creative space and acceptance […]