The Lived Experience of Creativity as Told by Eight Young ...

A Dissertation

entitled

Awakening: The Lived Experience of Creativity as Told by Eight Young Creators

by

Martha Marie Champa

Submitted to the Graduate Faculty as partial fulfillment of the requirements for the

Doctor of Philosophy Degree in Curriculum Degree in

Curriculum-Instruction: Gifted and Talented

_________________________________________

Dr. Robert A. Schultz, Committee Chair

_________________________________________

Dr. Brian Kennedy, Committee Member

_________________________________________

Dr. Joel Lipman, Committee Member

_________________________________________

Dr. Susanna Hapgood, Committee Member

_________________________________________

Dr. Amanda Bryant-Friedrich, Dean

College of Graduate Studies

The University of Toledo

December, 2016

Copyright 2016, Martha Marie Champa

This document is copyrighted material. Under copyright law, no parts of this document

may be reproduced without the expressed permission of the author.

iii

An Abstract of

Awakening: The Lived Experience of Creativity as Told by Eight Young Creators

by

Martha Marie Champa

Submitted to the Graduate Faculty as partial fulfillment of the requirements for the

Doctor of Philosophy Degree in

Curriculum and Instruction: Gifted and Talented

The University of Toledo

December, 2016

Creativity is an aspect of the human condition that eludes a common definition,

description, and experience. When trying to make sense of creativity, some describe

creative behavior while others describe creative products. There are those who are

curious about the process of creativity and others who want to understand what inspires

that process. Some want to understand the external context that awakens and nurtures

creativity and others seek to unveil the internal context of creators while they go about

their work. This dissertation joins this multi-faceted conversation about creativity.

Through a qualitative research design, this descriptive, multi-case study captured the

essence of the lived experience of creativity through the voices of eight young poets

recognized for their creative work. The creativity of these young people was

acknowledged when they placed in an Ekphrastic Poetry Contest sponsored by the

Toledo Museum of Art.

In the telling and the observing of eight young creators’ personal experiences with

creativity, the following research question is answered: How have the winners of

Ekphrastic Poetry Contests experienced creativity? Previous research has explored both

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the development of creativity and the experience of creativity. The findings of this study

both affirm previous research and illuminate areas not yet fully explored.

Participant voices and experiences were heard and preserved through a variety of data

collection methods: interviews, observations, document analysis, and focus groups. In the

presentation and analysis of the data, the essence of their lived experience with creativity

contributes to the knowledge of creativity and its various facets. The findings of this

study can be summarized as follows: creativity is defined as the making of something

new and original as well as a vehicle to express oneself. Creativity is awakened and

nurtured through engagement in a variety of creative activities, through support of others,

and in the possibilities offered in the school environment. It is experienced affectively

and cognitively and within a personal, interior context coined as the hermetic work space.

These findings offer both support of previous research and provide new insight into the

creative process and will be significant to those who seek to understand the experience

and inner workings of creativity.

Key words: creativity; convergent thinking; descriptive case study; divergent

thinking; ekphrastic poetry; the hermetic work space; Think Aloud Method

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Acknowledgements

The following quote by Osho (2014), a mystic and spiritual leader, describes my

dissertation committee:

To be creative means to be in love with life. You can be creative only if you love

life enough that you want to enhance its beauty, you want to bring a little more

music to it, a little more poetry to it, a little more dance to it. (Edgell, 2014, p. xi)

I extend a special thanks to each of you. To my dissertation chair, Dr. Robert

Schultz: I am grateful for the reminder that a doctoral program is a process. You freed me

of my natural perfectionism and made way for my joy in learning. To Dr. Susanna

Hapgood: I am grateful for your friendship, your encouraging words, and helpful

feedback, which guided me in my thinking and my writing. To Dr. Joel Lipman: To my

surprise and delight, you awakened the poet in me, which has compelled me to awaken

the poet in others. Hence, this dissertation. To Dr. Brian Kennedy: I am grateful for both

the time you have set aside to help me and for the insight you have shared with me about

the world of art and art museums.

Thank you to my friends, co-workers, colleagues, former professors, and my

writing tutor, Savannah. Your interest in my study and your encouragement through

every stage helped me to complete this work Finally, I am most grateful to my family:

Thomas, Mary, Brian, Andrew, Emily, Catherine, Joel, and Veronica, your interest and

humor enlivened me. Finally, Greg, you lightened my responsibilities, heard me in my

uncertainties, helped me to re-gain perspective, and most importantly, loved me from the

beginning to the end of my journey. My thanks and love to all!

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Table of Contents

Abstract iii

Table of Contents vi

List of Tables xiii

List of Figures xv

List of Abbreviations xvi

I. Chapter One: Introduction to Study 1

A. Rationale 4

a. Why creativity? 4

b. Why poets? Why art? 7

c. Why contest winners? 12

B. Significance 12

C. Research Question 13

D. Theoretical Framework 13

E. Conceptual Design 14

F. Limitations of the Study 15

G. Definitions of Terms 16

II. Chapter Two: Review of Literature 18

A. Definitions of Creativity 18

B. Creativity: A Neglected Construct 24

C. Aspects of Creativity 29

a. Context 30

b. Cognitive Experience 41

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c. Affective Experience 45

d. Conclusion 48

D. Research Design 48

III. Chapter Three: Methodology and Procedures 51

A. Research Design: Theoretical Underpinning 51

B. Methodological Framework 58

C. Participant Selection 65

D. Participant Gathering: The Process . 68

E. Participant Gathering: Voluntary Consent 69

F. Site Selection 70

G. Methods of Data Collection 71

a. Surveys 73

b. First Meeting 73

c. Second Meeting 82

d. Third Meeting 85

H. Refinement: Altered Methods and Procedures 86

I. Conclusion 88

IV. Chapter Four: Data Presentation 89

A. Steps to Condensing the Data . 89

a. Coding the data 90

b. Condensing transcripts 90

c. Creating Case Profiles . 91

d. Condensing Case Profiles 92

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B. Stars 96

a. Neglect and Definition of Creativity 97

b. External Contexts 98

c. Internal Contexts: Cognitive 101

d. Internal Contexts: Affective 102

e. Impact of Study 103

C. Michaela 103






D. Alex 111






E. Nevada 118





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F. Dr. J 126






G. Raph 133






H. Paws 141






I. Leah 148




x



J. Presentation of Data across Cases 156

a. Neglect of Creativity 156

b. Definitions of Creativity 159

c. External Contexts 161

d. Internal Contexts: Cognitive 171

e. Internal Contexts: Affective 183

f. Conclusion 194

V. Chapter Five: Results and Conclusions 196

A. Results Interpreted in Light of the Literature 198

a. Theme One: Expression of Self 199

b. Theme Two: From Playful to Serious 203

c. Theme Three: Companions in Creativity 210

d. Theme Four: School is Important 215

e. Theme Five: Awareness of Thinking 220

f. Theme Six: The Hermetic Work Space 229

B. Research Question 233

C. Implication 234

D. Limitations of Study 238

E. Recommendations For Further Research 240

F. Conclusion 244

References 248

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Appendices

A. Post Card Invitation 261

B. Teacher Letter 262

C. Sample Consent Form 263

D. Sample Letter of Interest 265

E. Survey 266

F. Interview Protocol 268

G. Sixteen Poetic Elements 269

H. Email for First Member Checking 270

I. Email for Second Member Checking 271

J. Stars’s Profile 272

K. Michaela’s Profile 281

L. Alex’s Profile 294

M. Nevada’s Profile 305

N. Dr. J’s Profile 314

O. Raph’s Profile 327

P. Paws’s Profile 344

Q. Leah’s Profile 361

R. Paws’s Sketchbook 375

S. Permission to Publish 376

T. Sample Transcript 377

U. Coding With Sticky Notes 378

V. Award Winning Poem: Michaela 379

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W. Award Winning Poem: Alex 380

X. Award Winning Poem: Nevada 382

Y. Award Winning Poem: Dr. J 383

Z. Award Winning Poem: Raph 384

AA. Award Winning Poem: Paws 385

BB. Award Winning Poem: Leah 386

CC. Stages of Aesthetic Development (2016) 387

DD. Sketchbook: Stars 389

EE. Think-aloud Poem: Stars 390

FF. Sketchbook: Michaela 391

GG. Think-aloud Poem: Michaela 392

HH. Sketchbook: Alex 393

II. Think-aloud Poem: Alex 394

JJ. Sketchbook: Dr. J 395

KK. Think-aloud Poem: Dr. J. 396

LL. Sketchbook: Raph 397

MM. Think-aloud Poem: Raph 398

NN. Think-aloud Poem: Paws 399

OO. Sketchbook and Think-aloud Poem: Leah 400

xiii

List of Tables

Table 1 Definitions of Creativity ..................................................................................19

Table 2 Theoretical Propositions of Conceptual Framework. .....................................57

Table 3 Variations between Participants. .....................................................................67

Table 4 Member Checking Response Dates .................................................................82

Table 5 Categories with Case Profiles ..........................................................................92

Table 6 Explanations of Propositions ...........................................................................94

Table 7 Propositions and Related Questions ................................................................95

Table 8 Description of Citations ..................................................................................96

Table 9 Perceptions of Neglect ...................................................................................157

Table 10 Elements in Participants’ Definitions of Creativity ......................................160

Table 11 Preferred Places for Creative Thought/Endeavors ........................................162

Table 12 People Who Have Nurtured and Influenced Creativity ................................165

Table 13 Creative Activities Chronologically Presented .............................................169

Table 14 Inspirations, Obstacles, and Solutions ..........................................................172

Table 15 Description of Creative Process and Thinking .............................................173

Table 16 Description of Aesthetic and Emotional Responses .....................................175

Table 17 Early Experiences verses Later Experiences ................................................177

Table 18 Companions in Creativity .............................................................................178

Table 19 Creative Opportunities Offered in School ....................................................184

Table 20 Types of Thinking during Creative Process ..................................................185

Table 21 Creative Processes in Light of Wallas’ Stages of the Creative Process .......188

Table 22 Evidence of Creativity Being an Expression of Self .....................................201

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Table 23 A Sense of Place ............................................................................................205

xv

List of Figures

Figure 1 Research Design. .............................................................................................52

Figure 2 Data Collection Procedures. .............................................................................72

Figure 3 How Theme One Emerged. ...........................................................................199

Figure 4 How Theme Two Emerged. ..........................................................................204

Figure 5 How Theme Three Emerged. ........................................................................210

Figure 6 How Theme Four Emerged. ..........................................................................216

Figure 7 How Theme Five Emerged. ..........................................................................221

Figure 8 How Theme Six Emerged. ............................................................................230

xvi

List of Abbreviations

IRB .............................Institutional Review Board

NAGC ........................National Association for Gifted Children

SPC ............................Sustain Protect Contain

TMA ...........................Toledo Museum of Art

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Chapter One

Introduction to the Study

Spring is a time of hopeful excitement for poets as they send their latest

ekphrastic poem to the Toledo Museum of Art’s Ekphrastic Poetry Contest (2012). The

following poem was awarded the designation of Honorable Mention:

Desert Rider

“Whoa, boy!” he says when he sees a bison.

“Yaw,” when he wants the horse to go.

Mad face, whip in his hand, ready for anything.

He rides a bronco over the plains and into towns.

When he comes,

there is silence…

with hat, whip, and bronco. (Stars1, age 9, 2012)

This contest offers an opportunity for poets to immerse themselves in the world of

art as experienced through docent tours or writing classes and then to creatively respond

to a self-selected art piece in the museum. The experience of creativity is the topic

explored in this study. My quest to understand how creativity is awakened and nurtured

began when I took a class in ekphrastic poetry as part of my doctoral studies in Gifted

and Talented Education.

Ekphrastic writing refers to the act of writing about another art form (Toledo

Museum of Art, 2012). Ekphrastic comes from the Greek word ekphrasis, ek meaning

‘out’ and phrasis meaning ‘speak’ (Welsh, 2007). Therefore, a good ekphrastic poem is

1 Pseudonym to protect the anonymity of the young poet.

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one that “speaks out” about a piece of art. The “speaking out” commonly takes the form

of speaking about the piece of art through a dramatic description (sometimes

incorporating a story) often ending in such a way that has the listener or reader pausing

and pondering an aspect of life suggested in the poem.

An ekphrastic piece need not limit itself to description and a philosophical point.

It may also take the form of the poet speaking to the art piece as if the poet were in

conversation with a listener who may be perhaps attentive, rebellious, or stony in silence.

On the other hand, the poem may give voice to the subject of the art or even the piece of

art itself, perhaps lamenting in sadness, declaring one’s love, or questioning life itself.

Overall, the ekphrastic poem, through the personal, creative response of the poet, adds

depth to the piece of art it explores. Writing an ekphrastic poem is an act of creativity.

I personally came to be fascinated with this particular creative act when taking an

ekphrastic poetry class from Dr. Joel Lipman (Lucas County Poet Laureate, 2008-2014)

at the Toledo Museum of Art (TMA). I wrote this about my experience:

“It was a cold winter,” I remember hearing. Nevertheless, the cold must have

swirled about me, never enveloping me. I had found spring within. Within the

museum, a place where long ago I worried that I was an outsider, or maybe a

fake, because I did not know enough about art; a place that eventually became my

hearth, my warmth. At the beginning of the course, I laughed at Joel’s vision of us

reading our poems at the museum, in front of people! “You have a lot of

confidence in us,” I said in January. Yet, come May, I stood in front of a roomful

of other poets and their families and friends and read my own poem inspired by

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Anselm Keifer’s Athanor. I had come in second place in the adult division and a

classmate had come in first. (Champa, 2013)

I had never encountered such an experience. I was curious if this was a common

experience for writers of ekphrastic poetry. Or, more broadly, was it a common

experience for those who create? This curiosity began to incubate in my thoughts and

practice as a teacher.

The curiosity led me to take note of Stars’s experience with ekphrastic poetry. His

poem opened this chapter. His submission earned the status of Honorable Mention, and

the TMA displayed his poem near a bronze sculpture by Frederic Remington entitled,

Bronco Buster. The young poet wrote his poem in response to this sculpture. What makes

Stars’s story unusual is that his poem was submitted to the junior high bracket (6th

through 8th grade) even though he was two years younger (he was in fourth grade), and he

was the youngest winning poet. Because the museum did not have a category for students

in his grade level, the contest organizers suggested that he submit his poem in the junior

high bracket. What a surprise that he placed in this bracket.

His ekphrastic poem was the second indicator of emerging creativity. He had

previously won a local newspaper’s poetry contest in the fall. After these two

affirmations of creative ability, his classmates began to see him as a poet and to look at

him with both admiration and expectation that he would continue to write more good

poems.

When I met Stars in August of 2011, he was a young middle grades boy who

loved recess, often forgot his homework (both at school and at home much to the chagrin

of his mother and teachers), and tolerated reading and writing. This led me to ask more

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questions. How does a young boy, busy with his childhood, place in not one, but in two

poetry contests? What influences such creativity? Is it something within the person or is it

something outside of them? When creativity begins to emerge, thoughtful teachers and

parents may ask these questions. They may wonder how best to nurture this emerging

creativity. They may wonder about the thoughts and feelings that occur during the

creative process. They may also look to the future and wonder if emerging creativity,

such as Stars’s, has the potential to develop into something beyond being recognized as a

poetry contest winner.

Rationale

The purpose of this study is to provide an opportunity for young poets to give

voice to their lived experiences with creativity, and in doing so, begin to answer the

above questions. Four questions come to mind in defending its rationale: Why creativity?

Why poetry? Why art? Why study contest winners?

Why creativity? In this study, I define creativity as the mental attribute that urges

or inspires one to produce something that has never been produced before. The product

can be something tangible like a poem, a piece of music, or any form of art. It can also be

an abstract construct such as an idea, a theory, or a process. The word “creativity” comes

from Latin words creâtus and creâre, which mean “to make or produce” or “to grow”

(Piirto, 2004, p. 6). The writing of poetry, specifically ekphrastic poetry, is an act of

creativity: Something new is created or grown. In Stars’s case, and in my own case, the

creative product began in the classroom.

In creative classrooms, I have found the atmosphere to be energetic, the attitude

toward school to be more positive, and the learning to be deeper. Csíkszentmihályi

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(1996) says that engagement in creative endeavors allows individuals to experience a

“profound sense of being part of an entity greater than ourselves” and in doing so, leaves

“an outcome that adds to the richness and complexity of the future” (Csíkszentmihályi,

1996, p. 2). Torrance (1962) connected creativity with fully functioning, mentally healthy

learners who have the skills not only to navigate the stormy seas of life, but also to

provide answers to society’s woes and challenges. Creative thinking is necessary for

problem solving. Creative experiences can give meaning to what happens in the

classroom. Creative expression can add dimension to the creators’ personhood.

However, creativity in the classroom is not necessarily the norm. According to

Kim (2012), creativity is an area of education that of late has lost its popularity because

of the recent trend of accountability. Kim (2011) investigated possible changes in

creative thinking that may have occurred in the last forty years. Kim obtained the data

used for this investigation through the Scholastic Testing Service, Inc. (STS), who is the

owner of the copyright of the Torrance Test of Creative Thinking (TTCT). STS has data

sets for the normative samples since 1967. These included scores for “272,599

kindergarten through 12th grade students and adults” (Kim, 2011, p. 287). TTCT is a

measure of potential creativity designed by Paul Torrance. Its original intended use was

for individualizing instruction and nurturing creativity (Torrance, 1966). Beyond its

original purpose, it also has been used to identify persons gifted in creativity. It has two

versions: The TTCT-Figural and the TTCT-Verbal.

Because Kim (2008) found that the general TTCT scores were better than any

other measure at predicting creative achievement, she hypothesized that a pattern of

growth and/or decline could be determined in examining the 272,599 scores of the test.

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She also knew that the stimuli in the test has remain unchanged since its conception.

Specifically, she was interested in the TTCT-Figural as this section of the test measures

fluency, originality, creative strengths, elaboration, abstractness of titles, and resistance to

closure while the TTCT-Verbal only measures divergent thinking. In keeping with

Torrance’s belief that using a composite score can be misleading, Kim (2011) used the

raw sub-set scores of the TTCT-Figural. Torrance intended that each subset score should

be interpreted individually as a means to determine strengths and weaknesses and then as

a guide for nurturing creativity (Kim, 2011).

To examine differences in scores between years and between age groups, sample

T-tests were conducted and effect sizes were reported to explain increases and decreases

in scores. In addition, in 1984 there were changes in the scoring procedures for all but

Fluency Scores. These changes were also accounted for in the analysis.

Results showed significant decreases in all sub-set scores from 1984 to 2008. The

youngest test takers showed the largest decrease in creativity: kindergarten through sixth

grade. These findings suggest that our youngest members of our population are less able

to produce many ideas (fluency), and fewer infrequent, unique, and unusual ideas

(originality). They have also become

…less emotionally expressive, less energetic, less talkative and verbally

expressive, less humorous, less imaginative, less unconventional, less lively and

passionate, less perceptive, less apt to connect seemingly irrelevant things, less

synthesizing, and less likely to see things from a different angle. (Kim, 2011, p.

292)

7

According to Elaboration Scores, the younger test takers as well as adult test takers are

less able to elaborate on ideas and to engage in detailed reflective thinking. They are also

less motivated to be creative, and creativity is less encouraged by home, school, and

society overall. The decrease in Abstractedness of Titles Scores indicates a decrease in

the ability to synthesize and determine the essence of problems especially in our youngest

population. The decrease in Closure Scores indicate that our youngest population tend to

be more narrow-minded, less intellectually curious, and less open to new experiences.

Kim (2011) concluded that this decline in creativity in school age children (especially in

kindergarten through sixth grade) is a troubling sign of our times.

Other researchers have shared Kim’s (2012) concern for the lack of creativity in

the classroom. Guilford (1950) and Torrance (1962) long ago decried the lack of research

on creativity and the devaluing and absence of creativity in the classroom. Runco and

Abdullah (2014) are currently voicing the same lament. This outcry for attention to

creativity supports the topic of this study.

Why poets? Why art? Both poetry and art are powerful mediums through which

a person can creatively and aesthetically experience life:

So great is the power of art, that it leaves no sensitive spirit untouched. Every

painting, every sculpture, every piece of poetry communicates something about

the human experience. Every work of art is an idea made perceivable through

mastery of technique, through the ordering of line, word, shape, sound, color, and

texture. (Kehl, 1975, p.1)

Yet according to Dewey (1934), the common conception about works of art is that they

are “often identified with a building, book, painting, or statue in its existence apart from

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human experience” (p.1). If most people, especially children, perceive this distance

between themselves and works of art, they will not experience what Kehl (1975)

describes above: all forms of art have the power to invite participation in the human

experience. Writing ekphrastic poetry has the potential to reach across this distance. I will

describe this potential using both experiences from my own classroom and the scholarly

works of Hughes (2007) and Yenawine (1997).

Showing the world to my students is tied to almost everything I do and have them

do in the classroom. To accomplish my goal, I see both art and poetry as powerful tools

at my disposal. For the last four years, I have been teaching students (school age and

adult) how to see art from a personal perspective. I then invited them to write

responsively and poetically about this new experience of seeing art. I have watched

students grow in their visual literacy. I have seen them learn how to look at a piece of art

and allow the elements of art and the subject of the piece stir some magic inside of them.

I have seen them take pen to paper to sketch what they see and to write down words that

capture their thoughts, feelings, and memories. I have seen art arouse their senses, so that

colors have sounds and shapes have scents. I have seen students gather their notes,

choose just the right words, arrange, and re-arrange (often times with help from their

classmates) the words until they perfectly capture what they are trying to say. I have even

seen my students’ poems on the walls of our local art museum. I have seen their

classmates happy for them.

I have also experienced with my students surprise and disappointment when no

one’s poem made it on the wall of the museum. In response to this disappointment, I

showed the students the award winning poems. I watched some nod in thoughtful

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understanding as they began to realize how a particular poem came in first place and

theirs did not. I then witnessed several of them arguing that the third place poem really

should have been awarded second place. To my surprise and delight, they used poetic

language to defend their position. I have also observed my students comfortable at the

museum, focused on the art, choosing what to write about, and then sit down on their

stool to begin their composing. What a joy it has been. I have witnessed the writing of

ekphrastic poetry helping students reach across the distance between art and personal

human experience as described by Dewey (1934).

Beyond my classroom, Hughes (2007) provides a research perspective: the

teaching and the reading and writing of poetry are a means for improving all aspects of

literacy. The definition of being literate is no longer limited to being skilled in reading

and writing. According to Hughes (2007),

We have expanded these notions to include usage and comprehension skills in

speaking, listening, viewing, and representing – by which we mean

communicating through a variety of media, including visual art, drama, and

multimedia performances. In this context, our definition of literacy extends to

fluency in reading and creating electronic media. (p. 1)

In her scholarly monograph, Hughes (2007) explained that poetry’s nature of deeply

capturing life experiences through concise, sensory, rhythmic, and visual (through

effectively planned line breaks, font, color, and punctuation) languages provides many

opportunities for learning. First, both the reading and the understanding of poetry

“requires and facilitates a concentration of mind or sustained attention to which our

hectic lives have unaccustomed us” (Hughes, 2007, p. 1). The emphasis of close reading

10

in the new language arts standards addresses this decline of concentration and sustained

attention. Incorporating poetry into instruction can ameliorate this decline.

Second, when poetry is read aloud with careful attention to the word choice,

imagery, and rhythms of a poem, it is an opportunity to expand oral and written

vocabulary. As students creatively write poetry and experiment with word choice,

imagery, and rhythm, the learning deepens with practice and transfers into increased

skills in oral and written language. Shanahan (2006) said that oral language development

is especially important, as it is widely known that students with advanced oral skills are

more likely to have higher achievement in reading and writing as well.

Third, Hughes (2007) promoted dramatic exploration of poems through choral

reading, reader’s theatre, dramatic interpretation, role-playing, shared reading, and even

dance interpretation. This “playing with the poem” through performance encourages

creativity, skillful use of language (both oral and written), and the language of the arts.

Therefore, Hughes (2007) explained that experiences with art and poetry are not only

personally satisfying for the learner, but also are an effective means of preparing our

students to engage in some of the demands of the twenty-first century. The twenty-first

century skills that support the reading and writing of poetry include:

1. Thinking critically and making judgments about the barrage of

information that comes their way every day;

2. Solving complex, multidisciplinary, open-ended problems;

3. Making innovative use of knowledge, information and opportunities to

create new services, processes and products;

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4. Creativity and entrepreneurial thinking…the ability to think

unconventionally, question the herd, imagine new scenarios and produce

astonishing work; (Partnership, 2008, p. 10)

According to Hughes (2007), using art and poetry in the classroom contributes to mastery

of these skills, which, in turn, leads to growth in creativity.

Hughes (2007) mentioned that the definition of literacy includes “viewing.” This

aspect of literacy can be understood using the lens of visual literacy. Yenawine (1997)

defined visual literacy in the following way:

The ability to find meaning in imagery. It involves a set of skills ranging from

simple identification (naming what one sees) to complex interpretation on

contextual, metaphoric and philosophical levels. Many aspects of cognition are

called upon, such as personal association, questioning, speculating, analyzing,

fact-finding, and categorizing. Objective understanding is the premise of much of

this literacy, but subjective and affective aspects of knowing are equally

important. (p. 844)

Similarly, Pollard (1986) indicates that attention to visual literacy across the curriculum

has the potential of increasing academic achievement by developing critical thinking

skills (p. 75). Therefore, by having students engage in the writing of ekphrastic poetry,

they may enjoy the combined benefits associated with the study and writing of poetry and

the teaching of visual literacy.

In summary, Hughes (2007), Pollard (1986), Yenawine (1997), and I have

witnessed students benefitting from the study and writing of poetry and from instruction

in visual literacy. In support of this, I refer to Eisner’s (2002) work. He is also a

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proponent of the value of the arts in the classroom. He believes the arts contribute to the

growth of the mind by transforming consciousness. Eisner (2002) describes this

transformation: “the arts invite children to pay attention to the environment’s expressive

features and to the products of their imagination and to craft a material, so that it

expresses or evokes an emotional or feelingful response to it” (p. 23). Essentially, writing

ekphrastic poetry calls on poets to engage in this transformation. It calls on them to be

creative.

Why contest winners? Olthouse (2010) also studied winners of writing

competitions. She wrote in her dissertation, “students who are academically successful in

terms of standardized test scores or competitive tasks are often studied in order to better

understand how talent develops and how talented people can best be supported” (p.16).

This study will delve into the stories of these successful young poets and the

contexts in which their aptitude for creativity has emerged and developed. Stories and

reflections will provide the readers of this study a more complete understanding of and

insight into the participants’ lived experiences with creativity.

Significance

The exploration and documentation of the participants’ personal experiences with

creativity will give voice to a group of young people who have succeeded in an act of

creativity as award winning poets. A description of young writers’ creative experiences

offers new understanding of the individuals as creators, the contexts in which their work

was created, their external and internal experiences with creativity, their attitudes and

perspectives regarding creativity, and how they approach the process of creating an

ekphrastic poem.

13

There are many “how to” sources of writing poetry, writing ekphrastic poetry, and

articles and books on the history of ekphrasis writing (e.g., Academy, 2005; Corn, 2008;

Hagstrum, 1958; Headley, 2009; Heffernan, 1993; Kehl, 1975; Koch, 1970; Mitchell,

1994). However, I have found little documentation of a young poet’s description of the

internal and external contexts that contributed to the creation of an award winning poem.

Findings from this study bring a fuller understanding about the experience of

young poets writing award winning poetry and engaging in other creative activities. As

discovered through multiple methods of data collection (interviews, participant

observations of the poets practicing their craft, analysis of documents of their writing,

and participation in a focus group discussion), their stories will describe their lived

experiences as young creators. This descriptive exploration of young poets’ voices will

contribute to the knowledge of both the creative process and creativity in general and, in

turn, will communicate the value of creativity.

Research Question

How do young creators describe the many aspects of their lived experiences

(contextual, affective, and cognitive) with creativity from its awakening to its current

state?

Theoretical Framework

Various researchers’ work in the field of creativity indicates that creativity as a

construct, as a subject of research, and in practice within schools and in some homes is

neglected (Guilford, 1950; Kim, 2011, 2012; Runco & Abdullah, 2014; Torrance, 1962).

In my study of creativity, I address this neglect and defend the value of creativity by

bringing forth the stories of creativity in the lives of the participants. The findings

14

contribute to the research on how creativity develops (Bloom, 1985; Gagné, 2000; Piirto,

1998, 2004; Torrance, 1962, 1963, 1965, 1970, 1977, 1989; Weschler, 2012), and on the

varied aspects of the lived experience of creativity (Bloom, 1985; Csíkszentmihályi,

1996; Piirto, 1998, 2004; Wallas, 1926/2014; Weschler, 2012).

Conceptual Design

The conceptual design of this qualitative study of the experience of creativity

provides a clear, concise description of steps taken to explore this construct. I used a

qualitative research design because the goal of this study is to examine creativity in the

lives of eight young creators. I utilized four methods of data collection: surveys,

interviews (combined with member checking), participant observation, and document

collection. Opportunities for member checking occurred between each of the meetings

and then again, several months after the final focus group.

Upon completion of the study, I conducted a review of all collected data. The data

were coded, condensed, and organized several times. This process resulted in the

construction of case. The case summaries were initially presented individually and then

presented across- cases using matrices, figures, quotations, and summaries to allow the

reader to better discern patterns within the data. Six themes emerged in the analysis of

these patterns: A Response to Self, From Playful to Serious, Companions in Creativity,

School is Important, Types of Thinking, and Hermetic Work Space). The research

question was answered through a discussion of these six themes in light of seminal and

current literature, thereby, illuminating the neglect and value of creativity.

15

Limitations of the Study

This descriptive, multiple-case study and any results were limited to the

experiences of only eight young creators from a mid-western urban/suburban area. The

participants were from lower to upper middle class backgrounds and attended both public

and private schools. Five of the participants were male, three were female, and they

ranged in age from thirteen years to twenty-four years.

In addition, the study itself and the interpretation and analysis of the data were

limited to the experience and background of the researcher. First, I have limited

background in the area of poetry. Although I enjoy reading, writing, and teaching poetry,

because of the lack of experience as a poet and minimal graduate-level education in

poetry, I consider myself a novice in this field area. However, this study did not require

an expertise in poetry for two reasons. 1) The participants in the study were already

acknowledged as successful creators by others who were more eminently qualified than I

to determine the quality of their poetry (the judges of the museum contest). 2) Writing

ekphrastic poetry was only one area of creativity experienced by the participants and

explored in this study.

Though I consider myself a novice in areas of poetry, I do have more expertise in

the field of education and creativity. I have been a teacher in both public and private

school for thirty-five years in grades ranging from first grade through twelfth grade and

in the college setting. In addition, my family background is one of creativity: both parents

and all siblings have made creativity part of their professional and personal lives. This

experience and background led to the research question and the origin of this study.

However, it does present a bias. As a researcher, I have recognized this bias and guarded

16

against its influence in my interpretation of the data. Therefore, I concentrated on using

participant data and literature to support my analysis rather than relying on my own

experiences and beliefs.

Definition of Terms

Aesthetic experience—Experience of a person who is responding to and interacting with a

piece of artwork. This experience is often is both pleasurable and desirable and has been

said to give meaning and worth to life.

Affective experience—Experiences rooted in emotions or feelings.

Case study research—A qualitative method of research with the goal of reconstructing

and analyzing a bounded case or multiple bounded cases using multiple sources of

information. The purpose is to gain in depth understanding of the case. The results are

descriptive and the analysis is in the form of a presentation of case themes. In a study of

multiple cases, the analysis will also involve themes not only within a case but also

between cases.

Context—Circumstances that come together and create a setting for an event, a statement,

or an idea; close examination of the context, the event, statement, or idea can be fully

understood and assessed. Internal contexts may include beliefs, emotion, passion,

motivation, intelligence, and creativity. External contexts may include social, political,

familial, financial, academic, relationship influences and experiences.

Convergent thinking—Type of thinking a person engages in for the purpose of

discovering the single, most effective solution to a problem. This often includes making

use of a set of logical steps or rules to come to the correct answer.

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Creativity—Use of original ideas, approaches, imagination to make something new or to

modify something already made. This includes ideas, processes, tangible objects, and all

forms of art.

Divergent thinking—Type of thinking a person engages in for the purpose of coming up

with several possibilities or ideas to solve a problem. This type of thinking often is used

in conjunction with convergent thinking.

Efferent experience—Experiences rooted in seeking a specific part or parts for a practical

purpose.

Ekphrastic poetry—Poetry written in response to art.

Giftedness—Possession and use of untrained and spontaneously expressed natural

abilities (called aptitudes or gifts) in at least one ability domain to a degree that places a

child among the top 10% of his or her age peers.

Hermetic Work Space—An internal context (referred to as “place” by the participants)

that a creator enters as a means of retreating from the cares, toils, and stress of everyday

life so that creative work can begin. a

Lived experiences—First-hand accounts and perspectives of having lived as an individual

who creates.

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Chapter Two

Review of the Literature

Creativity is a field fraught with multiple and sometimes conflicting definitions.

Even Torrance (1998), who is known as the Father of Creativity because of his lifetime

contributions to the field, claimed to have difficulty defining this human endeavor. In an

interview with Michael F. Shaughnessy (1998), Torrance (1998) was asked to define

creativity. He answered, “I have struggled with this question for 40 years” (p. 441). This

statement gives insight into the complex nature of this topic.

As a means to bring structure to this complexity, I will review the literature

relevant to the field of creativity and to the research question of my study. The review

of literature will include three parts. The first section examines the definitions and

various discussions of the neglect of creativity. The second section outlines the existing

body of knowledge and studies on various aspects of creativity. These various aspects

include the context in which creativity occurs, the cognitive experience of the creative

process, and the affective experience of creativity. The third section presents the seminal

and current literature on qualitative research as the appropriate research methodology

and research design for this study.

Definitions of Creativity

In ancient Greece, creativity was thought to be the intermingling of a divine

muse and the mind of the creator. The poets of ancient Greece depended on this muse in

the creating and recitation of their work. Today, creativity is thought to be an

intermingling of the context and the cognitive faculties of the creator (Csíkszentmihályi,

19

M., 1996; Plucker, Beghetto, & Dow, 2004; Russ, S.W. & Fiorelli, J. A., 2010). Several

formal definitions detail the specifics of this intermingling as seen in Table 1:

Table 1

Definitions of Creativity (chronologically ordered)

Source of Definition Definition

Stein (1953) The creative work is a novel work that is accepted as

tenable or useful or satisfying by a group in some point

in time. The extent to which a work is novel depends on

the extent to which it deviates from the traditional or the

status quo. This may well depend on the nature of the

problem that is attacked, the fund of knowledge or

experience that exist in the field at the time, and the

characteristics of the creative individual and those of the

individuals with whom he (or she) is communicating.

(pp. 311-312)

Torrance (1962) The process of becoming sensitive to problems,

deficiencies, gaps in knowledge, missing elements,

disharmonies, and so on; identifying the difficult;

searching for solutions, making guesses, or formulating

hypotheses and possibly modifying them and retesting

them; and finally communicating the results. (p. 74)

Vygotsky (1967/2004) Any human act that gives rise to something new is

referred to as a creative act, regardless of whether what is

created is a physical object or some mental or emotional

construct that lives within the person who created it and

is known only to him. (p. 7)

Csíkszentmihályi (1996) Any act, idea, or product that changes an existing

domain, or that transforms an existing domain into a new

one. (p. 28)

Sternberg & Lubart (1999) Creativity is the ability to produce work that is both

novel (i.e. original, unexpected) and appropriate (i.e.

useful, adaptive concerning task constraints). (p. 3)

Plucker, Beghetto, and Dow

(2004)

Creativity is the interaction among aptitude, process, and

environment by which an individual or group produces a

perceptible product that is both novel and useful as

defined with a social context. (p. 90)

Sir Ken Robinson (2009) Creativity is a process of having original ideas that have

value. A big part of being creative is looking for new

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ways of doing things within whatever activity you're

involved in. If you're a creative chef, for example, then

your originality is going to be judged in terms of cuisine.

There's no point applying the criteria of modern jazz to

somebody who's trying to create a new soufflé. (Azzam,

2009, p. 22)

National Association of Gifted

Children (n.d.)

The process of developing new, uncommon, or unique

ideas. The federal definition of giftedness identifies

creativity as a specific component of giftedness.

(Glossary of terms.)

One common component of creativity found in each of these definitions is

originality. A second common component found in six of the eight definitions is value.

According to these definitions, for the product to be considered creative, it needs to be

original (to at least the creator) and must be useful and appropriate for its purpose

(defined either by the creator or by society or by experts in the domain).

How products are deemed “useful” leads into the discussion of various types of

creativity. The ideas of usefulness and value come into play when examining the Big C

and little-c theory of creativity. Several researchers (e.g., Csíkszentmihályi, 1996;

Kozbelt, et al.; 2010; Russ & Fiorelli, 2010) discuss how creative behavior can be

divided into two categories: Big C creativity or little-c creativity. Big C creativity occurs

when the product makes a major contribution to its particular domain in a way so

powerful that it changes the domain. The creators are famous and their work is seminal

and often timeless. Some examples of these creators would be Ludwig van Beethoven

(music composition), Vincent van Gogh (art: painting), Martha Graham (dance),

Pythagoras (math), Albert Einstein (science: physics), Stephen Hawking (astronomer:

cosmology), Henry Ford (business), and Steve Jobs (business and technology).

The opposite of Big C creativity is little-c creativity, which involves the creativity

of everyday life: solving everyday problems. For example, little-c creativity occurs when

a person improves on a recipe to make it healthier. Another example is a person arranging

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photos in a scrapbook (Kaufman & Beghetto, 2009). Little-c is needed for everyday

problem solving (Kozbelt, et al., 2010), and the ability to do so is a sign of solid mental

health (Torrance, 1962). Yet this type of creative behavior has not had the attention of the

research community perhaps because the products are not as compelling.

Big C creators have been a topic of research as both Bloom (1985) and

Csíkszentmihályi (1996) did retrospective studies interviewing participants who had

attained a certain level of eminence. Eminence can be defined as reaching world-class

levels of accomplishment in particular fields (Bloom, 1985) or having changed our

culture and, in doing so, have had their achievements made public (Csíkszentmihályi,

1996). Identifying eminent creators is simple since their work is so public. Results of

these studies give insight into the environments that enhanced the participants’ pathways

to eminence and into their cognitive and affective creative processes. Such results are

useful for those who have the responsibility of caring for and nurturing young people

(family members and educators). Understanding the creative process and development of

Big C creators may influence intentional decisions made when creating an environment

that awakens and nurtures creativity.

Yet, there has been discussion about the dichotomy of Big C and little-c (Runco,

2014). According to this dichotomy, Big C creativity involves fame, or reputation, or

eminence, or high levels of achievement, but these do not solely occur because of

creativity. Other things come into play such as persistence, determination, some

persuasion, and even luck. Runco (2014) reminds us there are instances where fame,

reputation, eminence, and high levels of achievement occur without creativity. He writes,

“not all famous people are creative nor are all creative people famous” (Runco, 2014,

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p.131). He points out that Big C and little c creativity begin the same way: with the

individuals and their own original ideas or insights. What happens after that is what

distinguishes the labeling of Big C and little-c.

In response to some of the limitations of the dichotomy of Big C and little-c

creativity, the Four C Model has been proposed by Kaufman and Beghetto (2009) to

acknowledge and to give value to creativity that falls between Big C and little-c. They

expanded on the original theory and created two new categories to give room for

distinguishing these other creative activities: mini-c and Pro-C. “Mini-c is defined as the

novel and personally meaningful interpretation of experiences, actions, and events”

(Beghetto & Kaufman, 2007, p. 73). Mini-c creativity occurs in classrooms and homes in

response to the excitement of learning and to the urge to create something for the sake of

creating (as opposed to problem solving). This includes both products and insight of

young learners. It also includes creativity of those of any age who create for the sake of

enjoyment or relaxation.

As the parameters of my study are defined by the broad field of creativity, the

ekphrastic poems created by the participants are examples of mini-c creativity. If one

were to look at these poems within the field of Ekphrastic Poetry Contests, one might

consider them Big-C creativity as they have been publicly awarded for their quality.

However, because the topic of this study is firmly placed within the field of creativity, the

participants’ ekphrastic poems are seen as one particular means of expressing their

creativity and therefore, considered a form of mini-c creativity. This is relevant to the

study, because like little-c creativity, researchers have also overlooked mini-c creativity.

23

By creating the mini-c category, Kaufman and Beghetto (2009) believe they are

protecting against the neglect and eventual loss of creativity in young people by

increasing awareness of its existence and giving it value:

Such everyday expressions of creativity often are overlooked (or at least

underplayed) in scholarly treatments of creativity. By acknowledging these

expressions as creative (at the mini-c level), we feel that researchers will be in a

better position to understand the genesis and development of creativity. In sum,

including mini-c in conceptions of creativity helps bring a level of specificity

necessary to ensure that the creative potential of children is nurtured (rather than

overlooked). (p. 4)

Their concern about neglecting creativity in young people resounds of the concern of

Guilford (1950), Torrance (1962), and Kim (2012) discussed in this chapter.

Kaufman and Beghetto (2009) also proposed the fourth category Pro-c. This

category includes the creativity of professional creators; those who make a living by

creating but have not yet, and may never, achieve eminence. Some examples of

professional creators include various types of designers (graphic, floral, clothing, set,

etc.), architects, professional dancers, professional musicians, etc. Kaufman and Beghetto

(2009) believe this category is important, especially for research, as many Big C creators

are not recognized until after their deaths and their work proves to be valuable after the

passing of time. The work and experiences of Pro-c creators fills the gap between mini-c

creators and Big C creators and much can be learned about creativity from these living,

professional creators. Some of the participants in this study are currently involved in Pro-

c creativity as they receive revenue for their work. However, they did not engage in this

24

type of creativity until after becoming Ekphrastic Poetry Contest winners. Both the mini-

c experience of writing an award winning ekphrastic poem and the Pro-c creativity that

has provided income are important aspects of their lived experience with creativity.

In summary, the definition of creativity involves the making of an idea, a product,

or system that is original and appropriate for its purpose. People engage in various forms

of creativity as defined by the Four C Model (Kaufman & Beghetto, 2009). Each form of

creativity within the Four C Model has its own value and worth. Unfortunately, all but

Big C forms of creativity have been neglected in research. Therefore, there is a deficit in

our understanding of the most common creative acts of ordinary people. How these types

of creativity were awakened and nurtured within the participants is explored in this study.

This work contributes to greater understanding of everyday creativity, which has been

overlooked in research.

Creativity: A Neglected Construct

Smutny and von Fremd (2009) explained how learning and mastery relate to

creativity: “Possessing an advanced understanding of a field with openness to the

unconventional is the best way to discover something new” (p. 6). Learning, mastery, and

creativity develop within a variety of contexts and are fueled by the internal landscape of

the creator. External and internal contexts are both important factors in the development

and nurture of creativity (Bloom, 1985; Gagné, 2000; Hennessey, 2004; Piirto, 1998,

2004; Renzulli, 1998; Torrance, 1962, 1963, 1965, 1970, 1977, 1989). Aspects of the

lived experience of creativity have been described in studies done by several researchers

(e.g., Bloom, 1985; Csíkszentmihályi, 1996; Weschler, 2012; Piirto, 1998, 2004;

Torrance, 1962, 1989; Wallas, 1926/2014).

25

As noted in Chapter 1, Kim (2012) lamented the fact that creativity as an area of

education has lost popularity because of the recent trend of accountability. The results

of Kim’s (2012) research on creativity show a decline in creativity in school aged

children (especially in kindergarten through sixth grade) since 1990 (Bronson &

Merryman, 2010; Kim, 2012).

More recently, Runco and Abdullah (2014) published an article revealing

“money is not being invested into understanding how to best fulfill creative potentials”

(p. 250). The public records of the Department of Education (DOE) and The National

Science Foundation (NSF) were examined and it was found that creativity is not getting

its fair share of grant money. For example, when looking at the Institute of Education

Sciences (IES), academic achievement received 742 research grant awards while

creativity received sixteen (Runco & Abdullah, 2014). The authors of the article clarify

that this does not represent the money spent on programs to enhance creativity, but they

have concern that there is not enough research to build these programs:

It is unlikely that such programs will be well designed if they are not based on

good research. If creativity research is so poorly supported, no one will

understand how to best educate for creativity or how to fulfill creative

potentials. This state of affairs is worsened by the fact that creativity is a

prerequisite for innovation, entrepreneurship, and the solving of social,

environmental, and political problems. (Runco & Abdullah, 2014, p. 250)

The lack of creativity in school age children and the lack of funds being

allocated to research on creativity make the topic of creativity one of current concern. It

is interesting that Kim (2012) and Runco and Abdullah’s (2014) concern is not new.

26

In 1950, Guilford (1950) made a presidential address to the American

Psychological Association chastising the field of psychology for its serious neglect of

“the study of the creative aspects of personality” (p. 445). In this address, he actually

called the neglect “appalling” (p. 445) and evidence of neglect is found in these figures:

“Of approximately 121,000 titles listed in the past 23 years, only 186 were indexed as

definitely bearing on the subject of creativity” (p. 445). From there he built his case on

the fact that society needs leaders who possess good judgment, planning abilities, and

inspiring vision, all of which stem from creativity.

Guilford (1950) stated, “We frequently hear the charge that under present-day

mass-education methods, the development of the creative personality is seriously

discouraged. The child is under pressure to conform for the sake of economy and for the

sake of satisfying prescribed standards” (p. 448). The situation in schools from the

1950’s resembles the situation of schools as described by Kim (2012): the pressure to

have all learners meet standards has made instruction more about conformity and

recitation rather than about inquiry and creativity.

Twelve years after Guilford’s (1950) address, Torrance (1962) also lamented the

lack of attention to creativity in his book, Guiding Creative Talent. He framed the

resistant attitudes found in the school environment toward creativity with the following

questions:

1. Why should counselors, teachers, and administrators be concerned with

the problems of creative individuals?

27

2. What business is it of theirs whether or not one is highly creative?

Doesn’t everybody know that the highly creative person is “a little

crazy” and that you can’t help him anyway?

3. If he’s really creative, why does he need guidance anyway?

4. He should be able to solve his problems. He’s creative, isn’t he? (p. 1)

Torrance (1962) was a counselor who did work with high school students and college

students, and realized that he and his colleagues had never used or even considered

using a test of creative thinking to support their work. Tests of creativity had been

developed and utilized in the seventy years prior to the writing of his book, but because

creative talent had not been valued and rewarded in American education systems,

“guidance workers ha[d] seen little reason to identify it and to try to contribute to its

growth” (Torrance, 1962, p. 2).

Like Guilford (1950), Torrance (1962) believed that creativity should be a

concern of schools and gave several reasons to support this belief. First, schools that

stifle creativity affect the current and future mental health of their learners:

The stifling of creativity cuts at the very roots of satisfaction in living and

ultimately create[s] overwhelming tension and breakdown. There is also little

doubt that one’s creativity is his most valuable resource in coping with life’s

daily stresses. (Torrance, 1962, p. 2)

Torrance (1962) also believed that one purpose of school is to help students

grow into fully functioning individuals. He questioned that if creativity is part of every

person, and the schools neglect or even stifle its development, then how can a person be

fully functioning if “abilities involved in creative thinking remain undeveloped or are

28

paralyzed” (Torrance, 1962, p.3). Additionally, Torrance (1962) claimed that “creative

thinking abilities contribute importantly to the acquisition of information and various

educational skills” (p. 4). In his argument, these educational skills included those that

were from both academic and vocational pursuits. Torrance’s (1962) justification for

educators to attend to creativity resonated with Guilford’s (1950) concern for society.

Torrance (1962) looked to history and concluded that democracies “collapse and fail

when they fail to use intelligent, imaginative methods for solving their problems” (p. 6).

In conclusion, Torrance (1962) presented the belief that grounded his own work in

creativity: schools need to awaken and nurture creativity in their students for the sake of

their mental health, for the sake of developing the fullness of the individual learner, as a

means of increasing learning, and for the survival of our nation.

As expressed by researchers since the 1950’s to the present, the nurturing of

creativity has been and continues to be neglected. Creativity is also often

misunderstood, yet it is an important aspect of the human personality not only for the

individual person, but also for society.

Thus, through a qualitative research design, the purpose of this study is to

address this neglect of creativity by exploring the experience of creativity in the lives of

eight young creators. The decision to have young creators as participants in this study

was purposeful. This choice is supported by Guilford (1950). He believed in the value

of studying individuals at the early stages of their creativity. These young people have

not and may never achieve eminent distinction in the field of creativity:

All individuals possess to some degree all abilities, except for the occurrence of

pathologies. Creative acts can therefore be expected, no matter how feeble or

29

how infrequent, of almost all individuals. The important consideration here is

the concept of continuity. Whatever the nature of creative talent may be, those

persons who are recognized as creative merely have more of what all of us have.

It is this principle of continuity that makes possible the investigation of

creativity in people who are not necessarily distinguished. (Guilford, 1950, p.

446)

In summary, researchers in the field of creativity agree that the attention to

young creators has been neglected. Guilford chastised his peers at conference in 1950

for this neglect. Similarly, Torrance (1962) noted that schools (especially their

counselors) did not value nor did they attend to the creative needs of their students. He

then iterated the many adverse consequences of such neglect. Currently, Kim (2012)

and Runco and Abdullah (2014) are voicing the same concern: creativity has been and

remains a neglected construct of the human personality. This study responds to this

concern and the results show that the participants value creativity as experienced in

their lives.

Aspects of Creativity

The work of Guilford (1950), Torrance (1962), Kaufman and Beghetto (2009),

and Kim (2012) gives credence to the belief that there is an ongoing need for nurturing of

creativity in all people. The intent of this study is to illuminate the experience of

creativity in the lives of its participants and give new insight into understanding the

essence of creativity as experienced by young individuals. This study’s focus is primarily

on the mini-c and Pro-c experiences of eight young creators rather than the creativity of

eminent creators. As claimed by Kaufman and Beghetto (2009), in studying mini-c and

30

Pro-c experiences, much can be learned about creativity since all creativity begins the

same way: the individual has a creative inspiration and then brings it to fruition.

Therefore, by concentrating on the awakening and early experiences of creativity, the

ongoing neglect of the topic is addressed and creativity is given its due value. There are

several major aspects of these experiences to explore, namely: (1) the context in which

creativity is awakened and nurtured (Barab & Plucker, 2002; Bloom, 1985; Wechsler,

2000; Piirto, 2004, 2010; Simonton 1988, 2008); (2) the cognitive experience of creativity

(Guilford 1950; Ghiselin, 1952; Wallas, 1926/2014); and (3) the affective experience of

creativity (Ghiselin, 1952; Csíkszentmihályi, 1996). These aspects will be explored in

more depth in the following sections.

Context. Context includes aspects of the external environment that affect both

learning and the awakening and nurturing of creativity in a person. As Smutny and von

Fremd (2009) explained, learning and creativity go hand-in-hand, so an examination of

learning environments and their support of creativity is important in understanding the

development of creativity. The definition of external environment as used in this study

includes places (home, school, community) and people (family, friends, and community)

that affect the participants’ creativity (Barab & Plucker, 2002; Bloom, 1985; Wechsler,

2000; Piirto, 2004; Simonton, 1988, 2008).

In their article, “Smart People or Smart Contexts? Cognition, Ability, and Talent

Development in an Age of Situated Approaches to Knowing and Learning,” Barab and

Plucker (2002) specifically called attention to the fact that students learn in a variety of

educational contexts. These contexts are both formal (such as found in classes, lessons,

and programs) and informal (such as interactions with family, friends, and experiences

31

within their social and world communities). In their study, they found that learners

perform differently depending on the context in which their performance is measured

(Barab & Plucker, 2002). This suggests environment (context) is important to

development, learning, and the expression of what is learned.

To truly understand the learner, researchers consider the multiple intellectual and

affective experiences that these students have and the contexts, which occur in the daily

lives of these students. Barab and Plucker’s (2002) work grounded my rationale for

exploring the varied contexts and affective experiences of the participants of my study as

they journeyed to become poetry contest winners. In examining the journeys, I was able

to gain insight and understanding of the participants’ experiences as creators.

Like Barab and Plucker (2002), Bloom (1985) also examined how context may

affect the awakening and nurturing of creativity. He oversaw a group of students and

recent graduates from the University of Chicago who conducted an in depth, four year,

qualitative study of 120 people who had attained eminence. Specifically, he looked at

those who had attained the highest level of achievement in their fields by the time they

were forty years old. He categorized the participants’ achievement into three fields: the

aesthetic fields of music and art (pianists and sculptors), the psychomotor field of

athletics (Olympic swimmers and tennis champions), and the cognitive, intellectual fields

of math and science (research mathematicians and research neurologists). The researchers

conducted interviews of the eminent persons, their parents, and their teachers.

Through these interviews, generalities emerged between the participants. Bloom

(1985) divided the generalities into two categories similar to those described above in

Barab and Plucker’s (2002) work (formal and informal contexts). In his work, Bloom

32

(1985) named the two categories related to context as “instruction and community of

support” (pp. 504-549). Instruction can be defined as how the skills were taught and by

whom. Community of support are those around the learner who nurture their growth. The

support begins in the family and moves outward to friends, peers, and the broader

community. These generalities emerged in Bloom’s (1985) work:

1. Instruction is divided into three stages. The first stage, as experience by the

child, was playful and recreational. The second stage consisted of a sequence

of learning activities that increased in difficulty, and high standards of effort

and of time devoted to learning and practice. In the final stage, there were

special positive experiences that encouraged more dedication and more effort

until eventually the effort was perceived as both work and play and becomes

an “avocation, a calling, or a life-long career” (p. 508).

2. The participants in Bloom’s (1985) study came from a great variety of home

environments yet shared common values. Parents all differed in economic

status, level of education, their type of employment, and their interest and

hobbies. However, in most of the homes, working hard, doing your best in all

things, and using time productively was modeled by parents and expected of

the children. This applied to homework, household chores, and learning.

Parents also encouraged reading and curiosity in their children.

3. The participants also had a community of support that encouraged their

development. Initially, support came from their parents and teachers. As use

of their gifts became more public, the participants received acknowledgement

and encouragement from their peers, people in their school, and eventually

33

their local community. As they became more proficient, they received

acknowledgement and encouragement from others within the same field and,

eventually, from experts in their field.

These generalities were used to design my interview protocol and coding scheme to

determine if the participants of my study share commonalities with the participants of

Bloom’s (1985) study.

However, as I chose participants in this study because of their success in writing

an award winning, ekphrastic poem (poetry is a category within the broader category of

the arts), I looked beyond the generalities and focused on the particular development of

sculptors and pianists (within the category of the arts) in Bloom’s (1985) study. Like the

other eminent achievers in Bloom’s (1985) study, pianist’s and sculptors’ development

can be divided into early, middle, and later years, but his findings show that sculptors and

pianists developed within different communities of support (friends, peers, and the

broader community), and instructional contexts (how the skills were taught and by

whom).

Very involved parents, who, from the beginning, created an environment for their

children to become musicians, dominated the early family context for the eminent

pianists interviewed in Bloom’s (1985) study. Descriptions of these early years are as

follows:

1. Music was appreciated and valued in the home.

2. Parents made the decision for the child and siblings (if there were siblings in

the family) to begin piano lessons and created and maintained a practice

schedule for all children in the family.

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3. Outside activities were scheduled around lessons and practice. This included

homework.

The early instructional context for the young pianists took the form of piano

lessons. The pianists’ first teachers made lessons a positive experience. Teachers were

loving and warm. They also taught in a playful manner.

As the child progressed in skill, the early social context remained positive. Even

before the children became teenagers, they were referred to as pianists by their parents,

teachers, peers, community, and sometimes even beyond. This acknowledgement took

the form of the presentation of awards and opportunities to play outside of lessons. The

recognition for their accomplishments created internal motivation for the more difficult

work the young pianists were to encounter in their later years (Bloom, 1985, pp. 43-44).

The instructional and family contexts of eminent pianists changed as they grew in

skill and knowledge. The middle stage was characterized by attaining a teacher who was

more knowledgeable about music, and who talked, lived, and played music. This helped

change the child’s view of music: It was not merely something to be played, but

something to be studied, interpreted, and experienced. The family role also changed. It

became less of creating an environment of lessons and practice (the teachers and students

assumed more of this role) and more of providing for the financial and transportation

needs of the young pianists. The rewards of music making moved the whole family into

the music world (Bloom, 1985, pp. 57-59).

The third stage of development was characterized by working with a master

teacher who taught them not only piano, but also how to be a professional musician. The

work on the piano and establishing themselves as musicians became a full-time endeavor.

35

Experts in the field provided a variety of influences and, eventually, the pianists

established their own styles. Parental influence became distant and progress primarily

depended on the motivation of the pianist (Bloom, 1985, pp. 66-67).

Bloom’s (1985) findings showed that the roles of community of support and

instruction of eminent sculptors were very different from that of pianists. There was no

indication in their early years that they would become extraordinary artists. No teacher or

parent recognized any latent artistic talent that needed to be nurtured. Yet, their early

years were fertile for the growth of artistic ability. Although the sculptors’ families

differed both in economic status and education of their parents, all of the families had

similar aspirations for their children: that their children pursue something they loved; that

they would work hard at it; and, that they would become college educated. The children

were able to choose their own direction in fulfilling these aspirations.

In the early years, all of the sculptors’ parents provided a variety of art supplies

and tools for their children and frequently stepped away. Learning was often self-

directed. Sometimes the children learned by watching an adult but, primarily, learning

occurred when the children worked by themselves. They would experiment with the

materials and a variety of approaches and methods and learned what worked (and did not

work) to their satisfaction. The child spent his or her free time in these activities rather

than in other activities that children pursue when they are young. The development of

eye-hand coordination, visual perceptiveness, and self-confidence in these skills prepared

them for work as a sculptor.

The production of artwork (drawing, sketching, tracing, copying, and

constructing) was also valued in the family. The role of the parents in the sculptor’s

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development was marked more by providing materials and free time, and the desire to

save the young artists’ work than by intense guidance and involvement as found in the

role of the pianist parents. Parental influence on their child’s artistic development was a

distant (provide the materials and step aside) and casual (there was little sitting with the

sculptor with specific lessons to teach) approach rather than one of providing specific,

sequential artistic experiences. This is almost the opposite of the parental influence of the

eminent pianists. Their parents often sat with the children during practice and hired a

teacher to teach sequenced lessons.

Formal education in art also did not happen during the middle stage. Art

instruction in the elementary school was non-existent and in high school was, at best, low

key and often irrelevant. However, in their adolescent years, the young artists did become

more public about their artistic endeavors, and it was during this stage that their peers

began to identify them as artists. They were recognized as being able to do something

that others could not do. They also participated in public artistic endeavors such as

scenery building for school plays and artwork in the yearbook. This label was important

for the young sculptors as they began seeing themselves as artists.

High school art classes sometimes introduced them to materials not found in their

homes, but primarily the art teachers were not professional artists themselves and,

therefore, treated art more as a series of crafts: “Art did not involve serious thought and

discussion, nor did it seem to be an activity with a future” (Bloom, 1985, p. 115). The

young artists were never exposed to or noticed or encouraged by professional artists, art

critics, or by anyone involved with the professional world of art. The skills of the eminent

sculptors developed with little direct support from their families and formal education.

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The third stage of development for the interviewed sculptors also varied. Some

went directly to institutes/university to study art and others did not. Some did not study

art until graduate school. However, all, at some point, studied under one or more

professional artists: “These teachers modeled professional behavior. They introduced the

sculptors to the people, the institution, and the experiences central to the world of art.

They pushed the students to think and act like professionals” (Bloom, 1985, p.133).

The sculptors also had others pushing them beyond their current practice and

abilities. Sometimes these people were teachers, and other times these people were their

peers from the artistic community. It was during this third stage of development that the

students were able to study with other art students who were serious about their work,

and it was common in this community to work day and night on their art. The

commitment to the work of art became more intense.

It is interesting that the parental influence, which had always been supportive up

to this point, did change somewhat. The parents, for the first time, were concerned that

the direction the sculptors had chosen to pursue might not provide the financial stability

that their parents had hoped for. Yet, the eminent sculptors emerged not from an

environment that prioritized financial stability. Rather, they emerged from an

environment that encouraged them to pursue something they loved, something that

required effort and hard work, and something that required a college education. The

eminent sculptors had achieved these early goals.

In summary, Bloom’s (1985) work showed that instructional and social contexts

(beginning with family) differ for eminent pianists and eminent sculptors though both are

creators of art (music as a performing art and sculptures as a visual art). The instructional

38

context of the eminent pianists included prescribed, formal piano lessons given by a

warm and loving teacher and set practice times monitored by the parents, which were

given priority over other activities in the pianists’ lives. In contrast, the instructional

context of sculptors was informal (materials were provided but formal instruction was

lacking) and learning was self-directed until formal instruction began in college or

sometimes as late as graduate school. The early social context of eminent pianists began

with very involved parents who valued music and made it a focal point of family. As the

pianist grew in skill and performed in recitals and competitions, the social context

expanded to the wider community (friends, teachers, and other members of the

community). In contrast, the social context of eminent sculptors began with parents who

provided art materials but then allowed the children to explore the materials with little

direction. However, the parents showed value of their children’s work by keeping and

displaying their artwork. It was not until middle stages that the social context expanded to

friends and peers who recognized their artistic ability. During the third stage, the social

context expanded even further when the eminent sculptors began formally studying art in

college and graduate school. This context included their peers, teachers from their

schools, and professionals in their community.

After reading Bloom’s (1985) study, I wondered if the instructional and social

contexts of the young creators in my study would resemble that of the pianists or the

sculptors. This question contributed to the design of the interview protocol and coding

scheme. This was pertinent because, like the participants in Bloom’s (1985) study, the

participants in my study have also been successful in a creative, aesthetic endeavor:

writing an award winning ekphrastic poem.

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Like Bloom (1985), Wechsler (2000) also showed interest in the early influential

contexts of eminent creators. In her study, Talent development in Brazil: As viewed by

adult writers and poets, twenty Brazilian adult writers and poets were interviewed in

hopes of discovering how mentors participated in their development.

To her surprise, the mentors were not the strongest influences in the poets’

creative lives. Rather, she discovered other influences in the writers’ and poets’ lives that

contributed to their growth. First, female family members strongly affected the early

development of the Brazilian writers and poets. Mothers were the primary influence

though other female influences included an aunt or sister or an unmarried female relative.

All of the women provided nurturance and sensitivity to the young writers. Second, these

female family members provided rich storytelling, especially at bedtime. This practice

encouraged the young writers/poets to create stories of their own. Third, Wechsler (2000)

also found that nature was influential in the participants’ creative work. The young

writers were encouraged to spend time in the natural environment, which stimulated their

abilities to observe and reflect.

Wechsler’s (2000) work is pertinent in determining if the influential contexts in

her study parallel the influential contexts of my study. Will female family members affect

the creativity of the Ekphrastic Poetry Contest winners? Will I find storytelling and

experiences with nature as part of the awakening and nurturing of their creativity? This

study investigated if these aspects affirm or differ from those Wechsler’s (2000) study.

My interest in how eminent and Brazilian poets developed led me to discover a

local researcher who has also done extensive work in the study of creativity. Piirto (2004,

2010) is a poet and a professor at Ashland University. Through her experience of being

40

trained in creativity programs and implementing them in workshops, she discovered that

her own creative process had little resemblance to exercises she was presenting to

workshop attendees. While reflecting on her own processes, Piirto (2004, 2010) began

her research into the creative processes of eminent creators. This led to constructing

generalities about the contexts in which creators create.

In her work, Piirto (2004, 2010) discovered general practices found in creative

people: a need for solitude and rituals, formal study of the domain, engaging in

meditative practices, participating in a community of the particular domain, and creativity

being part of their lifestyle and self-expression. She also theorized that three major

influences (which she calls “suns”) on creativity are:

1. A positive and nurturing home environment.

2. A community and culture that conveys values compatible with the educational

institution and provides support for the home and the school.

3. School experiences that foster creativity, especially for those children whose

other “suns” may have clouds in front of them. (Piirto, 2004, p.142)

The findings of her work on creativity, like that of Barab and Plucker (2002), Bloom

(1985), and Weschler (2012), support the idea that context is important in the awakening

and nurturing of creativity. All of their work suggests that examining the home, the

instructional environment, and the social community will give insight into how creativity

develops.

After my exploration into work of Barab and Plucker (2002), Bloom (1985),

Weschler (2012), and Piirto (2004), I looked into another theory in the fields of talent

development and creativity. Simonton (2008) studied early evidence of creativity and the

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development of eminence in his study of 291 eminent African Americans. He found that

“early productivity is one of the single best predictors of later productivity in all domains

of creativity” (Simonton, 1988, p. 75). Some examples of this can be seen in the

disciplines of mathematics, physics, philosophy, painting, and literature. Studies like

Simonton’s (1988, 2008) support the choice of selecting Ekphrastic Poetry Contest

winners as participants in this study: they are not only producing creatively at a young

age, but their work is acknowledged and affirmed by the connoisseurs within the domain.

Simonton’s (1988, 2008) studies support the idea that early productivity is another

context, which is important to the awakening and nurturing of creativity.

In summary, this section explored the literature on context as an aspect of

creativity. Barab and Plucker (2002), Bloom (1985), Weschler (2012), Piirto (2004), and

Simonton’s (1988, 2008) work indicates that the home environment, the instructional

environment, and the social environment are contexts that affect how creativity evolves

within a person. In the next section, the second aspect of creativity will be explored: the

cognitive experience of creativity.

Cognitive experience of creativity. Informed by the work of Guilford (1967),

Wallas (1926/2014), and Piirto (2004), my study also explored the “thinking” of creators

while creating. Their thinking processes were documented through three forms of data

collection: surveys, interviews, and observation. The operational processes of divergent,

convergent, and evaluative thinking throughout the creative process were the primary

focus of this study. A secondary focus was the creative process itself.

Guilford (1967), as a psychologist, rejected the theory that intelligence can be

characterized by a single, numerical measure. In his theory of the Structure of the

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Intellect (SOI), there exists at least 150 different types of intellectual abilities. He

organized them into three categories or dimensions: operation, content, and product

(Guilford, 1967). Operation dimensions include all of the general cognitive processes;

content dimensions include the different ways the mind perceives and interprets the

world; product dimensions include applying particular operations to particular content

(Sternberg, 2000).

Guilford (1975) defined evaluative thinking as “judging the suitability of

information” (p.40). He then defined convergent and divergent thinking processes in this

way:

Information that we obtain can be put into storage, in an operation that can

naturally be called memory. That is as far as the SOI meaning of “memory” goes.

Getting information out of storage involves two kinds of operation—divergent

production and convergent production. These operations mean the retrieval of

stored information for use when it is thought to be needed. The difference

between the two is that divergent production is a broad search, usually in an open

problem, in which there are a number of possible answers…Convergent

production, on the other hand, is a focused search, for, from the nature of the

given information or problem, one particular answer is required. (Guilford, 1975,

p.40)

Convergent thinking is usually associated with standardized tests (O’Quin &

Derks, 1999). Divergent thinking is its opposite. Creativity is usually associated with

divergent thinking in that there are multiple answers and directions for problem solving

when one is being creative. O’Quin and Derks (1999) say there has been less attention

43

given to convergent thinking in studies done on creativity. Yet, it may be that convergent

thinking is also an important aspect of creativity. Because convergent thinking is also

linked to knowledge, it is part of the process of manipulating existing knowledge

purposefully and systematically using it as a tool in creative problem solving. Therefore,

I sought evidence of convergent thinking to see if it was intermixed with divergent

thinking in the process of the young writers creating their poems.

Another psychologist whose work informs this study is Graham Wallas. Wallas

(1926/ 2014) was a social psychologist and educationalist who wrote the seminal work

The Art of Thought. In his time, he saw an increase in humanity’s ability to wage war, but

not to prevent war; in humanity’s ability to explore the world, but not to build world

peace. He saw this unevenness of humanity’s development as a concern and hoped that

his book would address it. The part of the book that is particularly relevant to this study is

his model of the creative process. He theorized four stages of the creative process:

preparation, incubation, illumination, and verification (p. viii). He defined these stages in

the following way:

1. Preparation: The creator consciously accumulates all the knowledge

necessary to prepare mentally for the act of creating. This can be done

either through research or by sorting through memories.

2. Incubation: This a time of unconscious processing by the creator. This is

often done by leaving the work at hand and going to work on other

unrelated endeavors. He actually encouraged creators to build this “away”

time into their schedule as “[they] can often get more results in the same

way by beginning several problems in succession, and voluntarily leaving

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them unfinished while we turn to others, than by finishing our work on

each problem at one sitting” (p. 42).

3. Illumination: The creator cannot will this experience of sudden insight: It

naturally “bursts forth” as a result of preparation and incubation.

This is the time when the visible work of creation begins.

4. Verification: This occurs when the creator turns to a conscious effort to

examine the creation for quality and value. From this stage, the creator

consciously makes changes and revisions in the idea, product, or process

to form it into what the creator sees as quality.

This study will examine the participants’ creative processes to determine if there is

alignment with Wallas’ (1926/2014) model.

After examining Wallas’s (1926/2014) work, I once again returned to the work of

Piirto (2004). Included in her work on creativity, Piirto (2004) had also done specific

research on poetry written by young poets, and her work gives insight into cognitive

processes. The cognitive process that I am interested in is the choices creators make

while creating. She looked for the characteristics of quality juvenile writing. Piirto (2004)

analyzed the poems written by talented young writers. In comparing their qualities, she

was able to devise a list of sixteen characteristics found in the writing of these children:

…the use of paradox, parallel structure, rhythm, visual imagery, unusual melodic

combinations, unusual figures of speech, confidence with reverse structure,

unusual adjectives and adverbs, a feeling of movement, uncanny wisdom,

sophisticated syntax (hyphens, parentheses, appositives), prose lyricism, a natural

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ear for language, a sense of humor, a philosophical or moral bent, and a

willingness to play with words. (p. 228)

I used these characteristics to help the participants in this study take a deeper look

into the structure of their poems. These characteristics also helped me to understand their

creative processes by examining both their award winning poem and the poems they

wrote during the think-aloud. By listening to their thinking and observing their writing

process, I gained insight into how they make decisions regarding structure and use of

these characteristics.

In summary, this section examined the literature on the cognitive aspects of the

creative experience. Guilford’s (1967) work informed this study’s examination of

divergent, convergent, and evaluative thinking during the creative process. Wallas’

(1926/2014) gave insight into the four stages of the creative process. Finally, Piirto’s

(2004) work gave insight into the choices of poetic devices made by the participants’ in

this study. The next section will explore the literature on the affective experience of

creativity.

Affective experience of creativity. While thinking is interesting and useful in

understanding the creative process, exploring the psychological and emotional side of

creativity is also important. Torrance (1998), Ghiselin (1952), and Csíkszentmihályi

(1996) have much to say on the affective experiences of creativity.

Torrance (1998) explained that the creative thinking process begins with a sense

of discomfort. He defined the process as “sensing difficulties, problems, gaps in

information, missing elements, something askew; making guesses and formulating

hypothesis about these deficiencies and evaluating and testing these guesses and

46

hypothesis; possibly revising and re-testing them; and finally communicating the

results” (p. 442).

Torrance (1998) further explained that the natural human process of sensing an

incompleteness creates a state of tension or discomfort. This tension leads one to try to

rectify the incompleteness through the testing of multiple solutions. Once an appropriate

solution is found, the discomfort continues until the person shares the discovery or the

product with someone else. This means discomfort or a feeling of tension, begins and

then drives the creative process. Torrance (1998) believed that such a description of the

creative process “places creativity in the realm of everyday living and does not reserve it

for the ethereal and rarely achieved heights of creativity” (p. 442). Since the participants

of my study are engaged in everyday creativity (little-c, mini-c, and Pro-c), it will be

interesting to see if their creative process is described in the same manner used by

Torrance (1998).

A similar description of the creative process is found in the work of Ghiselin

(1952). He was a poet and English professor who collected an array of anecdotal

accounts of the creative process from several creators and then published them in an

anthology titled the Creative Process (1952). In looking at the table of contents, one finds

several great creators such as Albert Einstein, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Vincent van

Gogh, Amy Lowell, Katherine Anne Porter, and Thomas Wolfe. In analyzing the primary

sources written by these creators, Ghiselin (1952), like Torrance (1998), described the

creative process beginning with a feeling of discomfort and tension: “Creation typically

begins with a vague, even confused excitement, some sort of yearning, hunch, or

preverbal intimation of approaching or potential resolution” (Ghiselin, p. 4). Ghiselin

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(1952) further described relieving the tension or satisfying the yearning to be like

“automatic production under the fully wakeful eye of consciousness” (p. 6). Piirto (2004)

describes phenomenon as massive concentration:

One could say that the person is in a kind of trance, concentrating so much that he

seems to be hypnotized or sleepwalking. But this state differs from actual

hypnotism or trance, for the person is collected, autonomous, and watchful. (p.

44)

Such trance-like affective experience was not described by Torrance (1998), but it was

fully explored by Csíkszentmihályi (1996), another psychologist.

Csíkszentmihályi (1996) studied the aesthetic experience and its accompanied

trance-like, affective experience. The participants of his study included ninety-one people

who made exceptional creative contributions to their fields. He became interested in

people who seemed to be enjoying themselves in creative activities, but received no

money or fame for their efforts. The participants in his study described their experiences

with creativity using words like “enchanting,” “delight,” and “fun” even though great

effort, difficulty, and sometimes even pain were involved in their activity. When he

examined the results of the interviews with the participants of his study, he found they all

described a similar affective experience: When their efforts were going well, they went

into “an almost automatic, effortless, yet highly focused state of consciousness” (p. 110)

which he eventually called “flow.” I wondered if the participants of my study ever

experienced “flow.”

In summary, this section reviewed the literature on the affective aspects of the

creative experience. Torrance (1998), Ghiselin (1952), and Csíkszentmihályi (1996)

48

presented a variety of feelings described by numerous creators. Going into this study, I

wondered if the contest winners experienced the “vague, even confused” feeling as the

inspiration for the creative process or the “massive concentration” or “flow” while

creating. Would they simultaneously feel automaticity and watchfulness while creating?

The affective experiences as explained by the eight young creators who participated in

this study provided insight into these questions.

Conclusion. When taken together, these scholarly works provide a framework for

exploring creativity. I constructed the theoretical foundation of this study based on the

observations of many who have identified a lack of attention to this topic. Long ago,

Guilford (1950) and Torrance (1965) provided evidence of this lack of attention in

research and in understanding creativity. They also outlined the serious repercussions of

this neglect, not only to the individual, but also for society as a whole. Though the

amount of research since then has increased, there is still a notable lack of funding

allocated to research to inform practice (Runco & Abdullah 2014). Kim (2011, 2012) also

made a point that creativity in school age children has declined even though the amount

of research into its many aspects has increased. Building on this foundation, the neglect

of creativity was addressed by establishing the value of creativity. The value was

elucidated by means of a literature review that explored the various definitions of

creativity, the contexts in which it is awakened and nurtured, and the cognitive and

affective experiences as described by numerous creators.

Research Design

This study examines the experience of creativity as described by eight young

creators and, in doing so, responds to the neglect that still seems to be affecting young

49

people today. The choice of having young creators rather than eminent creators as

participants was purposeful. Eminent creators (or Big C creators) have been the focus of

many retrospective studies (Bloom, 1985; Csíkszentmihályi, 1996; Ghiselin, 1952;

Simonton, 2008), while there are fewer studies that examine young creators from the

awakening and the on-going nurturing of their creativity.

Many researchers (Runco, 2014; Kaufman & Beghetto, 2009; Guilford, 1950; Torrance,

1965; Torrance & Shaughnessy, 1998) have called for more research of young creators as

a means to address the neglect in this area of creativity. A research study on young

creators contributes to a fuller understanding of creativity.

Runco (2004) said neglecting the experience of young creators “runs the risk of

excluding theoretical consideration of creative potential” (Kaufman & Sternberg, 2010, p.

23). Kaufman and Beghetto (2009) build on this claim with a reminder that we cannot

predict which of these young creators will become Big C creators, so young creators

stories are of interest to the field of creativity. Guilford (1950) also said it is important to

conduct studies that involve the “investigation of creativity in people who are not

necessarily distinguished” (Guilford, 1950, p.36). In doing so, value is given to creativity

in its earliest expression (Kaufman & Beghetto, 2009). These reminders provide a

rationale for the choice of participants for this study: young creators who share the

common creative experience of writing an award winning poem for the Ekphrastic Poetry

Contest sponsored by their local art museum.

There is an abundance of research on creativity and its various aspects. Some of

these aspects are definitions of creativity, creative products, development of creativity,

cognitive and affective experiences of creativity, and measuring creativity (Bloom, 1985;

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Kaufman & Beghetto, 2009; Kaufman & Sternberg, 2010; Piirto, 2004; Torrance, 1962,

1989; Torrance & Shaughnessy, 1998). As reflected in the research question, this study

will explore the participants’ perspectives on their definitions and their experiences of

creativity. These perspectives emerge from experiences within the external contexts

(places, people, and creative activities) that influenced their awakening and development

of creativity and within the internal contexts (cognitive and affective experiences) as seen

in their descriptions of their own unique creative processes.

Like the many studies of eminent creators (Bloom, 1985; Csíkszentmihályi, 1996;

Weschler, 2012; Piirto, 1998, 2004), I, too, used a qualitative research design. However, I

used a descriptive, multi-case study to gain insight into how each young creator defines

and describes the experience of creativity within their external and internal contexts. The

studies of eminent creators used interviews as a means of data collection. These

interviews resulted in findings, which gave insight into the external and internal contexts

of eminent creators. Like these studies, my study also used interviews as a means of

gathering data. However, the interviews of my study were supplemented by observations

and document analyses to give a full understanding of the experience of creativity among

the participants of this study.

This concludes the literature review of creativity that has informed the

methodology used to conduct this study. The next chapter, Chapter 3, fully describes the

research methodology and procedures used in this qualitative study of eight young

creators.

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Chapter Three

Methodology and Procedures

Readers will recall that the purpose of this study is to describe and bring to light

the lived experience of creativity as told by eight young poetry contest winners from their

earliest experiences to present day. By illuminating their experiences, my goal, similar to

that found in the work of Guilford (1950) and Torrance (1962, 1963, 1965, 1970, 1977,

1989), is that readers will gain understanding of how creativity is experienced as an

important part of the participants’ lives. In this chapter, I first explain the theoretical

underpinning of the research design and methodology and then describe, in detail, the

procedures for implementing the design.

Research Design: Theoretical Underpinnings

I used a qualitative research design to explore the creative experiences of eight

young creators (see Figure 1). Patton (1985) explained that qualitative research “is an

effort to understand situations in their uniqueness as part of a particular context and the

interactions there” (p. 1). He also explained that this “understanding is an end in itself, so

that it is not attempting to predict what necessarily may happen in the future, but to

understand the nature of that setting” (Patton, 1985, p. 1) A qualitative research design

allowed me to examine each young creator’s experience, understanding, and

interpretation of creativity in their lives.

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Figure 1. Qualitative research design for this descriptive case study. This figure

illustrates the process of how my study emerged from a research question and developed

into propositions.

This design aligned with my research question: How do young creators describe

the many aspects of their lived experiences with creativity from its awakening to its

current state? I used a social constructivist interpretive lens as a means of grounding the

validity of this study. The particular lens through which I interpreted the data reflects the

belief that “reality is constructed by individuals interacting with their social worlds”

(Merriam, 1998, p. 6). Viewing creativity through this lens allowed me to understand

“how they make sense of their world and the experiences they have in the world”

(Merriam, 1998, p. 6).

53

I was seeking to understand each creator’s individual lived experience with

creativity. Lived experience is twofold: it begins with the experience itself. The

experience becomes meaningful as the participant recalls the memory of it and reflects on

its meaning through their explanation of it (van Manen, 1990, p. 38). Through

questioning, my goal was to assist the participants to transform their memories into

language and, in doing so, “to transform lived experience into a textual expression of its

essence” (van Manen, 1990, p. 36). Essence is defined as the central meaning of the

experience (Creswell, 2013; Patton, 1990; van Manen, 1990). By encouraging dialogue

regarding the participants’ creative experiences, I raised consciousness of the experiences

both within the participant and beyond; that which internally existed within the

participant (in memories) became externally present through their own language. By

recording and reporting their linguistic expression, their experience became visible to the

researcher and to readers of this study. Making visible their awakening and nurturing of

creativity and their external and internal contexts contributes to greater understanding of

the experience of creativity.

Before continuing the description and rationale of the methodology used in this

study, it is important to discuss my role as the researcher and the reality of subjectivity.

Subjectivity of the researcher includes both the biases of the researcher and the personal

history and passions as related to the research topic (Glesne, 2011). Bias needs to be

monitored as a means of adding to the trustworthiness of research, while personal history

and passions can actually contribute to research. Subjectivity impacts interpretation.

Peshkin (2000) explained that interpretation

54

…entails perceiving importance, order, and form in what one is learning that

relates to the argument, story, narrative that is continually undergoing creation.

Interpretation has to do with the confluence of questions, images, and ideas that

are the starting point of my inquiry, or the conceptualizing of my study. (p. 9)

Therefore, subjectivity affects the study from beginning to end. It impacts what “I

choose to look at… with regard to my conceptualization, or the situating of my study”

(Peshkin, 2000, p. 9), and “the judgment of what to collect that provides documentation

for what I think is going on, or the instantiating of my study and the further focusing of

its field of inquiry” (Peshkin, 2000, p. 9). It influences what I “select for writing that

establishes or affirms what I have identified that has gone on, or the composing of the

elements of my research story” (Peshkin, 2000, p. 9). Finally, it also influences the

“perspectival accounting for what I have learned or the shaping of the meanings and

understandings of what has gone on” (Peshkin, 2000, p. 9).

As a means to describe my subjectivity to the reader, I incorporated a set of

“Subjective I’s” (Glesne, 2011) to describe the various subjective lenses through which I

interpreted this study:

Pedagogical-I: my beliefs and experiences as a teacher, an assistant principal of

an elementary school, and university instructor affected my interpretations. As one who

has guided both pre-service and practicing teachers, the Pedagogical-I led me to attend to

the practices, assignments, and environments created and utilized by the teachers of the

eight young creators. The work of others in the field of creativity (Barab & Plucker,

2002; Bloom, 1985; Wechsler, 2000; Piirto, 2004; Simonton, 1988, 2008; Torrance,

1962, 1989) also brought attention to the practices, assignments, and environments

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created and implemented by teachers. Therefore, including other researchers findings in

my discussion increased the trustworthiness of the study. Similarly, the Pedagogical-I led

me to become a participant-observer during the think-aloud observation. This happened

specifically when I noted the participants’ attention to the piece of art was not complete.

For example, I would point to parts of the art that had not been mentioned, and ask, what

do you think about this? This question is supported by visual literacy curriculum and

instruction, yet it could also influence the participants’ interpretations of the art. Because

of the dichotomy of the impact of the question, I used it occasionally based on my

observations. If the participant decided that element was not important, I let it go.

Award Winning Poet-I: my own success of writing ekphrastic poetry and my own

experience of its transformative power led to the idea of this study and the selection of

participants. Rather than being a detriment to the study, my enthusiasm for and delight in

the idea of writing ekphrastic poetry built rapport with the participants. They were

excited to recall their own experiences of not only writing an award winning poem, but

also engaging in other creative experiences. I made a decision, early in the study, not to

share my own creative work with the participants. Rather, I shared my enthusiasm and

attentively listened to their stories and delighted in their accomplishments.

Growing up in a Creative Environment-I: I grew up in a creative household.

Three of my sisters studied art and became artists who contributed in small ways to their

field. A fourth sister found her creative expression first in theatre and later in a

establishing a lay, religious ministry for suffering women. A fifth sister experiences her

creativity in teaching horseback riding and participating in equestrian competitions. All

know how to create a warm welcome through the interior designing of their homes and

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gardens, and the serving of food that nourishes the body and comforts the soul (a gift

from our creative mother). All know how to watch for a good story during the day to re-

tell the story at the family dinner table at night (a gift from our creative father). They also

know the importance of approaching each day with a sense of wonder and adventure so

as not to become too disappointed when encountering puddles that dampen our path to

growing up and growing solid (a gift from both parents). My parents also taught us to

open our hearts to the delight of laughter and music, of reading and watching a good

movie, and of listening to and caring about those people who have been put in our lives

and to have faith in the One who put them there. I enjoyed growing up in such a

household, and I tried not to use these experiences as the basis for selecting, analyzing,

and interpreting data. Rather, I turned to the research question and literature on creativity

to develop theoretical propositions as a guide for selecting and condensing data.

Additionally, I used the findings presented in other studies on creativity to guide my

analysis and interpretation of the data.

In identifying the “Subjective I's,” I have been honest with the reader about my

biases, beliefs, and experiences that have the potential to affect this study from its

conception to its completion. In doing so, I have also included the methods that I used as

a means to protect the trustworthiness of the study but still allowing my passion for the

subject to be the motivation which helped me bring this study to its fruition.

In order to ground this study’s exploration of creativity as experienced by eight

young creators, the first step of my methodology was to complete a literature review. My

search began with reading seminal works from the field of creativity. Using the indexes

in these works led to both primary sources and scholarly articles. Using the university

57

library’s search aides (Educational Resources Information Center [ERIC] and

EBSCOhost research databases), I was able to locate more recent articles about the topic

of creativity.

Through my reading about the topic of creativity, I developed several theoretical

propositions (Baxter & Jack, 2008; Miles & Huberman, 1984; Yin, 2003). These

propositions helped limit the scope of the study, provided a conceptual framework to

organize the study, linked data to patterns, and established criteria for interpreting data

(see Table 2).

Table 2

Theoretical Propositions for Establishing a Conceptual Framework

Propositions Sampling of Sources

(This list is but a partial view of the literature review)

Creativity is a

topic that has a

history of

neglect in both

research and

practice.

Guilford, J. P. (1975). A review of a quarter century of

progress. In I. A. Taylor, & J. W. Getzels, (Eds.). Perspectives in

Creativity (pp. 37-59). New York, NY: Aldine Publishing

Company.

Kim K. H. (2012). Yes, there is a creativity crisis! Retrieved from

http://www.creativitypost.com/education/yes_there_is_a

creativity_crisis

Plucker, J. A., Beghetto, R. A., & Dow, G (2004). Why isn’t creativity

more important to educational psychologists? Potential Pitfalls,

and future directions in creativity research. Educational

Psychologist, 39, pp. 83-96.

Torrance, E. P. (1962). Guiding creative talent. Englewood Cliffs, NJ:

Prentice-Hall Inc.

Creativity has a

number of

definitions.

National Association of Gifted Children (n.d.). Glossary of Terms.

Retrieved from: http://www.nagc.org/

Isaksen, S. G. (1987). Introduction: An orientation to the frontiers of

Creativity research. In S.G. Isaksen (Ed.), Frontiers of creativity

research: Beyond the basics (pp. 1-26). Buffalo, NY: Bearly

Limited.

Kaufman, J. C., & Sternberg, R. J. (2010). The Cambridge Handbook of

Creativity. New York: NY: Cambridge University Press.

There are

external

contexts that

influence the

Bloom, B. (Ed), (1985). Developing talent in young people. New York,

NY: Ballantine Books.

Piirto, J. (2004). Understanding creativity. Scottsdale, AZ: Great

Potential Press, Inc.

http://www.creativitypost.com/education/yes_there_is_a

http://www.nagc.org/

58

development of

creativity.

Torrance, E. P. (1962). Guiding creative talent. Englewood Cliffs, NJ:

Prentice-Hall Inc.

Wechsler, S. (2000). Talent development in Brazil: As viewed by adult

writers and poets. Roeper Review, 22(2), 86-88.

Creativity

involves a

cognitive

experience.

Guilford, J. P. (1975). A review of a quarter century of

progress. In Taylor, I. A. & Getzels, J. W. (Eds.) Perspectives in

Creativity (pp. 37-59). New York, NY: Aldine Publishing

Company.

Wallas, G. (1926/2014). The art of thought. Kent, England: Solis Press.

Creativity

involves an

affective

experience.

Csíkszentmihályi, M. (1996). Creativity: Flow and the psychology of

discovery and invention. New York, NY: Harper Perennial.

Ghiselin, B. (Ed.) (1952). The creative process. New York: Mentor.

Torrance, E., & Shaughnessy, M. (1998). An interview with E. Paul

Torrance: About creativity. Educational Psychology Review

10(4), 441-452.

Methodological Framework

A case study approach was the research method used in my study to explore the

lived experience of creativity as experienced by the young creators. Creswell (2013)

defined the method of the case study approach as one where the researcher “explores a

real-life, contemporary bounded system (case) or multiple bounded systems (cases) over

time, through detailed, in-depth data collection involving multiple sources of information

and reports a case description and case themes” (p. 97). Yin (2003) further defined this

research method with a two-part, technical definition. The first part of this definition

defined the scope of a case study: “A case study is an empirical inquiry that investigates a

contemporary phenomenon within its real-life context especially when the boundaries

between phenomenon and context are not clearly evident” (p. 13). The second part of the

definition described data collection and data analysis strategies:

The case study inquiry copes with the technically distinctive situation in which

there will be many more variables of interest than data points, and as result relies

on multiple sources of evidence, with data needing to converge in a triangulation

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fashion, and as another result benefits from the prior development of theoretical

propositions to guide data collection and analysis. (pp. 13-14)

Yin’s (2003) definition addresses the inaccurate belief that case studies are merely a data

collection tactic or an independent design feature of a particular research method. He

presents the case study as a research strategy comprised of “an all-encompassing

method—covering the logic of design, data collection techniques, and specific

approaches to data analysis” (p. 14).

Yin’s (2003) definition also provides a rationale and a framework for the use of

case study methodology in my study. The phenomenon explored in this study is creativity

as experienced in the lives of eight young creators. The contexts explored are the social,

cognitive, and affective contexts in which their creativity was awakened and nurtured.

These contexts overlap in their impact on the participants’ creativity. Propositions (as

seen in in Table 2) guided the data collection and its analysis. Data collection included

multiple sources of evidence (surveys, interviews, participant observation, and document

collection). I triangulated data as a means of determining patterns within and between

cases. The patterns developed into themes, and these themes introduce the results section

of this study.

Further rationale includes a description of circumstances that call for the use of a

case study strategy as a research methodology. According to Stake (1994), case studies

are utilized when there is an “interest in individual cases” (Stake, 1994, p. 236). Yin

(2003) further develops the rationale by defining three criteria to be considered when

choosing a case study approach. He explained that the approach is best used when the

researcher is asking “how” or “why” questions, when there is no need to control the

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behavior of the participants (meaning a control group is not needed to understand the

phenomenon), and the context and the phenomenon are dependent on one another (Baxter

& Jack, 2008; Yin, 2003). These criteria are reflected in the research question and in the

phenomenon to be explored in my study. Specifically, this study explored “how” the

participants have experienced creativity throughout their lives. There was no need for a

control group, as I was not measuring the effect of a variable: the data is purely

descriptive. Thirdly, the experience of creativity is dependent on the context in which the

participants’ creativity was awakened and nurtured.

More specifically, this research study made use of a descriptive, multiple-case

study approach. A ‘descriptive case study’ refers to an in-depth study of a complex, real

life case dealing with multiple sources of evidence (Yin 2003, 2004). My study is

descriptive in that I want to describe the “essential nature” (Van Manen, Dabbs, &

Faulkner, 1982, p. 32) of creativity as experienced by and through the eyes of the young

participants of this study. It is also descriptive in that I crafted descriptive case summaries

of each participant based on interviews, participant-observations, and document analysis.

I used thick description (Geertz, 1973) in the presentation of the cases as a means

of capturing the lived experience of being creative. Thick description is defined as not

only writing what was said, but also, interpreting it within the context of the culture as a

means of capturing the full meaning of what is said. Geertz (1973) explained that a

researcher “inscribes social discourse; he writes it down. In so doing, he turns it from a

passing event, which exists only in its own moment of occurrence, into an account, which

exists in its inscriptions and can be re-consulted” (p. 19). After recording the words from

the discourse, describing the culture/context that surrounds the particular event reveals

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the full meaning of the discourse. Geertz (1973) explained this type of interpretation in

the re-telling of a story by Gilbert Ryle about the winking boys. If a researcher had

merely noted that three boys had contracting right eyelids and ignored the meaning of the

action (one had a twitch, one was winking, and one was parodying the wink), the essence

of the actions would be lost. Hence, thick description involves recording words and

observations, and then interpreting them in the social context in which they occur. Thick

description was based on observations and thoughts recorded in my field notes, often

times written on the interview protocol.

I chose a multiple-case study approach because it allows for exploration of

differences and similarities both within and between cases. This was helpful in finding

both patterns in the data, which developed into themes that provided insight into

creativity. This method was also successfully used to explore creativity in other studies

(Bloom, 1985; Csíkszentmihályi, 1996; Piirto, 2004; Simonton, 2008; Wechsler, 2000).

However, the participants in this study are younger (25 years of age and younger) while

in the above-mentioned studies, the age of the participants was forty years or older.

The strengths of a descriptive, multiple-case study research methodology are

many. Because a descriptive case study presents a “detailed account of the phenomenon

under study” (Merriam, 1988, p. 27), one of its strengths is the format allows for an in-

depth exploration of the phenomenon (Hodkinson & Hodkinson, 2001; Merriam, 1988;

Murphy, 2016, Yin, 2003), which is especially useful in exploring “areas where little

research has been conducted” (Merriam, 1988, p. 27). Hodkinson and Hodkinson (2001)

explained that case studies capture “lived reality,” and are able to “retain more of the

‘noise’ of real life than many other types of research” (p. 3). Because of this, descriptive

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case studies allow the researcher to explore the essence of complex phenomenon (such as

the lived experience of creativity) and to report the findings in the form of detailed

description. A second strength is that these findings may produce a “data base for future

comparison and theory building” (Merriam, 1988, p. 27). A third strength, according to

Merriam (2009), is descriptive case studies also have the ability to broaden the readers'

own experiences by offering insights and illuminating the meanings or essence of these

experiences. These three strengths provide the rationale for using a descriptive, multiple

case study methodology to explore the essence of creativity as described by the

participants.

Though the strengths of a descriptive, multiple-case study align with the research

question and goal of my study, the limitations of this methodology are important for me

to acknowledge. Merriam (1988, 2009) described several limitations encountered when

conducting this type of study.

One of the limitations of a case study is the amount of description, analysis, and

summaries may be too lengthy to be read easily; I did encounter this particular limitation.

I had to revise the data presentation and summaries several times. The revisions helped

me to organize the data in such a way that I retained the essence of the research (as

related to the research question) without oversimplifying. I was also able to maintain the

readability of the document.

This leads to the second limitation: the researcher is “the primary instrument of

data collection and analysis” (Merriam, 1988, p. 34) which means I had to depend on my

own sensitivities and integrity throughout the entire research process. My own

experiences and biases concerning the value of creativity were a particular sensitivity that

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I had to monitor. I did the following to guard against these subjective feelings and

experiences to produce an ethical research design:

1. I described my background and experiences with creativity.

2. I developed theoretical propositions based on seminal works on creativity

as a means of guiding my data collection and organizing the presentation

and analysis of the data as recommended by Yin (2003).

3. I was open to surprises in the data and noted them in my reporting.

4. I interpreted my findings by linking them to the literature on creativity.

The third limitation is that the findings are not generalizable to a larger

population, especially if the sampling is small. Merriam (1988) responded to this

limitation by noting that the purpose of a descriptive case study is to describe a

phenomenon and interpret it by noting patterns, developing themes, and interpreting them

in light of related literature. Therefore, the results are true and believable for the

participants and provide illumination and deeper understanding of the phenomenon. Yin

(2003) supports this interpretation of analytic generalization by defining it in this way:

“…a previously developed theory is used as a template with which to compare the

empirical results of the case study. If two or more cases are shown to support the same

theory, replication can be claimed” (pp. 32-33). I followed this interpretation of analytic

generalization in the results and discussion section of this dissertation. From that point, it

is up to the reader to decide if the findings are relevant to their own situations.

The final limitation relates to issues with reliability and validity, or the

trustworthiness of the research design, the data collection, the presentation, and the

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analysis of the data. Merriam (1988) recommends strategies to assure the trustworthiness

of a study:

1. Triangulation: This involves the use of multiple sources of data and multiple

methods to confirm findings. I collected data from four different sources,

which allowed me to triangulate within a case. Triangulation then was utilized

when establishing patterns and developing themes.

2. Member checks: This involves “taking data and interpretations back to the

people from whom they were derived and asking them if the results are

plausible” (Merriam, 1988, p. 169). This was done multiple times: during the

data collection process and during the writing of the dissertation.

3. Cross-case analysis: This involves collecting data from multiple cases and

then analyzing the data between them. I did this when I found patterns and

themes that emerged between cases during analysis of the data.

4. Peer examination: This involves asking colleagues to comment on findings.

Beyond my dissertation committee, I shared my findings with two other peers

who are also researchers in the field. At times, their insight encouraged me to

explain things more clearly and to look into these findings more deeply. At

other times, their insight affirmed the findings.

5. Audit trail: This involves the research to be very clear and descriptive when

explaining how the data was collected, how the propositions, patterns, and

themes were derived, and how all decisions were made during the entire

inquiry. With the help of feedback from my committee, the writing tutor from

the Writing Center, and from my peers, I made many revisions to my writing.

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Therefore, if others want to replicate this study, they have a clear guide to

accomplish this.

In utilizing the strategies of triangulation, member checks, cross-case analysis, peer

examination, and audit trail, I was able to address the trustworthiness of this study.

In summary, a descriptive, multiple-case study was an appropriate approach to

examine the creative experiences of the participants, as I was seeking to understand and

illuminate their experiences with creativity. The participants in this study comprised an

appropriate sample, as each were publicly acknowledged twice for their creativity: first

when they were given an award by Toledo Museum of Art for writing an ekphrastic

poem, and second, when the museum displayed their poems near the piece of art for

almost a year, reaching the potential readership of 400,000 museum guests. Such public

acknowledgement expressed value for the participants’ creative endeavors: their poems.

Their success in a common creative endeavor guided my decision to seek participants

from the pool of the Toledo Museum of Art’s Ekphrastic Poetry Contest winners.

Participant Selection

Though there has been much research exploring the creativity of eminent creators

(Bloom, 1985; Csíkszentmihályi, 1996; Piirto, 2004; Simonton, 2008), there has also

been a call for research into the creativity of ordinary creators (Guilford, 1950; Kaufman

& Beghetto, 2009; Kaufman & Sternberg, 2010; Runco, 2004, 2014; Stein, 1953;

Torrance, 1962). Runco (2009) explained:

…that although the research on experts and eminent persons is fascinating and

compelling, it does not necessarily tell us about the creativity of children or the

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creativity of an adult whose originality is only apparent in day-to-day activities

and not in any professional arena. (p. 464)

The participants in this study each took part in a common creative activity that resulted in

the writing of a poem in response to a selected piece of art found in their local art

museum. This type of creativity, defined in Chapter 2 as mini-c creativity (Beghetto &

Kaufman, 2007; Kaufman & Beghetto, 2009), entails a creative experience that is a

personally meaningful and novel interpretation of an event, an experience, or an action

(Kaufman & Beghetto, 2009). By giving attention to this type of creativity, Kaufman and

Beghetto (2009) believe it gives mini-c creativity value and, in turn, will address the

neglect of early creativity experienced in homes, in school, and in the community.

In this study, I used maximum variation sampling as a means of gaining multiple

perspectives to answer my research questions (Creswell, 2013). Creswell (2013)

suggested that with maximum differences in perspectives and experiences, robust results

are more likely. To achieve this, I recruited eight contest winners that differed by one or

more of the following categories: museum category (determined by particular grade

groupings), sex, school, and type of award (see Table 3). In other words, I chose a variety

of participants from multiple sites (Seidman, 2013).

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Table 3

Variations between Participants

Stars Michaela Nevada Alex Paws Dr. J Raph Leah

Museum

Category

MS* MS MS MS HS HS HS HS

Gender M F M M F M M F

School A B A C D E F D

Awards HM 3rd HM 1st 2nd 3rd HM 1st

Pseudonyms are used for each participant. Museum categories are classified as middle school (MS) or high

school (HS). MS* represents a student who was entered in the middle school category but was only in

grade four. Sex is classified as male (M) or (F). School is designated by a letter using the first six letters in

the alphabet to protect anonymity. Duplicate letters indicate the same school. These letters represent the

school the participant was attending at the time the award winning poem was written. Awards are

designated as first place (1st), second place (2nd), third place (3rd), honorable mention, (HM).

There were four representatives from each of the museum’s designated categories

(Middle school: Grades 6–8, and High School: Grades 9–12). The asterisk after the one

MS category represents a participant who entered the contest as a student in grade four. I

was able to include both sexes within each of the categories, though I was only able to

have each sex represented equally in the high school category. The middle school

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category had three male participants and one female. This did not harm my maximum

variation because they still varied in one or more categories.

I also maximized my variation through a representation of a variety of schools

and a variety of awards. Six different schools are represented in this study. There are two

public schools represented and four private schools represented. Four different prizes had

been awarded to these poets: first place, second place, third place, and honorable

mention.

This variation among eight participants provided a breadth of cases. The diversity

of the variation (as presented in Chapter 4) became more evident as individuals shared

their experiences with creativity.

Participant Gathering: The Process

Since I desired a sampling of participants that shared a common experience with

creativity, I began the search for participants by attending the 2015 Ekphrastic Poetry

Contest Presentation of Awards at a local museum. After the presentation of awards, I

made contact with three different middle school students and their parents, all of whom

agreed to participate in the study. I collected contact information and gave them a printed

post card (Appendix A) that served as an invitation to and a description of the study. It

also provided contact information.

I also met one of the judges and one of the teachers from an area high school.

Many of this teacher’s students have been contest winners. She agreed to provide contact

information for current and former contest winners. She also sent letters (Appendix B) to

her former students. In the letters, she described the study and asked poets to participate

in my study.

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I received emails from many previous contest winners in response to this

teacher’s communication. Wanting to maximize the variation of the sampling, I knew that

I needed to contact contest winners from the other schools. I was able to locate contact

information of these students by using the information provided on the museum website

and then searching White Pages on the internet. Initially, I made contact through phone

calls, which, in all cases, were answered by a parent. With the help of these parents, I was

able to make contact with their children and gain the voluntary participation of the poets

from the other schools.

This selection of participants may be seen as a convenience sampling in that the

young poets came from the Toledo area, and that I accepted participants who were

willing and able to partake in the study. It is true that the location and the availability of

the poets made it convenient for both the participants and me to make contact, but the

differences in schooling, age, socio-economic levels, and home environments provided

enough diversity to provide robust results.

In addition, the sample size for this study is small (eight participants). Originally,

the Institutional Review Board (IRB) authorized twelve participants. My contact list

included fifteen names of contest winners though only ten responded. Of those ten, two

agreed to participate, but never followed through with completing the paperwork and

scheduling the interview. This left me with the final eight participants. Because of the

small sample size, the study results are not necessarily generalizable beyond this

population, though the robust results do illuminate the particular creative experiences of

each participant.

Participant Gathering: Voluntary Consent.

70

Once the parents communicated their email addresses, I sent an introductory

email with appropriate forms to gain voluntary consent. The IRB at the University of

Toledo approved three forms of consent: Adult Research Subject Informed Consent

Form; and Informed Assent Form for a Minor Child; and Adult Consent Form for Minors

(see Appendix C for a sample form). They were also sent an IRB approved Letter of

Interest (see Appendix D for a sample form). All forms explained the purpose of the

study, the procedures of the study, the potential benefits and risks of participating in the

study, and the meaning of voluntary participation. The forms also provided contact

information should questions arise. The purpose of these forms is to protect participants

throughout the study.

The Adult Research Subject Informed Consent Form was used for the two

participants who were older than eighteen. Since the other participants were minors, the

participant was given the Informed Assent Form for a Minor Child and the Adult Consent

Form for Minors was given to the parent(s). The appropriate forms were sent via an email

with an explanation of the form and contact information if needed. All forms were signed

and returned via email or as a hard copy given to me before I began the first interview.

No questions were asked about the forms.

Site Selection

Different sites were selected for the different meetings. The art museum was

chosen as the site for the first meeting. I chose the museum because Barab and Plucker

(2002) suggested that context impacts performance, and the museum was part of the

context in which the participants created their award winning poems. Since the

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participants were expected to write another ekphrastic poem during our first meeting, the

museum provided a familiar context in which to perform this task.

The initial interviews needed to take place in a quiet area in the museum that was

still accessible to others (as some of my participants were minors), but quiet enough so

that noise would not interfere with the digital recording. The museum library was ideal as

it is seldom used. The director of the library provided a study room with an open door,

and there were always one or two people at the reference desk, which provided a safety

measure.

The second meeting, in the form of a focus group interview, took place in two

different locations. The first focus group interview took place in a local pub that was

convenient for the participants. The second focus group interview took place at the local

art museum’s café, which was also a convenient location for the participants. The festive

atmosphere of these sites created a context similar to the awards night for the Ekphrastic

Poetry Contest winners: it added to the excitement of sharing their poems with other

poets. Noise was the only drawback for holding the second meeting at the art museum’s

café; the background noise made it challenging (but not impossible) to distinguish

between the voices of two particular male participants. The pub was much quieter as I

scheduled the interview during the pub’s slow business hours.

Methods and Procedures of Data Collection

Once I identified the participants who were willing to take part in the study, I

collected data to create individual cases. The procedures for data collection are visually

represented in below in Figure 2.

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Figure 2. Data collection procedures used in this study. Figure distinguishes the activities

of each meeting.

The data were collected first with a survey and then during two (and sometimes

three) meetings. The types of data collection include a survey, two interviews (one

individual and one in the form of a focus group), a participant-observation of a think-

aloud, document collection of all poetry, and notes and/or drawings created during the

writing of the poetry. A description of each meeting will be covered in the following

73

sections. The description includes a definition, a rationale, and the procedures of each

form of data collection.

Surveys. The initial data collection began with a survey (see Appendix E). The

survey, consent papers, and interview questions for the first and second meeting (see

Appendix F) were emailed to participants after they agreed to take part in the study.

These surveys were returned to me via email and were used for discussion at the

beginning of the first meeting.

Surveys are commonly used in quantitative research as a means of gathering data

for noting frequencies of certain variables (Groves, et al., 2004). However, surveys can

also be used for a different purpose when used in qualitative research: to understand the

diversity of the participants. Fink (2003), in her book The Survey Handbook, suggested

that surveys be used as means to explore experiences and their meanings. The surveys in

this study were used for this purpose: the questions encouraged reflection on the

participants’ own creativity (from their earliest memories to present day) and the contexts

in which they experienced creativity. Completing the survey prepared them for the first

interview. The first interview began with a discussion of their answers from the survey.

First meeting. The first meeting with the individual participants incorporated

three means of data collection: an interview, a participant observation of a think-aloud,

and a collection of documents. The methods and procedures for each means of data

collection will be described in detail below.

Interviews. Interviews are a method of collecting data in the form of “direct

quotations from people about their experiences, opinions, feelings, and knowledge”

(Patton, 1990, p. 10). Usually this information cannot be collected through observation as

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thoughts, feelings, perspectives, and memories are in the mind of a person. Questioning

allows a researcher access to another “person’s perspective” (Patton, 1990, p. 196).

Seidman (2013) explained that the “heart of interviewing research is an interest in other

individuals’ stories because they are of worth” (p. 9).

The purpose of the interview during the first meeting was to have each of the

participants tell me as much as possible about their life experiences with creativity. The

interview protocol followed a semi-structured format (see Appendix F). Questions were

pre-determined and followed the same structure and content for each participant. They

were also open-ended, so that conversation was encouraged (Merriam, 1998).

A semi-structured interview provides consistency between cases and, therefore,

transferability, but still allows the participants to share unexpected information (Glesne,

2011). This format allowed me to ask further questions seeking clarification or depth of

understanding. A semi-structured interview also encourages opportunities to build rapport

with the participants. “Rapport implies getting along with each other, a harmony with, a

conformity to, and affinity for one another” (Seidman, 2013, p.98), thus enabling the

participant to feel comfortable sharing their memories, thoughts, and perspectives on

creativity. A semi-structured format also provided me a means to bring the interview

back to topic when the conversation digressed from the interview’s original purpose. The

procedures for the initial interviews are described below.

After obtaining consent from participants, I scheduled the first individual, semi-

structured interviews. In preparation for the interview, I read the surveys that the

participants had emailed to me. I began the interview with a discussion of their answers

to the survey as a means of establishing rapport. The poets had already written answers to

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these questions and felt confident sharing these answers with me. When this discussion

was complete, we moved to the interview questions (see Appendix F), which were

designed to elicit some overlapping information to assess internal consistency and

reliability. To alleviate anxiety and to build rapport, I created a handout that listed and

defined Piirto’s (2004) poetic elements found in quality poetry written by young people. I

chose a playful font and paraphrased definitions into simple language, so that the younger

poets would not be overwhelmed or anxious when asked to analyze their own poetry (see

Appendix G).

I recorded the participants’ responses on three devices: a digital recorder, a tablet,

and a laptop while occasionally taking note of facial expressions and movement and

inscribing these observations on my interview protocol. Once the initial interview was

complete, I introduced the participants to the think-aloud strategy, which determined the

format of the participant observation.

Participant observation of think-aloud. A participant observation is a particular

type of observation in which the researcher “assumes the role within a case study

situation and may actually participate in the events being studied” (Yin, 2003, p.94). The

role I took on can be described as a guest accompanying another guest at the art museum

(a context that is common with museum visitors): we looked at the artwork together. The

benefits of this type of observation is that it gives access to events that are not commonly

accessible to typical observation. This mode of observation allowed me to ask questions

during the think-aloud which, in turn, allowed me access to their thoughts while they

viewed art and wrote a poem. At times, the questions were merely a reminder to speak

their thoughts aloud. At other times, the question drew attention to areas of the piece of

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art of which the participant had not spoken. It was a rich method of data collection in that

it created a context of two people enjoying the art museum together. However, there is a

limitation: asking the questions opens up the possibility of providing a type of support

that may affect how the art is seen and how the poem is written. Being aware of this

limitation, I kept my questions to a minimum and restrained myself from asking leading

questions based on my own interpretation of the art.

A think-aloud can be defined in the following way: “The think-aloud method

consists of asking people to think out loud while solving a problem and then analyzing

the resulting verbal protocols” (van Someren, Barnard, & Sandberg, 1994, p. xi). The

strategy gives unique information into cognitive processes. As a literacy instructor, I was

familiar with this strategy as a means of helping students grow in their reading

comprehension. In the context of assessing and developing reading skills, the students

read aloud and periodically paused to explain the type of thinking they used to make

sense of the text (Oster, 2001). As a teacher listens to their thinking, insights can be

gained into their understanding and use of comprehension strategies.

This research method of having a person verbalize thoughts while completing a

task has a long history at the University of Amsterdam. In the 1930’s, Otto Selz used the

think-aloud method to study the thinking during the creative process (van Someren, et al.,

1994; de Groot, 1946, 2008) used this method to gain understanding of the people’s

thought processes when engaged in a game of chess. Elshout (1992) used the think-aloud

method in his work on cognitive skills as related to general intelligence and then designed

a course for the University of Amsterdam where students learned the history and the

process of using this method. van Someren’s, Barnard, and Sandberg (1994) book, The

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Think Aloud Method: A Practical Guide to Modeling Cognitive Processes is based on

Elshout’s (1992) course.

I applied this theory and strategy to gain insight into the thinking of participants

while they were creating. The steps I used align with those in the work of van Someren et

al. (1994):

1. “Creating a comfortable setting” (p. 41): This was accomplished through the

site chosen for the initial interview and the interview itself. All but one of the

initial interviews took place at the Toledo Museum of Art because that is where

the poets began their successful writing of their award winning poems. The

other initial interview took place in the participant’s home at the request of his

mother. All were very comfortable in the respective settings. Evidence of this

was seen as the interview progressed and rapport was established. The

evidence included the participants: laughing, answering questions in detail, and

initiating their own questions and ideas.

2. “Explanation of the task and the think-aloud method” (p.43): This was

accomplished by using a variation of these words found in the transcript of one

meeting:

Researcher: We are going to do a think-aloud. Do you understand what I

mean when I say that? You and I, we are going to walk around the museum,

and you are going to choose a piece of art and then write an ekphrastic poem

about it. Do you remember how to write poems in the museum?

Participant: We would look at it, like, and we draw a picture of it?

Researcher: You can draw, as it will help you think.

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Participant: Okay. Then, just like whatever comes to mind.

Person 1: You put the words down, while you are sketching.

Participant: Right.

Researcher: Okay, but I want you to be thinking aloud while you are doing it.

That is saying aloud what you are thinking while you are choosing a piece of

art and while you are creating your poem. (transcript, July 19, 20015)

3. “Demonstration of the task and method of a think-aloud method” (p. 44): First,

I demonstrated a think-aloud by having participants watch me select a piece of

art to be the inspiration of an original poem. They listened as I voiced my

thoughts while in search of an inspiring piece of art. Once a piece of art was

chosen, I continued to voice my thoughts while I created a poem. I continued

this demonstration until the participant expressed an understanding of the

process. This was accomplished using a variation of the following words which

are a sample taken from the transcript of the recording from a first meeting:

Researcher: So let's say I was doing a think-aloud. It might look like this: we

are walking around in here, and I notice those books. I would say aloud, “I

like the brown of those books more than the color of the other books, so that's

what draws my eye.” If that were a piece of art, I would go over there and

look at it more closely. I would say, “I notice that the binding has both shiny

and matted color. I like that contrast of shiny and matted. That book is all

shiny, that set is all shiny, and I don't like that. I like this contrast, so I think

that I might give that a try. I am sketching and sketching and nothings coming

to mind, so I'll move on.”

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Then I say, “Look at that painting over there.” “So I want you to be thinking

out loud: I'm going to start with this part of the painting because I like this

line, or I like this color, or I like how it is the outdoors, or because I have a

story in my head when I see this...” Do you get what I am saying?

Person 2: Yes.

Person 1: Can you do this?

Person 2: Yes. (transcript, July 19, 20015)

When the participants confirmed that they understood both the method, I took that as a

sign that it was time to begin.

4. “Recording the participant” (p. 44): When the participant began the think-

aloud, I digitally recorded our words. I used one digital recorder. One recorder

allowed for easier mobility. I was careful to keep the recorder close to the

participant if we entered a noisy part of the museum. This provided a clear,

audible recording to transcribe later. An example of a portion of a transcript

from one of the participant’s think-aloud can be found in Appendix (G).

5. “Behavior of the [researcher]” (p. 44): As explained earlier, prompts may be

given as deemed necessary. Primarily, they were used as reminders for the

participant to vocalize their thoughts. If the silence lingered for more than

approximately twenty seconds, I would prompt the participant to think aloud. I

also incorporated variations of the following questions that are recommended

when using Visual Thinking Strategies (VTS) (2016) for viewing and talking

about art:

A) What’s going on in this picture?

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B) What do you see that makes you say that?

C) What more can we find? (Finley, 2014)

I concluded the first session with participants discussing possible dates for a

second meeting with them. I then transcribed the interview and think-aloud as soon as

feasible, summarized the findings using thick description and quotes, and sent the

transcripts to the participants for member checking.

Document collection. “Researcher-generated documents” (Merriam, 1998, p.

119) were collected in this study. These are documents created at the request of the

researcher as a means of learning more about the topic being investigated. The documents

collected at the completion of the first meeting were contained in a single sketchbook.

One sketchbook was provided by the researcher and used by each of the participants as a

means to write their poem during the think-aloud. Using one sketchbook provided ease in

keeping track of the original poems. The participants took pictures of their work (or I

emailed pictures to participants who did not have a camera), so they could continue

working on their poems.

Combined with the words spoken during the think-aloud, analysis of the

documents provided insight into the thinking that occurred while the participant created.

The combination also provided a possible means of triangulation within and between

cases. In theory, triangulation supports “a finding by showing that at least three

independent measures of it agree with it, or at least do not contradict it” (Miles,

Huberman, & Saldana, 2014, p. 298). Therefore, the data mined from documents

provided another means of confirming findings.

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Member checking. This is a term coined by Lincoln and Guba (1985) and refers

to the procedure of sharing transcripts and/or summaries of the interview with

participants. This allows participants to challenge or make corrections and/or add

additional information or clarification to the transcripts. This process has two purpose:

(1) it validates the participants by asking for their input, which, in turn, gives their

perspective value; (2) it also contributes to the credibility of the data (Lincoln & Guba,

1985).

Member checking was utilized two different times as a means of giving

participants an opportunity to provide feedback to the transcripts. The first member check

occurred between the first interview and the focus group interview. The second one

occurred seven months after the focus group interview. The first member checking

occurred through email (see Appendix H) for a sample email) and included a copy of the

transcript from their interview and interview questions for the focus group interview. The

second member check was also through email (see Appendix I for a sample email) and

included a copy of the case profile (found in Appendices J-Q) and questions that emerged

during the interpretation phase of the study. See Table 4 below for dates on which the

participants responded to the member checking opportunity.

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Table 4

Member Checking Response Dates

Participant First Member Checking Second Member

Checking

Raph (HS, M) August 16, 2015; email April 3, 2016

Paws (HS, F) August 17, 2015; personal

communication

no response

Stars (MS, M) (9 years old)

August 13, 2015; email no response

Michaela (MS, F) August 23, 2015; personal

communication

no response

Alex (MS, M) August 23, 2015; hard copy no response

Nevada (MS, M) August 23, 2015; personal

communication

no response

Dr. J (HS, M) August 23, 2015; hard copy no response

Leah (HS, F) August 13, 2015; email March 30, 2016; email

In summary, the first meeting provided valuable data. Because this study explored

the lived experiences of creativity through the voices of eight young creators, the data

collection methods of surveys, interviews (combined with member checking), participant

observation, and data collection were an effective means of tapping their memories,

thoughts, feelings, and perspectives. I provided two opportunities for member checking

and both contributed to the validity and reliability of the data.

Second meeting. The second meeting took the form of a focus group interview.

The definition of a focus group interview is a group interview that encourages group

interaction and while being moderated by the researcher (Morgan, 1997). Morgan (1997)

explained that the use of focus group interviews provides additional data to the data set

when multiple methods of gathering data are used in a study. It becomes a blend of

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interviewing and observation as a semi-structured interview protocol (see Appendix F) is

used. In addition, the interaction between the participants adds to the context of data and

is an opportunity for thick description to be utilized. The focus group interviews also save

time and travel for both the researcher and the participant, but more importantly, in using

this particular method, I gained understanding into “how a group would discuss some

issues and elicit multiple perspectives in the process” (Glesne, 2011, p. 131). This

dynamic encouraged depth in the participants’ shared thoughts and responses as they

discussed the definition of creativity. The participants also deeply discussed the thought

processes and affective experiences they recalled having while creating. A focus group

format also provided an audience of their peers when they shared their poems written

during the think-aloud.

To help the participants prepare for the second meeting, I sent transcripts of their

first interview and the interview questions that were to be used during the focus group.

This provided the opportunity for participants to plan ahead by allowing them time and

space to reflect on their previous interview, to put experiences and words into context,

and to ponder the meaning of it all (Seidman, 2013). By emailing both transcripts and

new interview questions to my participants, all of us had time to prepare for the focus

group.

Once I had completed the first meetings with individual participants, transcribed

the recordings, and emailed the transcripts for member checking, I began to look at

possible dates and locations for the second meetings. I scheduled two separate group

interviews to keep the number of participants to a maximum of four and to allow for

choice in scheduling. I encouraged them to write responses to the interview questions and

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to their transcripts, either on the documents themselves or on a separate piece of paper. I

requested that they bring their responses to the interview. I also reminded them to bring

their poem and any other notes or drawings that were made while they were creating their

think-aloud poems. They were also invited to bring other examples of their creative work.

The two focus groups included all but one of the original participants: the absent

participant could not work a meeting time into her schedule as she was inundated with

applying to medical school. However, we did maintain contact through emails. The first

focus group included three participants (one attended through Skype®), and the second

focus group included four participants. I met with each focus group one time. This was a

particularly useful method of data collection because the participants shared their poems

with one another, worked together to define creativity, and supported one another as they

tackled the complex processes of divergent and convergent thinking while creating.

The focus groups met in two places: Focus Group Interview # 1 took place at a

local pub and Focus Group Interview # 2 took place at the café located in the local art

museum. Once again, a semi-structured interview (see Appendix F) created opportunity

to ask questions for clarification and elaboration.

Both focus group interviews took approximately an hour and a half. Once again, I

recorded the responses on the digital recorder, the tablet, and laptop, and I manually

inscribed a field notes on the interview protocol. I collected their copies of the poems they

shared with the group as a means of document collection to analyze later. I transcribed the

interviews as soon as feasible after the focus group sessions, and summarized the findings

using thick description and quotes.

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It was during the focus group interviews that I was compelled to define divergent

and convergent thinking for participants. The following is an excerpt from the transcript

from focus group #2. I based my explanation on Guilford’s (1967) explanation as found in

Chapter 2. I began the discussion of the two types of thinking with these descriptions:

So divergent thinking is when you are pulling [multiple memories and

associations] from many different places, mixing it up, and throwing it all down

on paper. Whereas, when you are balancing equations in chemistry class, you

approach that in a very linear way, and it has only one answer. Step by step by

step and that is called convergent thinking: when it is linear, and logical, and has

only one correct answer. Tell me about times in your life when you have engaged

in convergent thinking. (researcher, focus group, August 23, 2015)

This description became a springboard for a robust discussion of the two types of

thinking.

Third meeting. During the second meeting, I sensed that the participants had

nothing new to say as they began repeating concepts in their conversations. I made my

decision not to schedule a third interview. This decision is supported by Merriam (1998):

“saturation of categories: when only tiny bits of new information is attained in

comparison to the effort expended to get them” (p.165). Saturation was evident when

conversations became silly, off topic, and when the participants no longer contributed

anything new to the research question.

However, a third meeting was scheduled if requested by the participant. For

example, since Paws was not able to attend the focus group interview in person, she

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asked if she could meet me at the art museum during her fall break to share her

sketchbook with me. No other participant requested another meeting.

Paws’s third meeting took place at the Toledo Museum of Art’s café. She wanted

to meet me in person to show me her sketchbook. I recorded our open-ended casual

conversation on a digital recorder, and with her permission, I took pictures of her work

(see Appendix R).

At the conclusion of the two focus group interviews, I had sensed the participants

had nothing new to say; however, seven months later, I had new questions to ask

participants. Therefore, all of the participants were contacted via email seven months

after the focus group interview (see Appendix I) not only asking for a member check on

their case study profiles, but also asking for further reflections and a description of the

impact of the study on their own creativity. Some responded, and others did not (see

Table 4). This last email concluded all data collection used in this study.

Refinement: Altered Methods and Procedures

Because of the nature of qualitative research, there are times that the original

procedures need to be refined or altered. Primarily, the participants’ availability initiated

refinements/alterations in this study.

There were some exceptions to my original site selection. One participant’s

mother preferred that the first interview take place in her home. I adjusted to the change

in site, and this caused some refinements to be made: I brought with me several pieces of

art from my own collection. He could not relate to these pieces of art, so he chose a piece

of his own artwork that was framed and hanging above a desk in his home. The other

adjustment was that his mother inserted herself into the beginning and at the end of the

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interview (she went for a run during the middle). This gave me insight into the context in

which he developed his creativity. Fortunately, he was able to attend the focus group

interview at the art museum: his parents are divorced and the second meeting happened to

be scheduled during the father’s weekend. He was agreeable to bringing him to the

museum.

I made another refinement for a participant who was attending graduate school in

a southern state. She was unable to attend any of the interviews in person but really

wanted to participate in the study. In order to accommodate her, I made use of Skype®,

which enabled her to participate in the initial interview and the focus group interview.

Sullivan (2012) explained that though there are some drawbacks to using Skype® as a

medium to conduct an interview with an out-of-town participant, she “suggested that the

benefits of using Skype® and other communication programs as a method of data

collection, especially in place of face-to-face interviews, definitely outweigh the

drawbacks” (p. 59). The possible drawbacks include concerns of authenticity in

interactions and some ethical concerns that someone may have access to our

conversation. In the case of Paws, she was the one who suggested that we use Skype® as

a means of communication because she truly wanted to participate in the study. Her

authenticity was never in question as I had known her as a young girl and her personality

allows only for authenticity. In addition, the fact that the topic was personal, but not

sensitive, and the fact that she suggested its use, reduced the ethical concerns.

I did have a third meeting with Paws at the art museum, at her request, as she

wanted to share her “sketchbook” with me. We met during her fall break at the museum

café where we discussed the study, and I was able to peruse her sketchbook. I also took

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photos of the drawings relevant to the study (see Appendix R).

A final refinement was to include the award winning poems to this document.

Originally, they were omitted to assure anonymity of the participants. An email was sent

to the participants asking for permission to include their award winning poems and all

granted their permission (see Appendix S).

Conclusion

In this chapter, the methodology and procedures of this qualitative, descriptive

multi-case study were defined, justified, and described. The theoretical foundation was

revisited. The theoretical underpinnings of the research design were explained. The

rationale of the research design was illustrated. The methodological framework was

explained and defended. The procedures for participant and site selection and for the data

collection were chronologically presented. The data collected will be presented in

Chapter 4. Chapter 5 will present and discuss the findings in terms of themes that

emerged from the patterns, and then explore the implications and limitations and suggest

recommendations for future research.

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Chapter Four

Data Presentation

This study presents the lived experience of creativity as told by eight young

creators. Creativity as a topic of research, the nurturing of creativity as a concern of

educators, and the funding of research of creativity have a history of neglect (Guilford,

1950; Kim, 2011, 2012; Runco & Abdullah, 2014; Torrance, 1962). This study brings

attention to and illuminates the value of creativity as an important aspect of the human

experience by examining the lives of these young creators and presenting how they

experienced creativity.

The purpose of this chapter is to present the data collected during the initial

interviews, the think-aloud participant observations, the document collection, and the two

focus group interviews. Miles and Huberman (1984) explained that the goal of a

researcher is to take the interesting parts of the data and to condense them into a format

and shape that would best display their essence. This condensing of data is a process by

which a researcher puts aside the data that becomes unessential in regards to the purpose

of the study. Wolcott (1990) best described the process in this way: “The major problem

we face in qualitative inquiry is not to get the data, but to get rid of it! With writing

always comes the painful task…of winnowing material to a manageable length,

communicating only the essence” (p. 18).

Steps to the Condensing (winnowing) Data

In order to best display the essence of the data as related to the purpose of this

study, I used several steps during the condensing process:

1. Coding the data

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2. Condensing the transcripts

3. Creating case profiles for each participant (see Appendices J-Q)

4. Condensing the case profiles into case summaries and matrices

Coding the data. After each interview, I downloaded the recording onto my

desktop. I then transcribed the recordings (for a sample of a page of transcription, see

Appendix T). After transcribing, I input the data into the Atlas TI program, which is a

tool to aid in organizing and retrieving data.

I then coded the transcriptions using my own coding schemes. I first used an

abductive coding scheme based on patterns that naturally emerged from the data

(inductive coding). Two examples of patterns found were places that influence creativity

and people who influence creativity. I then added categories based on theory (deductive

coding). Examples of deductive coding were instances where divergent or convergent

thinking occurred (as informed by the work of Guilford, 1967), and when the students

experienced flow (as informed by the work of Csíkszentmihályi, 1996). I also searched

for commonalities in home or school contexts found in the data from this study and

compared them with commonalities found Bloom’s (1985) work.

To address my own need for a visual/tactile component to the analyses, I also

used sticky notes and a board to organize the codes and my thinking (see Appendix T).

Through this process, patterns began to emerge. I then wrote descriptive memos that

included narrative notes because “data collection and analysis should be a simultaneous

process” (Merriam, 1998, p. 155).

Condensing transcripts. The second step of condensing the data was to read the

transcripts and retain only data that related to the research question, namely: How do the

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participants describe their lived experience with creativity? Some of the data collected

did not address the research question and those I put aside for, perhaps, a future study.

Though I enjoyed discussing the many topics that grew tangentially from the interview

questions, and though I surmised that these discussions helped build rapport, I

categorized as essential only text that directly related to the research question.

Creating the case profiles. I organized the remaining data collected from each

individual participant into eight case profiles. Each case profile was organized using a

uniform structure based on categories that emerged naturally from the answers to the

interview questions, the think-aloud participant observation, the document collection, and

responses to questions sent through email (if available). The order of categories does not

necessarily follow the order of interview questions. Rather, I ordered the categories

according to the emerging understanding of the data (see Table 5).

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Table 5

Categories within Cases

Categories within Each Case Profile

Art Museums and Poetry

Contests and Competitions

Earliest Creative Experiences

Current Creative Endeavors

Places to Create

Inspirations to Create: People, Activities

Obstacles in the Creative Process

Affective Experience

Thinking While Creating

Seeing and Interpreting

Ekphrastic Writing

Think-aloud Poems

Definitions of Creativity

Divergent and Convergent Thinking

Document Description

Impact of the Study

The profile of each case is located in the Appendices (see Appendices J-Q). In creating

these case profiles, I was able to present the data in an organized, easily understood

format while still maintaining the voices of the participants.

Condensing case profiles. Miles, Huberman, and Saldana (2014) said that

lengthy narratives (as found in the individual case profiles) can be “cumbersome because

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it is dispersed over many pages and is not easy to see as a whole” (p.108). Therefore, I

condensed the individual case profiles by creating case summaries utilizing matrices and

summaries to present the data. I then utilized matrices and summaries to present data

across cases.

I created the case summaries by organizing data from the case profiles around the

framework of the theoretical propositions. This next step helped me to condense the data

even more. I began writing summaries and creating matrices. Matrices are a visual

display using rows and columns that show where different types of data intersect with

one another. This type of data display is appropriate when trying to condense data into a

concise visual form (Miles et al., 2014, p. 111).

During this process of summarizing and creating matrices, I began to notice

patterns, themes, tensions, and contradictions especially while creating the matrices; this

discovery, in turn, enhanced the summaries. Creating both matrices and summaries

condensed the data into a concise format to assist the reader in comprehending the

complexity of creativity in the lived experiences of eight young creators.

To create the matrices and write the summaries, I first re-read the case profiles in

search of connections to the original propositions that emerged from the literature review.

These propositions led me to create broader categories (i.e., creativity is a topic that has a

history of neglect in both research and practice; creativity has a number of definitions;

there are external contexts that influence the development of creativity; creativity

involves a cognitive experience; creativity involves an affective experience). These

categories are fully defined in Chapter 2; however, a succinct description of each is found

below (see Table 6):

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Table 6

Explanation of Propositions

Propositions

(originally derived from Literature

Review)

Explanation of Propositions

(more fully explained in the literature review)

Neglect Creativity has a long history of being neglected

both in research and in learning environments.

Definitions Many definitions are used to define creativity.

The definitions include two aspects: originality

and value or appropriateness of the product,

process, or idea.

External Contexts Many external factors influence the awakening

and nurturing of creativity. These factors are

divided into places, people, and creative activities.

Internal Context: Cognitive The internal landscape within the creator includes

the thinking that goes on while creating. The types

of thinking examined by this study are the

inspiration to create, cognitive obstacles that

interfere with the creative process, the presence of

divergent/convergent thinking, and the creative

process itself.

Internal Context: Affective The internal landscape within the creator includes

the aesthetic and emotional experiences of

creativity.

As a means of condensing the data, I wrote summaries using quotations and

paraphrases that best reflected the lived experience of the eight young creators. I based

the selection process data that represented the essence of the experience. I determined the

essence using questions related to the propositions (see Table 7). The participants also

spent time discussing the impact of the study, so I added this as a final category to the

propositions.

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Table 7

Propositions and Related Questions

Propositions

(and impact of the study)

Related Questions

Neglect Has creativity been an area of neglect in

participants’ lives?

Definitions How do participants define creativity?

External Contexts What places do participants recall as affecting

their creativity?

Who affected participants’ creativity?

What activities did participants engage in that

awakened and nurtured their creativity?

Internal Context: Cognitive What inspires participants’ creativity?

What obstacles do participants encounter and

address while they are creating?

How do participants describe their thinking

while creating: divergent or convergent or both?

How do participants describe their creative

process?

Internal Context: Affective

Impact of the Study

What is the participants’ aesthetic response to

art when writing their think-aloud poems?

What do participants feel when they create?

How do participants describe any changes in

their perspective of or approach to creativity

because of their participation in the study?

I designed definitive citations to help the reader fully comprehend the summaries.

Using definitive citations helps establish a sense of time and place and source of each

quotation (see Table 8), which contextualizes the creators’ voices and supports the

readers’ comprehension of the creators’ lived experiences with creativity.

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Table 8

Description of Definitive Citations

Source of Data Citation used

First Interview (personal communication, date)

Think-aloud

observation

Focus group interview

(think-aloud observation, date)

(focus group, personal communication, date)

Field notes (field notes, date)

Documents

Transcript

(sketch book, date), (think-aloud poem, date)

(transcript, date)

The presentation of the data in this chapter begins with summaries of each

individual case. I ordered the case summaries by award category, beginning with the

middle school category. The summaries begin with a brief introduction to the participant

and continue with data relative to the propositions. First, I present the individual case

summaries, and then I present data found across cases.

Stars

The first interview with Stars (self-chosen pseudonym) took place on July 19,

2015 at the local art museum, and the first focus group interview took place on August

17, 2015 at a local pub. Stars was a middle grades student who entered eighth grade in

the fall of 2015. At the time of the interview, he was attending a small private school in a

community that is a blend of rural and suburban life. I was his teacher from 2011 to 2013.

During the interview, it became evident that his creativity seemed to be changing as he

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entered adolescence. He had become more focused on his physical activities and seemed

to be in transition in his preferred mode of creative expression: he was not creating as

much art as when he was younger (personal communication, July 19, 2015), though he

still enjoyed writing. Stars’s award winning poem is located at the opening of this

dissertation (see p. 1).

Neglect and definition of creativity. This section presents Stars’s perspective on

two aspects of creativity: its possible neglect and its definition.

Star’s home environment has been one that supports creativity. His parents have

given him broad experiences (i.e., family visits to the art museum, art classes taken at the

Toledo Museum of Art, a variety of outdoor experience) and provided him with a school

environment known to be supportive of creativity (focus group, personal communication,

August 17, 2015). His parents have also supported his endeavors by keeping his creative

works and providing him with encouragement, editing assistance, and transportation to

activities that promote creativity (focus group, personal communication, August 17,

2015).

It is evident that creativity has been part of Stars’s learning environment because

he stated his belief that “creativity can be part of any subject” (focus group, personal

communication, August 17, 2015). However, he must have experienced some teaching

that had no room for creativity (i.e., presenting content, practicing the content, being

assessed on the content, and then to begin the process again) because he described this

type of instruction:

I agree that all the teachers should be very passionate about what they do. It helps

students learn. It makes the environment probably a better place. The students are

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actually enjoying what they are learning, not just like getting the assignment,

doing it, taking a test, and then repeat. There is more enjoyment there. More or

less, it [teaching without creativity] is always boring. (focus group, personal

communication, August 17, 2014)

In his opinion, teaching without including creativity is not a pleasant form of instruction

because it lacks passion and creativity. In a general way, Stars spoke of some neglect of

creativity in his life but, primarily, support of creativity has been the more common

experience.

When asked to define creativity, Stars did not propose a clear definition. Rather,

he described how he engages in creativity. Stars explained how inspiration comes to him:

I could … be taking a hike in the woods or going for a bike ride and … see some

bush or tree or small pond or creek and then seeing it, just opens my mind with

thought about it. (focus group, personal communication, August 17, 2015)

Though these words do not provide a clear definition of creativity, he did describe the

impact of nature on his ability to “open” his mind to creative thoughts, which suggests a

link between nature and Stars’s creative process.

External contexts. This section presents Stars’s perspective on the external

contexts of creativity.

Places. A variety of environments encouraged Stars’s creativity. The Toledo

Museum of Art was a place where, beginning when he was a young child, he not only

viewed the exhibits, but also took classes. His elementary school was also a place that

promoted creativity as seen when he shared his perceptions on how creativity can be a

part of any content area: “Creativity just comes with the academics because you can be

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creative in any subject. I think it just comes naturally” (focus group, personal

communication, August 17, 2015).

Stars’s favorite places to create are anywhere that is outside (especially walking in

the woods) and in his room. The solitude of these two places enhance his creativity. He

actually likes “to be alone and … do [his] own thing” (personal communication, July 19,

2015). Though the school assignments encouraged creativity, the school environment

oftentimes hindered his creativity: “The classroom environment does not really make me

creative” (personal communication, July 19, 2015). The noise, the distractions, and the

time constraints interfere with his enjoyment. However, the art room is a comfortable

place to be creative and where he can “get in [his] zone. [He is] really focused and [he]

just really want[s] to get it done. [He] just want[s] to keep working” (personal

communication, July 19, 2015) when he is in the art room.

People. Stars explained that he does not hang out with creative people. He prefers

solitude. However, assignments given by his teachers and activities provided by his

parents encouraged his creativity.

Activities. Stars’s earliest memory (from his preschool years) of creating

something was that of making hand turkeys in school. He recalled the surprise and

wonder of “realizing that your hand could be a turkey. It was interesting for it to be used

differently” (personal communication, July 19, 2015). He also enjoyed when art teachers

showed the artwork of others during class. In viewing this artwork, he began to wonder

how he could re-create it “in [his] own way. [He] would spend time looking at it,

studying it, trying to figure out how to make, and use their technique with a flow of [his]

own” (personal communication, July 19, 2015).

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“At my school, we get more of the creative teaching with creative assignments”

(personal communication, July 19, 2015), explained Stars. These assignments encouraged

him to explore a variety of creative expressions. His third grade teacher introduced

students to a variety of poetry types (i.e. haiku, acrostic, limericks) and had them

construct poems based on these structures (personal communication, July 19, 2015). In

fourth grade, he wrote many poems, created a poetry book, and, through the school, was

encouraged to submit three poems to competitions. He placed in all three competitions,

and his poems were published.

Stars also recalled another creative project while studying Egypt. The assignment

was to create a pyramid out of little Styrofoam blocks. He went beyond the assignment

and made a scene around the pyramid using sand and other materials. He remembered it

being “pretty fun” (personal communication, July 19, 2015).

Stars recalled another creative assignment from art class. He was to bring in

pictures to enhance a sculpture that he was to create. The sculpture was to represent his

past, present, and future: “I made a car out of cardboard, and I did my past on like the

hood, and my present on the cab of my car, and the future…on the trunk area. That was a

pretty cool project” (personal communication, July 19, 2015).

Stars also enjoyed a personal narrative assignment. The assignment asked the

students to recall a certain event in their lives and capture all aspects of the event through

writing. He described his response to the assignment: “I just liked that. I enjoyed that

visualizing in my memory and then writing it down” (personal communication, July 19,

2015).

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At the time of the interviews, Stars’s creative endeavors also involved music and

leadership. His music included playing guitar both in a group at school and as a solitary

activity (personal communication, July 19, 2015). Leadership included student council

and planning events. Stars explained that all of these assignments and experiences at

school are examples of his creativity in action.

Internal contexts: cognitive. This section presents Stars’s perspective on the


Inspiration. Stars’s inspiration to create comes in two ways: (1) when he is

immersed in nature or (2) when he examines other peoples’ creations. He explained, “I

like to be outside when I am being creative” (focus group, personal communication,

August 17, 2015). The work of others also inspires him to use their techniques or subjects

and then interpret them in his own style (personal communication, July 19, 2015).

Obstacles. Stars spoke of two obstacles: disruption of others or of schedules and

writer’s block. He responds to these obstacles by increasing his focus. He described this

focus as having to “just start, like, thinking. Just getting into deep thought, and then it

will come to me. I'll stop writing to think. Usually I sit and think. That usually works”

(focus group, personal communication, August 17, 2015). Movement or taking a break

from the activity are not solutions used by Stars.

Divergent and convergent thinking. Stars expressed that when he was writing his

think-aloud poem, he was engaged in divergent thinking. He recalled how I sent him a

picture of his writing from the museum. He read the words that he had written down, and

they gave him the idea of his poem: “I kind of pulled from that just a little bit and my

ideas came. I don't think I pulled from anything else. I know I did not think back on those

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elements of a good poem” (focus group, personal communication, August 17, 2014). In

other words, both Stars’s ideas and use of poetic elements were the result of divergent

thinking.

Creative process. Stars described his creative process as one of trial and error. He

explained that he is constantly checking the quality of his work, so if something does not

work or does not look right or does not sound right, he tries a different way of saying it or

a different color (if he is engaged in a visual art form). Therefore, he evaluates as he

creates. (personal communication, July 19, 2015).

Another description of his creative process is thinking about contrasts: “When I

see something and I … think about it. I kind of give it contrast between two ideas. With

my poem, I put both safety and danger together” (focus group, personal communication,

August 17, 2014).

Internal context: affective. This section presents Stars’s perspective on the

affective experience of creativity.

Aesthetic. During the think-aloud, I observed that Stars did not begin with seeing

and describing the piece of art. He jumped right into interpreting (field notes, July 19,

2015):

It's different. I guess it's more, it kind of reminds me of, like a spider web except

with kids. Yeah, yeah. Um, it’s kind of like the fear of getting caught in a spider

web. I guess it is scary. (personal communication, July 19, 2015)

I reminded him that description might help him, which is when he commented on

the colors being bright “kids’ colors” and the hanging objects as being “kind of like

swings, they're like kind of like weighted but they almost look like, like, balloons. Like

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upside down balloons, but they are just like hanging there” (personal communication,

July 19, 2015). He then returned to his story: “So it is like when the kids get out, it's like

they’re being freed” (personal communication, July 19, 2015).

Emotions. When creating, Stars feels focus. He explained that this focus feels

different depending on the environment: “If I am outside, it is more like a peaceful focus.

If I am inside, I would say it is not too intense, because I'm trying to block out

[distractions], so I can get things done. When I am inside, and I am working at blocking it

out, I would say it feels somewhat peaceful” (personal communication, July 19, 2015).

He also says that he feels no emotion when he is in this state of focus (personal

communication, July 19, 2015).

Stars also described how he loses awareness of his surroundings: “I am not really

aware that people are working around me and what they are doing” (personal

communication, July 19, 2015). He even described how he might skip dinner while he is

in the middle of creating something. He said skipping meals happens when he is engaged

in divergent thinking. He explained that at the conclusion of the divergent thinking, he

suddenly recalls, "Oh wait: I haven't eaten dinner yet” (focus group, personal


Impact of the study. Stars did not respond to this question.

Michaela

The first interview with Michaela (self-chosen pseudonym) took place on August

14, 2015 and the focus group interview took place on August 23. Both meetings took

place at the Toledo Museum of Art. At the time of the interview, Michaela was a middle

grades student about to enter eighth grade in the fall of 2015. She attended a private

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elementary/middle school. Michaela is a joyful person: she is quick to laugh, enjoys

family life, school, and creating in many forms of art (field notes, August 14, 2015).

Michaela’s award winning poem may be viewed in the appendices (see Appendix V).

Neglect and definition of creativity. This section presents Michaela’s

perspective on two aspects of creativity: its possible neglect and its definition.

Michaela has never experienced any neglect in the nurturing of her creativity.

Michaela said that she comes from “a strong background in creativity” (personal

communication, August 14, 2015). She had many opportunities to create in both her

home and school since she was a young girl, and she continues to have these

opportunities.

Michaela defined creativity as “expressing yourself in unique and original ways”

(focus group, personal communication, August 23, 2015). Her definition of creativity

includes originality, but there is no mention of value. However, she does make a point of

saying that creativity is an expression of self.

External contexts. This section presents Michaela’s perspective on the external

contexts of creativity.

Places. An annual field trip to the art museum is part of Michaela’s school

curriculum. She also visits the museum both with her grandparents (her caregivers when

her parents are at work) and with her family. The visits are just “for fun, and we look

around” (personal communication, August 14, 2015).

Michaela also participated in Power of the Pen. She explained that she loves the

classroom where she practices for competitions and the environments where she

competes. She described practicing in the classroom in this way: “It’s really nice.

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Everyone is writing. You are just sitting in silence. It's actually really peaceful” (personal


Outside of her writing for Power of the Pen, Michaela described how she needs

an abundance of space when she creates (personal communication, August 14, 2015). Her

favorite place is to sprawl out on her kitchen table:

Normally, people's kitchen tables gather items. Like at my grandparents' house,

there is everything on it. But at my mom's house, there is nothing on the table, so

it's nice to just spread everything out. I can just look at everything at once, and it's

really nice. Mom's table is the best. (personal communication, August 14, 2015)

Her school also has big, open spaces in the classroom and the science room, which

addresses her need for space.

People. Michaela said that her strong background in creativity comes from the

people around her. Both of her parents are creative people. She said that her dad does not

draw and paint, but he is good with computers (he is a computer engineer focused on

outwitting hackers). Michaela described her mother as creative because she uses her

graphic design ability in her marketing work for a local travel agency.

Michaela also said her grandparents have included her in creative activities since

she was a little girl (personal communication, August 14, 2015). Her paternal

grandmother quilts, and Michaela credits this grandmother for inspiring creativity in her.

Her maternal grandmother also draws and paints. Her grandfather has been her

companion in a variety of activities that encouraged creativity (personal communication,

August 14, 2015).

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In addition, Michaela spoke of her best friend as another person who inspired

creativity in her life. She admires her friend’s determination: “If she wants to do

something, she will do it” (personal communication, August 14, 2015). This friend plays

seven instruments and competes in Power of the Pen, “where she made it to States and

that is actually really hard” (personal communication, August 14, 2015). Both Michaela

and her friend also play the ukulele; they push each other to learn new songs and improve

their craft.

Michaela then spoke very highly of her Power of the Pen coach. She admires how

her coach organizes the practices, helps them prepare for a variety of writing prompts,

encourages them in their writing, answers their questions, and accompanies them to

competitions.

Activities. Michaela’s earliest memory of a creative activity is coloring with her

grandfather (personal communication, August 14, 2015). He also was her companion in

“making blueberry pies out of Play-Dough” (personal communication, August 14, 2015)

and in taking trips to the art museum. In addition, she recalled occasionally helping her

grandmother work on quilting projects. Her grandmother also taught her how to sew.

Michaela explained that “mostly I do machine sewing, but I do know how to hand sew

(personal communication, August 14, 2015).

Michaela also talked of her fondness for theater and dance. She had previously

taken ballet lessons at a local ballet studio, and her school does an annual play or musical

in which the entire school participates (personal communication, August 14, 2015).

Usually Michaela does not enjoy drawing, but one recent project turned out to be

fun: the students were to copy a picture of an animal, but the picture and the paper they

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were drawing on, had to be in an upside-down position. When they turned the picture and

the drawing paper right side up, the animal appeared (personal communication, August

14, 2015).

Michaela also spoke of watching and enjoying the TV program, The Rachael Ray

Show: “Every day we would come home [from school], and Rachael Ray would be on. I

loved helping with the cooking. She was just so cool to me” (personal communication,

August 14, 2015). Rachael Ray has been her role model since first or second grade.

Michaela explained that watching this show had introduced her to cooking: “I do cook

dinner for the family. I can make, honestly anything. I can make pasta, or chicken, or

whatever. I do like to bake, too. I can bake cupcakes and cookies” (personal


Internal contexts: cognitive. This section presents Michaela’s perspective on the


Inspiration. Michaela explained that reading a variety of books inspires her,

especially to improve her writing for Power of the Pen competitions (personal

communication, August 14, 2015). She said that if she is reading a really good book and

likes how the author writes something, she may take note, saying to herself, “‘I really like

how the author writes that,’ and I will try to incorporate that into the next thing I write for

school or for Power of the Pen” (personal communication, August 14, 2015). She said

being in Power of the Pen has made her more aware of the author’s craft, and that she is

always looking for new ways to write.

Obstacles. Michaela explained that when she writes, she always ends up writing

too fast yet not fast enough to keep up with her thoughts. She realized that she could not

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write what she is thinking because her writing skills lag behind the pace of her thinking

(personal communication, August 14, 2015). This is a common frustration for her.

The other obstacle Michaela encounters is that she can never piece together parts

of the story that she has written. For example, sometimes she will start writing a story

that she is excited about. When the first part of the story is completely written, she

realizes that she does not know how to end it. Other times she comes up with perfect

ending to a story, but has no idea how to start it (personal communication, August 14,

2015). She addresses this obstacle by consulting her Power of the Pen coach who helps

her see alternative ways to overcome these challenges.

Divergent and convergent thinking. Michaela explained that when she was

writing her poem for the think-aloud, she “began the poem with divergent thinking and

ended with convergent thinking” (focus group, personal communication, August 23,

2015). She wondered if beginning solely with divergent thinking might be causing her

second obstacle (not being able to piece together her stories). She said, “When does my

thinking switch to convergent? Honestly, I think I need to focus more on that. At the end,

I am thinking convergently, but it might help if I started earlier (focus group, personal


Creative process. Michaela’s creative process is evident when she described her

writing during Power of the Pen practices and competitions. It was also observed when

she was writing her think-aloud poem. First, she described how Power of the Pen writing

begins with divergent thinking:

In the beginning of writing your story for Power of the Pen, you have to be really,

really creative. You can't think logically at the beginning. You can't have the same

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story as everybody else. Thinking of a prompt, I am sure ten of those people in the

room would think of the same thing, but you can't just write about the first thing

that you think of because everybody is going to write about that....You really have

to think about it before you start writing. (personal communication, August 23,

2015)

In looking at the sketchbook, Michaela used while writing the think-aloud poem,

there is also evidence of divergent thinking in her organized brainstorming. She began at

the top of the page with what appeared to be three ideas to include in the poem. She

numbered these. A lightly penciled, slightly wavy line separates this section from the

second section. The second section is a list of images associated with ideas each

beginning with a dash. Within each line is another dash that separates the ideas from the

images (document description, August 23, 2015).

Internal contexts: affective. This section presents Michaela’s perspective on the


Aesthetic experience. Michaela’s approach to the piece of art chosen for her

think-aloud poem gives insight into her aesthetic response to the chosen piece of art.

Instead of taking time to note the details of the necklace and describe them, she

immediately began to interpret the art piece. She began with these words: “So I see it as

you are getting help from like everyone, and you are piecing things together that you get

from different people to make one [necklace]…” (think-aloud, personal communication,

August 14, 2015).

Michaela described her plan of structuring and creating her poem. She explained:

“I want the first part of it to be about the person owning the necklace, so I guess I'll just

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brainstorm about the owner first and then about how each piece means something

different” (personal communication, August 14, 2015).She spoke of constructing a

symbol of kindness and of people being willing to help others in need. At this point, her

“seeing” of the necklace had stopped, and she had moved to creating her poem.

I began to wonder where she was getting her ideas, so I pointed to different items

on the necklace. It became evident that she missed so many of the details in this piece of

art. This is evident when she said, “That reminds me of a human heart, or a squid. The

fork? Oh, my gosh, I didn't even see the fork…I don't know how I feel about that”

(personal communication, August 14, 2015). She took note of these details and added

them to her writing, but her spoken thoughts returned to her original idea of kindness

while incorporating some of the images:

It could also symbolize the heart, the kindness from everyone who is giving the

person stuff who is creating the necklace. Yeah, it does look like a man. It's kind

of cool because it kind of looks like...in my way of looking at it…it looks like the

kindness of everyone giving the items for the necklace. It's like kindness is the

food for the heart, if that makes sense. It’s kindnesses [that are] helping this

person. (personal communication, August 14, 2015)

Emotions. “Excited” is the word Michaela used to describe how she feels when

she is creating (personal communication, August 14, 2015). She explained: “As soon as I

get an idea of what I am going to write, I'm like, ‘Oh my gosh.’ If I really like it, I have to

write about that. So I get excited” (personal communication, August 14, 2015). This

excitement mellows a bit after writing for about twenty minutes.

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Michaela also used the word “peaceful” when she described what it feels like

when she is immersed in writing:

It is also very peaceful to be trapped, not so much trapped into it, but so focused

that you are not paying attention to the fact that maybe you have five things going

on tomorrow and maybe you are stressed out or something. It is so peaceful to just

focus on just what you are doing. I don't even think about those five things: they

are non-existent. (personal communication, August 14, 2015)

This absorption causes her to lose a sense of her surroundings. She claimed:

If someone is talking behind me, and I'm so engrossed in what I'm doing, I won't

even pay attention. Like if my mom is trying to talk to me, I'm not very observant.

Sometimes if we are running late for something, she has to bring me out of it.

(personal communication, August 14, 2015)

Impact of the study. Participating in this study has led Michaela to reflect on her

creative process. This is evident when she said that she now notices that she is “more

aware of her thinking while she is creating” (personal communication, August 23, 2015).

This makes sense as she had wondered if divergent thinking was preventing her from

writing a whole story with a good beginning, middle, and end.

Alex

The first interview with Alex (self-chosen pseudonym) took place on July 21,

2015 and the first focus group interview took place on August 23. Both took place at the

local art museum. At the time of the interviews, he was about to enter his freshman year

in the fall. He explained that he attends a private middle school/high school. He is a

serious student yet enjoys the company of others and responds to the kindness of the

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adults in his life (field notes, July 21, 2015). Alex’s award winning poem may be viewed

in the appendices (see Appendix V).

Neglect and definition of creativity. This section presents Alex’s perspective on


Alex has not experienced a neglect of attention to his creativity. Alex comes from

a home that supports creativity (personal communication, July 21, 2015). He explained

that his parents have provided him with rich experiences such as traveling to Italy,

housing foreign exchange students from Italy and China, providing him piano lessons,

and seeking out other opportunities for him to experience the world. There is even an

article in the local newspaper describing a science event that he attended with his father

when he was five years old (personal communication, July 21, 2015).

His school has also provided him with many opportunities to engage in creative

activities. The school offers a wide variety of electives: “band or choir, art, puzzles and

games, media, yearbook, drafting and design—which is kind of like architecture”

(personal communication, July 21, 2015). He explained that homework at his school also

has a creative element to it (personal communication, July 21, 2015).

Alex initially defined creativity as “a way to express yourself that you can't

normally express with words. Not everyone is as eloquent as other people, so sometimes

they have to do it in different ways” (focus group, personal communication, August 23,

2015). After listening to the other participants’ definitions, he refined his definition to

“being able to express yourself in different ways” (focus group, personal communication,

August 23, 2015). His definition included both originality and expression of self.

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External contexts. This section presents Alex’s perspective on the external

context of creativity.

Places. Alex recalled first visiting the art museum when he was seven or eight

years old. His parents wanted him to see the mummy exhibition (personal

communication, July 21, 2015). He said a yearly trip to the art museum is part of what his

family does for entertainment. He and his family usually go to the museum for special

events or new exhibits (personal communication, July 21, 2015). He also remembered

taking an art class as a young child at the museum (personal communication, July 21,

2015).

As far as poetry, he remembered reading Shel Silverstein in third grade (personal

communication, July 21, 2015). He revisited poetry in his English class before writing for

the Ekphrastic Poetry Contest. Alex also clarified that he only writes poetry at school. He

prefers writing stories, which he does at home.

Alex has favorite places to create at both home and school. His favorite place to

create at home is in his room. He explained, “It's quiet, and I'm used to doing homework

in there” (personal communication, July 21, 2015). His favorite places to create at school

are in his math teacher’s classroom and in the campus ministry office. Alex explained

that since both of his parents work, he has to stay after school every day. Both of these

places provide comfort and company of other students, both of which encourage his

creativity when completing his homework assignments. He also commented that he

enjoys the company of his math teacher. What is surprising is that he did not find the art

room to be an after-school creative place:

The art room just doesn't seem like the best place to be creative. Campus

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ministry is more like a relaxing place. The other one, the math classroom, is just a

normal classroom, but the teacher, he was my favorite teacher. He's really nice.

(personal communication, July 21, 2015)

People. Alex explained that he comes from a home that supports creativity. His

mother is involved in arts and crafts and in scrapbooking. She is so committed to these

endeavors that she has designated rooms in the house for pursuing these interests. His

grandmother quilts and participates in (and wins) quilting competitions. His father seeks

out unique opportunities for his son to experience.

Other than the English teacher who introduced Alex to ekphrastic poetry and his

math teacher, he makes no mention of particular teachers as influencing his creativity. He

just said that the class activities and assignments have creative components. He also does

not mention any particular friends influencing his creativity. At this point in his life, his

family appears to be the biggest influence.

Activities. Alex’s earliest memories with creativity were also in the home. He

remembered being a preschooler and having an easel, which he used for painting

(personal communication, July 21, 2015). He would splash colors on the paper. He also

recalled having little books that he used for both writing and illustrating stories (personal


He then described a project that he did when he was about nine years old. He got

a piece of canvas that was framed in wood. He took wine corks and dabbed one end into

various colors of paint that he had found in his grandfather’s collection of paint. He then

used that end of the cork to make dots on the canvas. He alternated red, orange, and

yellow using a different cork when he changed colors. He gave this painting to his

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grandmother, and he remembered her loving it. He was especially proud because he came

up with the idea of using corks like stamps (personal communication, July 21, 2015).

As he got older, his parents introduced him to music. He used to play the

saxophone and took years of piano lessons. Occasionally, he stills play piano (personal

communication, July 21, 2015). Alex also explained how he enjoys musicals: “I was in

one in fifth grade...It actually was one of the high school musicals. It was the Wizard of

Oz that year. It was fun” (personal communication, July 21, 2015).

Since he has been in middle school, Alex has taken art as an elective every year.

He hopes to continue this through high school. The art classes have inspired him possibly

to study architecture in college.

His drawing has moved beyond paper/pencil drawing to using a drawing app on

his tablet, which he brought to both meetings (the initial meeting and the focus group

meeting). He explained that he still uses paper and pencil, but he enjoys using the tablet

because it is easier to improve the artwork: “You can erase mistakes, so you can try [it]

over again and then get better and better” (personal communication, July 21, 2015).

He also told of how he recently went to the Toledo Museum of Art Glass Pavilion

to explore the art of making glass objects (personal communication, July 21, 2015).

These descriptions of creative activities illustrate how his experiences with creativity

began as a young child and continue even to the present day.

Internal contexts: cognitive. This section presents Alex’s perspective on the

cognitive experience with creativity.

Inspiration. Alex explained, “Playing instruments helps me [to] be creative.

When I did play piano, or whatever, it always felt better to be creative after I did that”

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(personal communication, July 21, 2015). Other than music making, he could not really

think of any other activities that inspired him to create. He explained this by saying, “I'm

not really sure because most of the things I've done to be creative have been either for

school or just whenever I felt like it. I never really connected it to any activity” (personal


Obstacles. When Alex is “stuck” in the middle of creating something, he

approaches the obstacle in this way:

I kind of go into a problem solving mode, or I kind of put it off [for] a day until I

have better knowledge of what I think. Sometimes I think about it for a while and

look at it until the problem is solved. (personal communication, July 21, 2015)

He clearly states that when faced with an obstacle, “exercise and movement do not help,

but sitting and thinking does” (personal communication, July 21, 2015).

Divergent and convergent thinking. When he is writing fiction, Alex described

his thinking as divergent (focus group, personal communication, August 23, 2015). In

contrast, if he is trying to draw a picture, he sees the thinking more as convergent because

“because you are trying to make something that you already have in your head” (focus

group, personal communication, August 23, 2015). While he was trying to write his

award winning poem, Alex defined his thinking as divergent in the beginning but ending

with convergent thinking:

I wasn't really thinking about structure. I was just trying to think about getting all

of my ideas down. And the structure just came, kind of came, during that process.

During the re-write, I was thinking more convergently because everything would

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have to be the same from stanza to stanza. (focus group, personal communication,

August 23, 2015)

Creative process. When Alex is creating, he said that his focus is on the process

of creating and on the quality of the product. He explained his thinking in this way:

"Okay, what's going to come next?" or "How will it be better?" (personal communication,

July 21, 2015). When asked to explain his process of constructing his think-aloud poem,

he said, “I was trying to picture the picture and mainly use some of the details and to

make it more into a moving picture (personal communication, July 21, 2015). Adding

movement to a still piece of art was his goal.

I then asked him how he decided on four lines. He responded that that his

decisions were more intuitive rather than decisive: “It just ended up like that, so the other

one could have the same rhythm. So this was just flowing, and that, because of this flow,

helped me make the decision for the next one” (personal communication, July 21, 2015).

He then concluded that he had finished a draft and then said with a chuckle that he

needed to “look it over and see if it makes any sense” (personal communication, July 21,

2015).

Internal context: affective. This section presents Alex’s perspective on the


Aesthetic response. When writing his ekphrastic poem, Alex first took note of

what was in the picture by describing it. Then he began to interpret it. However, he

returned to looking at the picture, describing it, and then once again, began to interpret

the painting. This became a recursive activity that continued until his poem was

completely written (think-aloud observation, July 21, 2015).

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Emotions. Alex explained that he takes art at school just because he likes it, and

he feels “it's a good way to the end the day: that is with something creative other than

homework and school work” (personal communication, July 21, 2015). He explained that

he uses art as a way to relax and decompress from the day. He described his feelings

while creating in this way: “It's relaxing. It's focused. I'm still focusing on this, but if

someone is talking to me, I can do both okay” (personal communication, July 21, 2015).

Impact of the study. Alex said that he is more thoughtful about his creative

process. He said, “Yeah, I am thinking about what I am doing rather than just doing it,

just to do it (focus group, personal communication, August 23, 2015). Participating in the

study appears to have made him more reflective while engaged in creating.

Nevada

The first interview with Nevada (self-chosen pseudonym) took place on July 28,

2015 in his mother’s home, and the focus group interview took place on August 23,

which took place at the local art museum. He entered his sophomore year of high school

in the fall of 2015. He was attending a private high school and had previously attended

two other private elementary and middle schools. He is a former student of mine. I had

the privilege of being his sixth grade teacher. Then, and now, he impresses me with his

delight in creating and his joy of being with others. Nevada’s award winning poem may

be viewed in the appendices (see Appendix X).

Neglect and definition of creativity. This section presents Nevada’s perspective

on two aspects of creativity: its possible neglect and its definition.

Nevada described the neglect of creativity in his home. He said that neither his

mother nor his stepmother is creative. He explained, “My mom tries to make me come

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out with being artistic and stuff, but it doesn't really work” (personal communication,

July 28, 2015). He also said that making music has not been part of his home life. He

said, “I do like to make music, though I don't play any instruments. I should, but I don't.

It was just never a thing for our family to play an instrument” (personal communication,

July 28, 2015). Though his home lacked creative experiences, school made up for it:

“Home or my bedroom are not where I am creative. All my creative stuff has been at

school” (personal communication, July 28, 2015).

Nevada defined creativity in this way: “Creativity is using your imagination, your

own ideas, and putting it down on paper through your own skills such as like drawing,

poems, or writing” (focus group personal communication, August 23, 2015). His

definition emphasized the self as the source of originality.

External contexts. This section presents Nevada’s perspective on the external


Places. Art museums have been an important context for Nevada’s creativity.

Nevada explained that primarily school field trips have brought him to the art museum,

though he has visited both the Toledo Museum of Art and the Cleveland Museum of Art

at the request of a creative cousin who lives in Cleveland (personal communication, July

28, 2015).

Another important place (Nevada’s favorite place) to create is in school. He

explained his preference:

I like being around people, and it is too solitary at home. I don't like being by

myself and thinking by myself. It is both the people my age and the teachers that

make school a good place to create. It really has nothing to do with space. It is the

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people: teachers, friends, and kind of my cousin. (personal communication, July

28, 2015)

People. These teachers, friends, occasionally his cousin, and his soon-to-be

stepsister influenced Nevada’s creativity. They each, in their own way, invited him into

the creative world.

Nevada talked about several teachers who affected his creativity. He had “a very

good teacher from kindergarten through third grade” (personal communication, July 28,

2015). He described her as “tall, with short hair and glasses, and being really

enthusiastic” (personal communication, July 28, 2015). He also had poetry come alive for

him in sixth grade. His math teacher would read a book of poems to the class and the

students sat and listened. To this day, he still likes poetry read aloud to him. He also

recalled how I was his teacher for language arts, and how I had him write a variety of

poems and then create a scrapbook with them. The scrapbook has become a beloved

artifact in his family, and he later gave one of those poems as a gift to his grandmother

(personal communication, July 28, 2015). His art teachers from kindergarten through

eighth grade assigned memorable art projects and his high school teachers incorporate

creativity in their instruction and their assignments (personal communication, July 28,

2015).

Nevada spoke of the creative influence of younger family members on his passion

to create. He described the cousin who accompanied him to the art museums as “really,

really artistic” (personal communication, July 28, 2015). Nevada also spoke of his

stepsister as being “super artistic. We do create stuff together. She has canvas and stuff.

For Father's Day, she's like, ‘How about if you paint something?” (personal

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communication, July 28, 2015). Her suggestion inspired him to create a painting for his

father. There was also one particular friend in intermediate and middle school. Nevada

described this friend as being “really creative,” and as being the one who helped him

make poetic and artistic decisions for his poetry scrapbook.

Activities. Nevada fondly recalled numerous creative activities, all of which

occurred in school. The earliest recollection of creating was making art with shaving

cream sprayed on his desk. He said, “I guess I liked it because I remember the shaving

cream on the table and drawing on it” (personal communication, July 28, 2015).

Another activity was painting a picture in kindergarten. The assignment was to

choose three emotions from a list and then create facial expressions depicting those

emotions. He said, “I chose the emotions that looked funny. I liked the way the letters

looked and the way they sounded. Hysterical, ecstatic, and mad. One is a one-syllable

word and the others are multi-syllable. I still have it” (personal communication, July 28,

2015). The painting hangs above a desk in his home (field notes, July 28, 2015).

He also recalled when his third grade teacher had the class “draw a house like

other artists did. She would show us a book with all of his art in it. I liked looking at the

other art” (personal communication, July 28, 2015). Like Stars, he enjoyed looking at

artwork created by others and then adding his own interpretation.

Nevada also described making the poetry scrapbook as a fun project. He

explained the experience in this way: “I then made [the poems] into a scrapbook, which

was cool. The art part and the poetry part coming together is what I liked about it”

(personal communication, July 28, 2015). The blending of two art forms surprised and

delighted him.

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His middle school art teacher also assigned memorable projects. One project

involved making props for a school play. This play used shadow art as a backdrop for the

actors, so they had to make props that would move as shadows behind a large screen:

I remember making all the background things for the screen. All the things that

you put behind the screen that made a shadow. The scene involved music and

movement. I was pulling together ideas from both to make the props. I made a

turtle because I liked turtles at the time. (personal communication, July 28, 2015)

Another art project that he recalled was when he got to make giant food (personal

communication, July 28, 2015). He told me:

I like choosing what I get to do. We got to choose the food for the giant food, and

I made a giant Tootsie Roll because, at the time, they were my favorite food. I

even ate them when I had braces. (personal communication, July 28, 2015)

Both of these projects show that his inner-self inspired his artistic choices. In addition,

combining drawing with other art forms in order to create something new satisfied his

creative self.

A final recollection of a creative activity in school was in math. He recalled how

his math teacher

…gave us an activity [where] we had to go around and find certain geometric

ideas like a right angle and so you would have to take a picture of it. Then you

would have to color on it and show it. She made you look into stuff. I thought that

was pretty fun. (personal communication, July 28, 2015)

He also very much enjoyed writing his ekphrastic poem for the contest sponsored

by the art museum. He recalled an unfortunate mix-up with his home address (he had

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moved to a new place with his mother after his parents’ divorce), and he never received

notification of his honorable mention (personal communication, July 28, 2015). Because

of this, he missed the awards reception and the joy of publically sharing his poetry. The

mix-up still bothers him to this day (personal communication, July 28, 2015).

Internal contexts: cognitive. This next section presents Nevada’s perspective on

the cognitive experience of creativity.

Inspiration. Nevada is inspired to be creative at school through the different

assignments (personal communication, July 28, 2015). He also spoke of going on-line for

inspiration: “I just go on Google for ideas. I looked up canvas painting ideas for teens”

(personal communication, July 28, 2015). His online search provided him with idea for

the painting he gave to his father.

Obstacles. His obstacles are more exterior than interior and his solutions vary

depending on the obstacle. He often smears his drawings, which is a constant source of

frustration. If he cannot fix it with an eraser, he throws away the original and begins

again. Oftentimes, he doesn’t understand teachers’ directions. He has learned to ask for

help from a friend or the teacher, where before he would merely sit in his frustration and

do nothing. The third obstacle occurs in his writing: not being able to think of just the

right word. He now uses a thesaurus to overcome that particular obstacle (personal


Divergent and convergent thinking. Nevada said that when he is writing fiction,

he is thinking divergently (focus group, personal communication, August 23, 2015).

However, this was not the case when writing his think-aloud poem. He began his poem

with the intention of using a haiku structure. This structure was too constrictive for all he

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wanted to say about the piece of art he had chosen to respond to: “When tried to put it all

into a haiku I started going 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7. It's the convergent, linear

thinking” (focus group, personal communication, August 23, 2015). After many attempts

to work with the haiku structure, he put the work away and never finished the poem.

Creative process. Nevada begins his creative process with a type of associative

brainstorming. He described his process in this way:

When I am creating, I think about the subject and anything that goes along with it.

For example, when I was writing the dog limerick, I kept thinking, for sure of my

own dogs. I think about my own experiences. I try to bring them into words or

into a painting or whatever. I am pulling on memories. First I have a memory and

sometimes it just flows in the head, and like, away it goes! (personal

communication, July 28, 2015)

He also described his process as a coming together of different elements as seen when he

made his poetry book and his shadow art. He said, “In my poetry book, I pulled together

poetry, art, and music” and in the shadow art, “The scene involved music and movement.

I was pulling together ideas of both for the props” (personal communication, July 28,

2015).

Internal context: affective. This section presents Nevada’s perspective on the


Aesthetic response. Once Nevada decided on which piece of art he was going to

write about, he immediately made a writing decision: “Definitely the emotions part is

what I would write about right away” (think-aloud observation, July 28, 2015). Then he

began with a vivid description of the piece: “Things that pop out at me are their eyes,

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they are undefined, kind of discolored, not quite realistic, he was angry, and then these

squiggles” (think-aloud observation, July 28, 2015). He then began to make personal

connections with the piece of art:

I always have liked blue and mad goes with red, and I always think of happy as

yellow. Ecstatic is kind of like an extreme happy. I always liked the mix of colors

in his mouth. I always try to make those correct[ly], and it never happens except

for in this [painting]. Like drawing a two-pieced mouth. Then the crooked teeth; I

used to have crooked teeth. They always say I have a big smile. That was always

me. (Think-aloud observation, July 28, 2015)

After describing the painting and verbalizing connections between the painting

and himself, he began structuring the poem:

I would talk about the emotions first. Probably about the eyes because the eyes

show a lot of emotion. And then the smiles and then probably round it out. I plan

this structure in my head before I begin writing. Haiku is five-seven-five. I like

Haikus. Free verse is too unstructured. I like structure. I would probably use an

emotion for each line. (think-aloud observation, July 28, 2015)

Unfortunately, this clearly defined structure, which had previously brought him success,

became an obstacle. The words he wanted to use to describe the feelings he wanted to

express had too many syllables, and he could not fit them into a haiku structure. Rather

than abandoning the structure, he abandoned the poem.

Affective experience. Nevada explained that when the creating is going well, he

feels excited and happy. He used these words to describe happy feelings of successful

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creative work: “‘I got this.’ It lasts the whole time unless I stumble upon something that

needs help” (personal communication, July 28, 2015).

Impact of the study. Nevada had no response to this question.

Dr. J

The first interview with Dr. J (self-chosen pseudonym) occurred on August 1,

2015 and the focus group interview occurred on August 23. Both took place at the local

art museum. Dr. J entered his senior year the fall of 2015. He attended a local, public

high school in a district where he had been a student since second grade. He has a

diagnosis of autism, but his brilliance, drive to create, thoughtfulness of others, and

interesting perspectives and approaches to creativity are characteristics that are most

notable (field notes, August 1, 2015). Dr. J’s award winning poem may be viewed in the

appendices (see Appendix Y).

Neglect and definition of creativity. This section presents Dr. J’s perspective on


Both Dr. J’s home life and school experiences have been void of creative

influences. He explained that no one in his family is creative, which was corroborated by

his mother (personal communication, August 1, 2015). He said that his mom supports his

creativity even though she has no idea what creativity is and has no interest in the subject

matter. He also told me that he has few memories of school as “it was so boring

compared to his thoughts” (personal communication, August 1, 2015). Even his art

classes were not inspiring because he feels “you can't tell someone what to do when it

comes to art. I’m not talking about technique, but about subject matter because art is just

a way of expressing one's self using a variety of mediums” (personal communication,

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August 1, 2015). Even when asked about band, which is an activity that he really enjoys,

he responded that his band teachers have 140 students in band, so they do not have time

for individuals: “If the teachers want to talk with a student, it is because the student is in

trouble” (personal communication, August 1, 2015). These examples clearly describe the

school and home environments as lacking creativity.

External contexts. This section presents Dr. J’s perspective on the external


Places. Dr. J spoke of enjoying and frequently visiting the local art museum. His

parents have also taken him to the Royal Ontario Museum (personal communication,

August 1, 2015). He likes to look at art, especially abstract art, because it is like an

intellectual puzzle: “I like the abstract, the hidden patterns and meanings” (personal


Dr. J’s favorite place to create is in his dining room. The dining room is the center

of activity in his house, and he prefers this space to being isolated (personal

communication, August 1, 2015). It also provides for all of his needs:

I have this chair that is right next to a couple of outlets, so I can make sure my

iPod is always charged or my laptop. There is plenty of light. I need light to

create. It doesn't need to be natural light, but it has to have bright lights. (personal


Dr. J’s favorite place to create at school is in the band room. Though the

curriculum and instruction in band is not based on creativity, he does see the band room

as the center of creativity because of the atmosphere created by the students (personal


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People. Dr. J has two sets of people who affect his creativity: his friends in the

band and his on-line community of science fiction writers (personal communication,

August 1, 2015). Dr. J is a member of the organization called the SCP (Secure, Contain,

Protect) Foundation2®. The SCP is a community of amateur science fiction writers who

pretend to be a fictitious government organization that researches anomalies. The writers

are all anonymous and there are rules of civility and intellectualism that guide the work

exchanged on the website. He explained how this website helps writers:

They design a creature or they take a completely normal object and just give it

properties that just make no sense and defy logic. Then they make test cases and

everything on it. I took a lot of those objects and put them in my book. I got

permission because it is under a license that says they want to encourage

creativity. (personal communication, August 1, 2015)

Activities. Dr. J’s earliest memory of a creative activity was being in pre-school

and requesting the Lois Ehlert book, Eating the Alphabet. He explained: “That was my

first book. I was attracted to the abstract art in the book” (personal communication,

August 1, 2015). He also recalled enjoying Eric Carle’s watercolors.

He then described a kindergarten experience in computer class:

We had computer classes back in kindergarten. We used Microsoft paint and

when the guy’s just saying, “Okay, take out the line and draw a straight line,” I

was drawing all sorts of things on there. I wasn't following directions. I was just

scribbling around stuff. I [built] cityscapes on Microsoft Paint. I would draw little

2SCP Foundation®: a collaborative writing website. It is used by writers of science fiction, urban fantasy,

and horror.

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characters in there. Then I would use the select tool, move them around, and I

would play it like a video game. I was six years old when I was doing this. That

was my first video game. That's my earliest memory of creating something.


He also recalled a particular art project that he enjoyed. A pinecone, a little

ceramic pot, a blank CD were given to the students, and they were told to make a

Christmas tree out of it: “I liked it because it was abstract and three-D. I like 3-D stuff”


Currently, he writes poems and narratives. His favorite genre is science fiction or

anything that is “really complicated” as he enjoys intellectual puzzles. He explained: “I

actually wrote a science fiction novella. One hundred and forty seven handwritten pages”

(personal communication, August 1, 2015). In addition to the novella, he also has written

a 300-page novel. He also draws Pokémon® and Anime® as he is interested in the art

and stories of Anime® (personal communication, August 1, 2015).

Dr. J then added that he reads poetry about once per week. He explained, “I like

to read poetry because it is something that makes me think. I like to find the meaning

behind it” (personal communication, August 1, 2015).

Internal contexts: cognitive. This section presents Dr. J’s perspective on the


Inspiration. Dr. J prefers to listen to music when writing because it helps him

create moods and emotions in his story (personal communication, August 1, 2015). He

explained:

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Depending on the mood of the setting that I am trying to create...if I am writing an

action scene, I'll listen to something fast paced. I'll listen to something sad if it is a

dramatic scene or something. That helps me visualize better. It's not the words,

but the music, that stimulates me. (personal communication, August 1, 2015)

Dr. J said he also finds inspiration reading and interacting with his on-line community,

the SCP Foundation.

Obstacles. Dr. J explained that one of the obstacles that he encounters is his mind

being easily distracted. If he gets a new idea while working on a piece of writing, he has

to figure out “a way to incorporate it in my work, so it doesn't come out completely

unrelated. Or if not, I just go on a hiatus. I just put it in a drawer and just waiting until I

feel inspired again” (personal communication, August 1, 2015). He may put the work

aside and have a cup of tea, watch some Anime, or maybe he will go on a bike ride. He

usually has to get up and do something.

Writer's block is another obstacle of his. To resolve this, he goes back to his

previous writings for inspiration. He may also go to the SPC Foundation to look up other

articles that will inspire him (personal communication, August 1, 2015).

Another obstacle is he has difficulty writing about a character’s emotions.

Because he claims not to feel many emotions, he struggles with creating them in writing,

so he does this: “I play music that depicts the emotion, so I can write or create the

emotion” (personal communication, August 1, 2015).

Divergent and convergent thinking. Dr. J explained that both convergent and

divergent thinking are part of his creative process:

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I am very convergent when I am drawing since I exclusively draw Anime. So

when I am drawing a character, I always start with a basic head. Then I do the

same set: I'll add the body and the hair and it is the same process every single

time. I have a certain linear method, step by step, one way of drawing. (focus

group, personal communication, August 23, 2015)

However, when he is writing fiction, Dr. J uses music to inspire the divergent thinking

(focus group, personal communication, August 23, 2015). Listening to music helps him

reach deep into himself, so he can write about the emotions felt by his characters and

create the tone of his story.

Creative process. Dr. J’s thoughts while creating are deep and complex. They

reflect a tension between the desire to create something that is abstract, different, and

surreal while at the same time keeping it familiar. He explained: “I am trying to think of

the real sciences that can be practical, but still different enough, so that they can be

original and interesting” (personal communication, August 1, 2015). He also said that

though he may plan a structure ahead of time, the writing afterwards is intuitive as he fills

in the details: “There are lots of surprises because of my tangents. So when I am writing

those tangents, I am not thinking. They are more intuitive” (personal communication,

August 1, 2015). This description points to divergent thinking.

Looking at the writing in the sketchbook used during the think-aloud (see

Appendix V), I noticed that Dr. J began at the top of the page and ended at the bottom. I

also noticed that there were no cross outs, though perhaps there are two possible erasures:

it is difficult to tell, as they could just be smears. Nevertheless, he surprised me by

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completing the poem before our interview time was up. He worked very quickly (think-

aloud observation, August 1, 2015) while still maintaining the think-aloud procedures.

Internal context: affective. This section presents Dr. J’s perspective on the


Aesthetic experience. Dr. J chose a piece of art and began describing both the

details of the painting and the associated emotions that he perceived. After reading the

title of the work of art (Woman Haunted by the Passage of the Bird Dragonfly Omen of

Bad News), he saw even more in the piece of art and actually changed his interpretation

(think-aloud observation, August 1, 2015). This shows an openness to new ideas during

his creative process.

Emotions. When Dr. J is drawing, he feels excitement. Even though he claims not

to be an emotional person, he did say, “When I am just going, going and going, and I get

excited, when I create the concept with the main villain and stuff, and when all is moving

along, I feel joy” (personal communication, August 1, 2015).

He explained even further, “When I am creating new ideas or improving existing

ideas, I am being productive and that gives me a peaceful feeling. When I am creating, I

feel both energized and relaxed. When I am creating, I am not that aware (personal


Impact of the study. When asked if he is thinking about creativity differently

now that he has participated in the study, Dr. J said, “I am actually thinking about it

more, analyzing it instead of just doing” (focus group, personal communication, August

23, 2015). Like the others in the focus group, being in the study has increased awareness

of his own creative process.

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Raph

The first interview with Raph (self-chosen pseudonym) took place on August 11,

2015 at the local art museum and the first focus group interview took place on August 17

at a local pub. He currently is a college sophomore studying English. He is an

introspective young man who participated in this study as a means of becoming aware of

his own creative process and that of others (focus group, personal communication,

August 17, 2015). Raph’s award winning poem may be viewed in the appendices (see

Appendix Z).

Neglect and definition of creativity. This section presents Raph’s perspective on


Raph has experienced the neglect in creativity in his own life. He viewed his

parents as being non-creative and having little influence on his own creativity. School

was also seen as a place lacking in creativity. Raph explained this to be true even in

content areas where you would expect creative opportunities such as music and band.

Except for a few experiences, he saw his schooling as a place where creativity was not

the norm. His joy of going to college and being a part of a creative environment is

captured in these words, “So college was like a breath of fresh air” (personal


His personal definition of creativity gives insight into his lived experience with

creativity. It includes both the ideas of originality and value common in the formal

definitions of creativity presented in Table 1. He defined creativity in this way:

Creativity is being able to take things from different areas, whether or not they are

relevant and then making them relevant… the ideas are likely to be relevant in the

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first place, so shining light in different areas and being able to pull them in …

there is the initial idea which has the dark corners that haven't been uncovered yet,

which can be explored through creativity. Then there is also the idea of taking a

completely different area and putting the idea in there and making it conform. I

think that [creative people] are good at expressing [relevance between opposing

ideas] in ways that are not typical, but are still applicable and relatable. (focus

group, personal communication, August 17, 2015)

Originality is found in the words “in ways not typical” and value is communicated when

he says the product is “applicable and relatable” (focus group, personal communication,

August 17, 2015). His definition also gives insight into his process: a random act of

putting together unrelated areas and making them one.

External contexts. This section presents Raph’s perspective on how he

experiences the external context of creativity.

Places. Though Raph did not see school as a place that nurtured his creativity, he

was introduced to the local art museum through school field trips as an elementary school

student. In high school, he visited the museum website and there he found the Ekphrastic

Poetry Contest, where his poem received an award. He did not enter this contest as a

school assignment. Rather, he saw it as an opportunity to write poetry. Therefore, the

local art museum affected his creativity.

He also mentioned two other places that affected his creativity. He described how

ideas seem to come to him when he is in the shower. He also said that moving from place

to place has stimulated his creativity where being in one place can stagnate his creativity.

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He described the experience of walking on campus and coming up with idea of making a

multi-player computer game:

I was walking back from class, I thought, “Hey, I can use the concepts from the

schema theory class and use previous economic theory (because I am also doing

economics) and work that in.” I am pulling in the things I am learning from class,

and creating something new. I am pulling it from a bunch of different areas. The

walking around from place to place clears my head and lets me think. There are

different memory associations with it. If I think of an idea, and I am at a certain

location on campus, [when] I walk by that place on campus again, I am going to

think about that idea again. At that point, I am going to have new ideas, so it

helps. Surroundings and memory associations help me create. (personal


People. Though Raph’s parents were not influential in his creativity, he

mentioned two other family members who were influential: his sister and his cousin.

His sister was the source of creative fun as a child. Together they constructed

creations with Legos without following the directions, organized an animal conservation

club at church, and produced a mini-magazine. Raph explained, “She was the first person

who really gave me strong feedback on what I did and, just in general, developed my

creativity and my desire to create things (personal communication, August 11, 2015).

His cousin influenced him to study and become a writer. He recalled,

It was back in elementary school for me when she was telling us how great it was

to be a writer because that is what she was really into at the time. She was also

doing acting a little bit then, too. But she was also really into writing. So she kind

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of inspired me into that, so I credit her for being the first one to push me in that

direction. (personal communication, August 11, 2015)

Other cousins were involved in theater, making a movie, and playing in bands. When

they all got together, they shared their projects and experiences.

Raph also credited a particular teacher and his college professors. The teacher,

who was “creative and energetic” (personal communication, August 11, 2015),

introduced him to a deeper understanding of poetry and invited him to be creative

through projects and games. His professors encouraged creativity through class

discussions: “If you are introducing an idea, taking different stances on it, I think that in

itself is creativity in a way” (focus group, personal communication, August 17, 2014).

His professors also provided deadlines for assignments, which pushed him to complete

his creative endeavors.

Activities. Today Raph writes and records Hip-Hop music, designs multi-player

computer games, and is studying English with an emphasis in writing. However, his

creativity was awakened much earlier. His earliest childhood memory of engaging in a

creative activity was building with Legos without the constraint of using directions. Other

childhood memories involved implementing all of his sister’s creative ideas. He

explained that she came up with the ideas, but they collaborated to “make those ideas

come to life” (personal communication, August 11, 2015).

Later activities included writing an abundance of poetry and devising an

invention: He created “spike savers.” His sister ran track, and she always had to change

shoes because track shoes would damage indoor flooring. These “spike savers were little

sandal foam-like soles, and you would make little indents where your spikes would go

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and you would just strap those on over your spikes and you could just walk around

anywhere” (personal communication, August 11, 2015). He was also involved in dance

(from elementary through middle school) and in Power of Pen competitions (middle

school). These activities contributed to his lived experience with creativity.

Internal contexts: cognitive. This section presents Raph’s perspective on the

cognitive experience with creativity.

Inspiration to create. Raph’s inspiration comes from movement, water, natural

settings, and the emotional experience of being in love. He wrote an abundance of poems

when he was “in love” in high school and is writing poems, though not as many, for his

current girlfriend. He explains inspiration in this way:

[Inspiration is] a very strong physical and emotional sense of passion. There will

be an idea, some sort of a revelation that causes that passion. It often comes in the

form of a melancholy feeling that comes along with this revelation. It is potent,

though. It's subdued but very potent: a subdued melancholy energy gives the

motivation that something needs to be written. It is more of an obligation, than a

passion. (personal communication, August 11, 2015)

In his response to the email question on inspirations, he said this:

Creation usually seems to come about when I've been thinking about and applying

a certain theme for a while. Once I feel I have come to some sort of conclusion

about the theme, I can sit down and make something out of it. It feels relieving to

share a part of myself that has felt "bottled up" for a while, although this time has

been important in developing my conclusions and hearing other opinions. (email

communication, April 3, 2016)

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Obstacles. The biggest obstacle that Raph faces is emotional: he either gets bored

or lacks confidence in his work while he is in the middle of the project. Because Raph

always has a few projects going at once (projects that require different types of thinking

or work), he just moves from one project to another when he meets an obstacle. When he

returns to the original project, the obstacle has disappeared. If there is a deadline, he will

take a shower, or go for a run, and looks for a detour around the obstacle. He claims that

“if you find a different way around the problem, that generally works out pretty well and

sometimes better than the original course of action” (personal communication, August

11, 2015).

Another obstacle is beginning a project, especially if he has been in the same

place without any change in his environment. For him, being in the same place stifles

inspiration. If he changes his environment, the inspiration comes. He also uses writing

techniques to address this obstacle. Sometimes he begins with a free form and puts

structure to it. Other times he tries try to start with an encompassing idea, but

intentionally begins writing about something completely different that ties that work to

the overall idea.

Divergent and convergent thinking. These types of thinking were evident in his

thoughts recorded during the think-aloud, in his discussion of the topic during the focus

group, and in his sketchbook. He explained during the focus group interview that when

he set out to write his think-aloud poem, he began with a convergent decision about the

structure:

I wanted to incorporate the hip-hop feel and the sampling and I came to that idea

convergently because I read the information next to the painting and it specifically

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referenced hip-hop sampling, and we talked about it, too. So that's how I came to

that. So I would say that is convergent. Then I sat down to write it. I tried

different ways of going with it, then it either ended up not working in the first

place, or if I was able to get a few lines down, it just was way too cheesy frankly.

I didn't like the way that it sounded. So that was an intuitive response. That made

me try a different structure. (focus group, personal communication, August 17,

2015)

Convergent thinking was also evident when he started the poem with attention to

accented and unaccented syllables (sketchbook, August 11, 2015). As seen in the above

quote, the convergent thinking actually became an obstacle.

After several unsuccessful attempts of writing the poem from a convergent stance,

he let go of the structure and the analysis of accented and unaccented syllables: he began

to think divergently about the painting and the Pledge of Allegiance, and then the writing

flowed. It was after changing his thinking from convergent to divergent thinking that he

was able to write a successful poem.

Creative process. In his college writing classes, Raph learned to begin a poem

based on knowledge, which is why he began with his knowledge of hip-hop culture and

music. He learned that “whenever you are going to write something, you say: ‘The first

step is to research it, to find out all about it’” (focus group, personal communication,

August 17, 2015). He identified this process as convergent because it is a gathering of

facts. Making a decision about structure was the next step. It is interesting that his poem

emerged when he consciously let go of the original convergent thinking and allowed

divergent thinking to guide his writing.

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Internal context: affective. This section presents Raph’s perspective on the

affective experience with creativity.

Aesthetic response. Raph’s aesthetic response to the piece of art that inspired his

poem during the think-aloud was a complex, recursive blend of description and

interpretation. This was evident when he began with a description of the artwork. He

immediately noticed and described what he saw and then connected the piece of art to his

background knowledge of the fleur de leis: “The sampling is definitely a big element.

The fleur de leis has been sampled throughout time. It has been reused here. The

sampling is definitely significant” (think-aloud observation, August 11, 2015).

He proceeded to describe the painting in detail: “The pants almost look as if they

were photographed. It looks like a picture, they cropped it, and then it was painted on.

The perspective is looking down, but he is looking up” (think-aloud observation, August

11, 2015). He began to interpret the piece of art when he identified the squiggly lines

throughout the painting as sperm and pondered what they might mean. This back-and-

forth between description and interpretation continued until he determined that “this guy

is up against a lot” (think-aloud observation, August 11, 2015), and then he made his

decision to write about this picture.

Emotional response. Raph reported feeling many emotions when he creates. He

feels a love for his work, an excitement to be working on it, a very strong physical and

emotional sense of passion that feels a potent but “subdued melancholy energy” (focus

group, personal communication, August 17, 2015).

Impact of the study. Raph hoped that by participating in the study, he would

learn more about his creativity. Though he did not learn anything specific about his own

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creative process, he did gain insight into other people’s approach to creative endeavors.

During the focus group interview, Paws shared her philosophy of how inspirations come

from the environment (Paws, focus group, personal communication, August 17 2015),

Raph responded:

I like that because I guess the stance I have been taking on creativity is the idea-

centric stance: where you have an idea and this is how you want to express the

idea creatively. But I think your (Paws) stance is more like perceiving. You don't

have an idea yet, and then you are seeing what ideas comes of that. I really like

that. I've never thought of it that way. (Raph, focus group, personal


Finally, seven months after the study, Raph said that because he participated in

the study, he was “starting to feel more confident with different approaches” (email

communication, April 3, 2016). For example, he explained, “rather than starting with a

theme and applying it to an environment, I may try starting with the environment and

seeing what themes emerge” (email communication, April 3, 2016). This confidence with

different approaches has allowed him “to start projects with less hesitation and planning.

Additionally, Raph explained, “I feel like I am able to focus more on observation rather

than application of themes of what I observe” (email communication, April 3, 2016).

Raph’s new approaches and insights illustrate how participating in this study had a

positive impact on his creativity.

Paws

The first interview with Paws (self-chosen pseudonym) took place on July 24,

2015 and the focus group interview took place on August 17, 2015. Paws attends an out-

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of-state college. She is a graduate student studying the art of animation. She hopes

someday to create animation for movies. She was unable to attend an initial face-to-face

interview, as she was mid-semester in her program. Nor was she able to attend either of

the focus group interviews. To accommodate both her desire to participate in the study

and her out-of-state living, we conducted both interviews over Skype®. During the first

interview, she Skyped® from inside the college’s art museum. During the focus group

interview, she Skyped® from her apartment. Paws’s award winning poem may be viewed

in the appendices (see Appendix AA).

Neglect and definition of creativity. This section presents Paws’s perspective on


Though Paws recalled specific teachers who were not creative and did not

encourage creativity in their classrooms, her overall academic experience and her home

life was filled with opportunities and encouragement to pursue creativity. Her

experiences with creativity appeared to be an everyday part of her environment;

therefore, she really had not experienced an overall neglect of creativity in her life.

Paws’s definition of creativity was multifaceted. Initially, she claimed that

creativity did not have a definition. Then she thought about it and defined creativity in the

following way: “I think creativity is just the art of doing something, the art of giving

voice or form to something, that moves you on a physical, spiritual, or otherwise level

and having it expressed in any way” (focus group, personal communication, August 17,

2014). She seems to find inspiration in being moved spiritually or physically. The act of

creating gives voice or form to this inspiration. She so people begin to think: “If it makes

you uncomfortable, its making you think about something. So, sometimes creativity has

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to cross that border between the comfort zone and the un-comfort zone to get people to

think and to discuss and have discourse” (focus group, personal communication, August

17, 2014). She also stated that the form the inspiration takes on reflects the artist as a

person and the desire to say something meaningful: “What an artist creates not only says

a lot about the artist, but it says a lot of what we want to convey to other people” (focus


External contexts. This section presents Paws’s perspective on the external

contexts of creativity: places, people, and creative activities.

Places. Paws has lived and learned in creative environments since early

childhood. Since early childhood, she has visited art museums for both viewing art and

taking classes. She also said that her experiences in school had nurtured her creativity:

“That's one thing I loved about my elementary school: my sister and I were always

encouraged to be creative in the classroom and at the art shows” (personal

communication, July 24, 2015). She currently finds creative inspiration by “going out

into the parks and the public squares and just walking around and getting inspired”

(personal communication, July 24, 2015). She also frequents Anime® conventions and

on-line art communities as a means of making contact with others. However, her favorite

place to enjoy creativity is in her own home; she likes being all curled up and

comfortable with her favorite art books and computers (and sometimes pets) surrounding

her.

People. Paws also spoke of the many people who have affected her creativity: her

parents, her sister, her teachers, her friends, and her professors. Her parents took her to a

variety of places that stimulate the imagination. For example, they took her to see Disney

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movies beginning as early as infancy. They also chose educational environments that

supported the creative part of the personality and had a variety of art supplies at her

disposal. Her sister was an important part of this environment and still is today as she

provides both encouragement and emotional support for Paws. Her friends, teachers, and

professors provide the same support, and, in addition, provide educational opportunities

as well as contact with professionals in the animation industry.

Activities. Paws’s earliest memory of being creative was “coloring in a Lion King

coloring book” (personal communication, July 24, 2015). As a child, she fondly recalls

coloring and drawing profusely. This love of drawing continued into school where she

began adding story to her drawings. Her delight in this combination of art and story is

evident as she recalled a memory of an assignment from second grade:

That's a fun thing, I thought. I am going to call myself a parrotfish. I think it was

just a fish-parrot hybrid. It was kind of scary looking. [giggle] I think was just

excited because the teacher said [to] draw yourself as a fish and write about it.

And I thought, ‘I like that!’ (personal communication, July 24, 2015)

She also wrote and illustrated a series of stories about three ants and their adventures for

the same teacher. She remembered that her teacher really enjoyed it and was “excited

about the three ants” (personal communication, July 24, 2015).

Paws’s creative experiences extended beyond art and writing. She sang in the

high school Glee Club, and acted and sang in high school musicals. She joined the band

in high school and a Japanese drumming group in college. Her delight in all of these

activities is evident in her obvious enthusiasm (field notes, July 24, 2015) and in her

repetitive use of the word “fun” when describing her life experiences with creativity

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(personal communication, July 24, 2015; think- aloud observation, July 24, 2015; focus


Internal contexts: cognitive. This section presents Paws’s perspective on the


Inspiration to create. Paws finds inspiration as she goes about her day.

Sometimes she creates an inspiring environment by surrounding herself with her art

books, Disney books, and all the things she loves. The comfortable place she creates for

herself invites inspiration. She also is inspired by the work of others: from the great

pieces of art in museums to the artwork of her peers in school and in her on-line

communities. Oftentimes, inspirations find her as seen in this example: “You could be in

an aquarium, and you look at a fish, and you think, "Oh, I just came up with Finding

Nemo or something like that” (focus group, personal communication, August 17, 2014).

Her classes and the college environment also inspire her. She gets inspired by

being around people who enjoy animation and desire work in the business of animation.

Talking with her professors and guest speakers who share their professional experience in

the animation industry is especially inspirational.

She enjoys the barrage of constant inspiration, but also explains that she finds

peace in knowing that she does not have to act on every inspiration. She said that

inspiration comes to artists all the time, “but whether or not they decide to channel that

into their work is up to them” (focus group, personal communication, August 17, 2014).

Obstacles. Paws’s most challenging obstacles to her creativity are lack of

motivation, intimidation by her more talented peers, and deciding which technique to use

for a particular project. Her most successful method of addressing these obstacles is to

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remove herself from the project and engage in some form of movement. The movement

can be swimming, walking, riding her bike, or driving her car. If she cannot move, she

has found that reading a book, texting her friends, listening to music or going on her

computer also helps. Most important is the need to distance herself temporarily from her

work. Paws explained, “Sometimes you just ‘gotta’ take a step away” (personal


Divergent and convergent thinking. Paws fluctuates between divergent and

convergent thinking when she is involved in creative endeavors (focus group, personal

communication, August 17, 2015; think-aloud observation, July 24, 2015; sketchbook,

July 24, 2015). She began her process of creating her think-aloud poem by making

several thumbnail sketches of the piece of art. Once her visual ideas were on the paper,

there was a continual flow of writing that ended with evaluation:

Instead of approaching it using typical conventions, I approached it from a non-

typical convention and once I had all my ideas kind of out, then I started thinking

and choosing what would flow best. I asked myself, ‘How do I make this flow?’

(focus group, personal communication, August 17, 2014)

It was at this point that “the convergent thinking comes into play: where [she] start[s]

thinking” about what is best for the project. (focus group, personal communication,

August 17, 2014).

Creative process. Paws shared her belief that “anyone has the potential to create

whatever kind of work that they want to. It is just a matter of them wanting to do it”

(focus group, personal communication, August 17, 2014). She also said that “creative

people tend to look outside of the box more often than not, and sometimes, without even

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thinking about it, they perceive what other people don't normally perceive” (focus group,

personal communication, August 17, 2014). Paws explained that her thinking about the

creative process was nurtured in graduate school. She said that inspiration could come

when “you are looking for it and when you are not looking for it” (focus group, personal


Internal context: affective. This section presents Paws’s perspective on the


Aesthetic. Paws’s earliest aesthetic experiences were with the art at the art

museum, with poetry read in the home and at school, and with an abundance of drawing

as a young child.

Paws’s aesthetic response to the piece of art that inspired her poem was a blend of

describing the art, sketching, and associating what she saw with her background

knowledge, which then evolved into a story (think-aloud observation, July 24, 2015).

Affective. Paws described excitement and pride as part of the affective experience

of her creativity. She also described what it feels likes to be in the zone:

It feels kind of cool. I don't know how to describe it. You are just so focused on

what you are doing that everything around you just kind of fades away. When you

come out of the zone, you kind of come back to the real world. (focus group,

personal communication, August 17, 2014)

Impact of the study. When we met in September, Paws said that participating in

the study made her more reflective of her own creative process and more observant of

how others approach and experience creativity. She has even initiated conversations with

other artists about this topic.

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Leah

The first interview with Leah (self-chosen pseudonym) took place on July 28,

2015 at the local art museum. She was unable to attend either of the focus group

interviews; however, she still wanted to be part of the study. At the time of the interview,

she had graduated from a Midwest university in pre-med, had been a nanny for a year,

and was in the process of applying to medical schools. She is a disciplined, driven,

intelligent, young woman who delights and finds refuge in her creativity (field notes, July

28, 2015). Leah’s award winning poem may be viewed in the appendices (see Appendix

BB).

Neglect and definition of creativity. This section presents Leah’s perspective on


Although creativity had been part of both her home and school experience, she

stated her belief that creativity lacks esteem in our culture: “I feel like creativity isn't

valued much in our society” (email communication, March 30, 2016).

She also shared the belief that her college experience challenged her creativity.

She wrote:

I think school negatively impacts my creativity because I'm usually so tired by the

end of the day that I don't have time to pursue creative outlets as much. I think

when I spend all day in lecture, studying, and thinking so logically, it's hard to get

back to the easy going, flow state that I need for creativity. I used to do craft

projects almost every day during summer breaks, and that was something that

never happened during the school year. (email communication, March 30, 2016)

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Yet, Leah stated the belief that creative projects have no place in content area

instruction. She believes that creativity belongs solely in art class. She said that putting a

grade on her creations in the content area took all of the fun out of creating (personal


Leah defined creativity in this way: “Taking ideas inside yourself and having it

take a form in the physical world, or to do something differently than the majority of

people in your own original way” (email communication April 3, 2016). Her definition

includes both originality and the idea that creativity is an expression of self.

External Contexts. This section presents Leah’s perspective on the external


Places. The first time Leah visited the art museum, she was participating in a high

school field trip (personal communication, July 28, 2015). She has been back a few times

since then to see exhibits that sounded interesting to her (personal communication, July

28, 2015).

Leah described art class in elementary school as “fun.” She said that it was always

one of her favorite classes because it provided “a place to chill and have fun” (personal

communication, July 28, 2015) during the stressful school day. In art class, she did a lot

simplistic art like painting and drawing. She really enjoyed the freedom in art class.

Leah stated that she prefers to create at home and nowhere else because she needs

a place where it is quiet, peaceful, and comfortable (personal communication, July 28,

2015). When asked if there was any other place where she enjoyed creating, she replied,

“Just home. I can be comfortable; I don't really have to care what I look like. I'm usually

in pajamas, like just very comfortable” (personal communication, July 28, 2015).

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This need to work in the solitude of her home crosses many activities. Leah needs

to be home to study: “I just want to be home, by myself. I do not go to libraries. I do not

like public places. I do most of my stuff and prefer to do most of my stuff by myself”

(personal communication, July 28, 2015). She even exercises at home (with the exception

of yoga classes). She also detests working outside, “It's too distracting for me. I hate

when papers are blowing away and it’s like, ‘No, everything just needs to just stop’”

(personal communication, July 28, 2015).

People. Leah explained that her parents, siblings, and friends offer support and, in

turn, inspire her creativity: “They'll say, ‘Play piano, or do this!’” (personal

communication, July 28, 2015). She said her family always calls on her to help if they are

re-decorating their homes. She always agrees because she enjoys making interior design

decisions (personal communication, July 28, 2015).

Leah’s art teachers also inspired her creativity in that they proposed art activities

but then left Leah on her own to experiment and interpret the assignment in her own way.

She described this freedom:

They didn't show you art pictures or famous paintings and have you imitate any of

those. It would be like, today we are making geometric art and then we would do

just whatever we wanted. There were no samples to inspire you, not even student

samples. The teacher would maybe have an example on the board and say, “Do

something along these lines.” and we would do it. (personal communication, July

28, 2015)

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Activities. Leah’s earliest memory of creating was coloring with crayons. Her

mom valued her artwork: “My mom put my stuff up. She would keep the good ones and

throw the rest away” (personal communication, July 28, 2015).

Leah explained how she loved working with beads. Her mom would buy a variety

of art supplies, which they kept in huge bins: “Markers and feathers and just whatever. It

helped that we had two girls, so we would just sit and do whatever” (personal

communication, July 28, 2015). She explained that she loves doing anything hands-on.

She both sews and knits (personal communication, July 28, 2015).

Leah discovered poetry when she was in grade school, possibly in third or fourth

grade:

I remember when we were in third or fourth grade, we started having this poetry

reciting recital. They stopped it eventually. Thank God: I hated it. We had to

memorize a poem and get up in front of the whole school and say it. It was just

terrible for me. (personal communication, July 28, 2015)

This experience caused her to dislike poetry. She also said that she has only written two

poems in her entire life (both of which happened to be the two award winning poems in

the Ekphrastic Poetry Contest) (personal communication, July 28, 2015).

Leah also mentioned other creative interests. She loves music and playing piano.

She plays whatever she can find on the internet that sounds appealing (personal

communication, July 28, 2015). She also likes trying out new recipes and different craft

ideas that are featured on Pinterest® (personal communication, July 28, 2015). Leah

loves to dance and she makes YouTube videos discussing her polycystic ovarian

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syndrome (personal communication, July 28, 2015). Leah’s face brightened with joy

every time she talked about her creative activities (field notes, July 28, 2015)

Internal contexts: cognitive. This section presents Leah’s perspective on the

internal context of creativity.

Inspiration. Leah explained that sometimes her inspiration comes from seeing

what others are doing on YouTube® and Pinterest®. However, she rarely finds

inspiration in the work of her classmates. This is because often their work is of poor

quality for which she has no patience (personal communication, July 28, 2015).

Her primary motivation to create is the affective component of creativity. She

explained her motivation in this way:

The main thing that drives me to create is the feeling of relaxation and stress relief

I get while creating. Playing piano, for example, is my way to relax at the end of

the day, and so I'm not so much driven to play because I want to make a new song

or something, but I just want to turn my brain off. I can't think at all when I'm

playing (or dancing or anything), and it's the best feeling. (email communication,

March 31, 2016)

Obstacles. Leah’s most common obstacle in creating is at the beginning of the

process. It occurs during the planning phase:

The mental work can be an obstacle. Thinking about how I am going to plan it.

Then if there is some material I want that is not available, or there is some piece

of information I can't find, or there is something that doesn't fit perfectly into the

plan, then that's like, then I have to make a different plan. (Leah, personal


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This process of planning causes Leah much stress and discomfort.

Divergent and convergent thinking. Leah described the actual creating as an

intuitive process because the colors are already chosen and everything is already planned.

She has an exact plan of it in her head, and then she can “just do”, and there is no

thinking. However, if she does run into a problem, she stops, goes back to the thinking,

and starts over. She summed up this recursive process in this way, “I don't really do

thinking while I'm creating. I totally stop. I come out of my zone, leave, think, come

back. So there is no thinking while I am in that zone” (personal communication, July 28,

2015).

She makes all of those decisions before she can begin creating. If the project is a

research paper, she may need a week or two because it has to be perfectly planned before

she sits down to write. Therefore, when she is doing the actual hands-on part or the

writing, there are no surprises. She explained that the creating is “pretty much just me

translating what's in my brain …. So the surprises probably happen inside my brain,

beforehand” (personal communication, July 28, 2015).

Creative process. Leah explained that mental preparation that she does ahead of

time is the beginning of her process. She described the beginning in this way: “Okay,

well, it feels just like I am stressing out and then once I finally start, I can just chill and it

comes” (personal communication, July 28, 2015).

She also explained in an email how the stress of school interferes with her

creativity:

When I'm not stressed with school, creativity is something I can pour ideas into

and get a product out (like redecorating a room, painting a wall, making my own

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recipes, etc.). When I'm stressed, there are no new ideas to be found--my brain is

too preoccupied with other things. I hate this, and wish I could be in the easy-

going Zen state forever, but, unfortunately, I can't make a living as a pianist. 😜

(personal communication, March 31, 2016)

Internal context: affective. This section presents Leah’s perspective on the


Aesthetic. Leah explained how she chose a piece of art as an inspiration to write

her think-aloud poem: “I always pick something that I have a background in and know

about because then I just have a lot more to draw on when [I am] writing” (personal

communication, July 28, 2015). Leah begins her response to the chosen picture with

description. Leah explained that her process to write her poem would begin with looking

at the piece of art and thinking of all the things that she sees that she could tie into the

poem. Then Leah moves back and forth from description of the art, to her interpretation

of the art, and then repeats the process. She then filed through her background knowledge

of science words that could be used in the poem such cerebrum, hemisphere, and lobes.

Emotions. For Leah, two words describe her affective experience while creating:

stress and joy: “When I am doing that thinking, I stress” (personal communication, July

28, 2015).When her creation is going well, she feels great joy. She described this as,

“…kind of like a Zen state, and I forget everything, and I am just doing. I prefer

to just do because when I think, I just obsess. So like the making process is just

fun, so I can just zone out, and then if it's made and it's the way I wanted it to look

or be or whatever, then that's when, ahhhh, happy moment. (personal


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Impact of the study. Leah commented on the impact of the study in August and

then again seven months later in March. In August, she wrote in an email:

I just read through the transcript (what did I tell you about having to do things the

second I receive them?). Thanks for sending it to me--I actually really enjoyed

reading it, and it makes me realize how much fun I have when doing artsy things.

My mom used to always say she couldn't believe how happy I was during the

summers when I would spend all of my time creating and not stressing about

school (probably still applicable now....). (personal communication, August 13.

2015)

In March, Leah further elaborated on the impact of participating in this study:

The biggest insight I've had was realizing how big a role creativity has played in

my life. Music and art classes were always my favorite part of the day in school

and still are my favorite activities. I'm going to make a deliberate effort to make

sure creativity is included in my daily life (especially during med school) just for

relaxation and enjoyment purposes. I didn't do anything creative in college, and it

really wasn't healthy mentally. I'm going to buy a piano for my apartment just so

that outlet is always there. (personal communication, March 30, 2016)

Not only did Leah’s participation in the study increase her awareness of the importance

of creativity in her life, but it also motivated her to make deliberate plans to incorporate

creativity into her daily activities as a medical student.

This completes the presentation of the eight case summaries of the lived

experiences of creativity as told by eight young creators. Each case presents: the

participants’ definitions of creativity; their perspectives on how creativity was nurtured or

156

neglected in their lives; their descriptions of the contexts that affected their creativity

(places, people, and activities); and their demonstrations of and their reflections on their

cognitive processes and affective experiences while creating. Each case summary

concluded with the young creators’ insights on the impact of participating in this study.

The next section presents a cross-case analysis of each of these aspects of creativity.

Presentation of Data across Cases

The purpose of presenting data across cases is to set up the data for analysis in

Chapter 5. The across-case data is presented in the form of matrices and is followed by

brief summaries. The following propositions structure the concepts presented in the

matrices and summaries: (1) neglect of creativity; definitions of creativity; (2) places,

people, and activities that have affected creativity (external contexts); (3) inspirations,

obstacles/solutions, the creative process, and thinking while creating (internal, cognitive

contexts); and, finally, (4) aesthetic and emotional responses during the creative process

(internal, affective contexts). This is another step in condensing the data as, once again,

the data are consolidated and reduced. This enabled me “to come up with reasonable

conclusions and generalizations based on a preponderance of the data” (Taylor &

Bogdan, 1984, p.139). This process will lead to the development of themes.

Neglect of creativity. For the most part, creativity was not neglected in the lives

of the participants of this study. However, some did perceive a neglect of creativity in the

home and/or at school (see Table 9).

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Table 9

Perceptions of Neglect of Creativity

Participant Home School Public/Private School

Stars --- --- Private

Michaela --- --- Private

Alex --- --- Private

Nevada yes --- Private

Dr. J yes yes Public (urban)

Raph yes yes Public (rural)

Paws --- --- Private

Leah --- --- Private

Three of the participants reported a perceived neglect of creativity in their lives.

One participant, Nevada, said that creativity was absent in his home, but was awakened

and nurtured in his school. Dr. J and Raph reported that, in general, both home and school

were not supportive of their creativity. They both shared the perception that their parents

were not interested in creativity and, therefore, saw their home lives as lacking in

creativity. They also claimed that their schools failed to provide an environment that

encouraged creativity. They both spoke of an occasional teacher that took a

countercultural approach and promoted creative thinking, but the general atmosphere of

their schools was to learn content. This was true even in art, music, and band. One would

think these content areas would promote creative expression but when asked about this,

both Dr. J. and Raph explained that there were few opportunities for individual

expression. Raph contrasted his early learning environment with the environment he had

experienced in college: he described college as “a breath of fresh air” (personal

158


The other five participants reported coming from homes that valued creativity.

These participants (along with Nevada) also perceived their schools’ environments as

offering many opportunities for creative thought and creative projects. What is interesting

is these particular schools are private schools. The public schools were perceived as

lacking in creative opportunities.

Though the majority of the participants reported that creativity was an important

part of both their home and their school lives and did not perceive a neglect in these

areas, Leah saw this topic from a broader perspective. Leah explained that her

undergraduate, pre-medical program negatively affected her creativity “just because I'm

usually so tired by the end of the day, I don't have time to pursue creative outlets as

much” (email communication, March 30, 2016). She also took a broader, societal view

based on her own experience:

I feel like creativity isn't valued much in our society. I get far more

encouragement and positive feedback from people when I tell them I'm going to

med school than if I say I love to play piano or create, etc. Not that people's

opinions would ever stop me from doing creative things in my free time, but I

think I probably de-emphasized to myself how important it is that I do those

things. And it certainly impacted my career path--if music or art was something

that I [had been] encouraged to do from a young age, and [if it] was something I

could make a decent living doing, that's definitely what I would be doing. But I

never seriously pursued or tried to excel in the arts because being good at science

was what I was encouraged to do. (email communication, March 30, 2016)

159

In summary, the majority of the participants did not perceive a lack of support for

their creativity in either their home or their schools. However, those that did perceive

neglect were able to pursue creative interests in spite of those environments.

Definitions of creativity. The participants defined creativity in various ways (see

Table 10).

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Table 10

Elements in the Participant’s Definitions of Creativity (as found in their words and actions)

Participant Evidence of Originality Evidence of Value

Evidence Suggesting Expression of Self

Other Evidence Suggesting Expression of Self

Stars “opens my mind with thought”

___

“Creativity relates to the significant things in my life”

Stars expressed a love for a variety of outdoor activities: biking, hiking, white water rafting, camping and then chose the art installation Play Time in which museum guests climb, and run, and swing, as they interact with the art piece.

Michaela “in unique and original ways” ___

“expressing yourself” Michaela chose a piece of art that was an unusual interpretation of a necklace. It was laden with objects that she saw as potential stories in a person’s life and she writes stories for Power of the Pen competitions.

Alex “in different ways” ___ “Being able to express yourself”

Alex said, “I like the sea” and both his award winning poem and his think-aloud poem featured the sea.

Nevada “using your imagination, your own ideas your own ideas,”

___

“using your imagination, your own ideas,” “putting it down on paper through your own skills such as like drawing, poems, or writing”

Nevada’s home life is layered in contrasting and, at times, conflicting emotions. He chose to write about a picture depicting emotions. He also described the process of creating as one where he is “pulling on memories.”

Dr. J “taking the world and . . . altering it” “to produce something that is new and original or a modification of something that already exists”

___

“a way of expressing one's self using a variety of mediums “

Dr. J writes science fiction stories, and the figures in the piece of art that he chose resemble aliens.

Raph “in ways not typical”

Yes ___ Hip Hop: Raph created and recorded Hip Hop music

and his chosen art had a young man in Hip Hop attire.

Paws “the art of giving voice or form to something, that moves you on a physical, spiritual, or otherwise level and having it expressed in any way”

___

“What an artist creates not only says a lot about the artist, but it says a lot of what we want to convey to other people”

Asian Culture: Paws studied Asian Culture, participated in a Japanese Drumming group; she also chose a piece of art featuring an actress in typical Japanese opera attire and make-up.

Leah “do something differently than the majority of people in your own original way”

___ “Taking ideas inside yourself”

Leah is studying medicine, and she chose an art piece depicting the brain.

161

The majority of the participants’ definitions of creativity have two parts:

originality and expression of self. Only one, Raph’s definition, suggested value when he

noted the bringing together of unrelated ideas and making them “applicable and

relatable” (focus group, personal communication, August 17, 2014) as being part of his

creativity.

All but one participant (Raph) directly states the perspective of creativity as an

expression of self. However, all of the participants’ choices of art during the think-aloud

observation demonstrated this perspective: each of the participants, when choosing a

piece of art, chose a piece that had relevance to their preferences, their studies, and/or

their expertise. As seen in the above chart, all of the participants chose art that spoke to

their interests and background.

In summary, the participants’ definition of creativity included both originality and

self-expression. Not only did they define it in words but they also defined the idea of self-

expression in their choice of art during the think-aloud observation.

External contexts. During the interviews, I questioned the participants about the

contexts in which their creativity was developed and nurtured. They described the places

where they preferred to engage in creative activities. They discussed the people in their

lives who are creative and who have affected the development of their creativity. Finally,

they recalled the activities that awakened and nurtured their creativity.

Places. Each of the participants very clearly stated particular places where they

preferred to create. In addition, some preferred to be with people while others preferred to

create in solitude. Each described aspects of the setting that made it the most satisfying

place to create (see Table 11).

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Table 11

Preferred Places for Creative Thought/Endeavors

Stars Michaela Alex Nevada Dr. J Raph Paws Leah

Solitude

People

Comfort

Space

Home

(bed-room)

(kitchen

table)

(bed-

room)

(dining

room

table)

(shower;

room

with

window)

(studio in

parents’

house;

curled up

on the sofa

in

apartment)

(only at

home;

never in

her bed-

room)

Other outside;

art room

at school

-Power of

the Pen

(classroom

and

competi-

tions)

math

class-

room;

music

ministry

office

only in

school

school

band

room

outside;

new

environ-

ments

Most of the participants mentioned solitude as an important aspect of the place

where they preferred to create; however, Michaela, and Paws expressed that solitude is

preferred though the presence of others can sometimes be part of a productive

environment. Stars prefers the solitude of his bedroom and the outdoors: “I kind of like to

be alone, and I kind of do my own thing” (personal communication, July 19, 2015). Leah

said that she prefers the solitude of home and detests working outside (personal

communication, July 28, 2015). Stars and Leah’s preference for solitude does affect their

163

experience with creativity at school. The big difference was Stars seemed to be more

flexible with the limitations of the school setting and had positive (though challenging

because of the distractions) experiences: “I mean sometimes it is frustrating … and other

times, if they want to talk, I can keep working” (personal communication, July 28, 2015).

Leah, however, is quite unhappy with creative assignments in school unless they are part

of art class. She stated the belief that creative endeavors should not be graded. She also

stated that she has particular environments allotted for particular activities (art class and

home are for creativity while the rest of school is for concentrated learning).

Both Nevada and Dr. J expressed that they prefer the company of people and do

not like solitude. Dr. J said that he likes the creative atmosphere created by the students in

the band room at school. He also said, “I don't like being isolated when I am creating, and

the dining room is the center of activity in my house” (personal communication, August

1, 2015). The presence of his parents keeps him from getting into “the tunnel” where he

becomes unaware of his surroundings: “It is more enjoyable if I am aware of my

surroundings. I can't really describe this. But [I like] knowing that I am still at my house

rather than in a collapsing laboratory” (personal communication, August 1, 2015).

Nevada, too, said that he prefers the presence of others: “I like being around people, and

it is too solitary, kind of, at home. I don't like being by myself and thinking by myself”

(personal communication, July 28, 2015). When other people are around, they nurture the

creativity of these two participants.

Nevada is also the only participant who does not like to create at home. Nevada’s

parents divorced just before he entered sixth grade. It has affected Nevada and his family

relationships, and even his creativity (as seen in his preference for places to create).

164

The pain of the divorce was palpable in the atmosphere of Nevada’s home (where

his mother preferred I hold the first interview). Both Nevada and his brother (who arrived

home at the end of the interview) were respectful of their mother but held her at an

almost disdainful distance (field notes, July 28, 2015). Her many attempts to bridge that

distance were painfully unsuccessful (field notes, July 28, 2015). It “hurt my heart” to

experience these family dynamics, and I wished for something better for Nevada. This

emotionally charged (and probably uncomfortable) atmosphere gives insight into why he

prefers to create at school rather than home.

Six of the eight participants mentioned comfort as part of their preferred places to

create. For Paws, comfort, relaxation, and having the “things” that inspire her nearby, are

the appealing aspects of both “homes” (her parents’ home and her out-of-state apartment)

for her creative activities. Stars and Alex both like the quiet of their bedrooms, while

Alex also enjoys the comfort and camaraderie of the math teacher’s room and the campus

ministry office. Michaela said that she prefers places of peace and comfort for creativity

at both home and school, and she mentioned that sufficient space is part of that comfort.

Dr. J likes having both the nearby comforts of his parents and all necessary items for his

creative endeavors. He also said he feels creative when with his friends in the band room.

Leah said she likes the comfort at home: “Just home. I can be comfortable” (personal


In summary, each of the participants described particular preferred places for

creativity. Most of the participants mentioned comfort as being important. Two found

that comfort in the company of others while most found that comfort in solitude.

People. A variety of people have nurtured and influenced the development of the

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participants’ creativity. Parents, family members, friends, teachers, and the community

all affected the development of creativity in the lives of the participants (see Table 12).

Table 12

People Who Have Nurtured and Influenced Creativity

Participant Parents Family

Members

Friends Teacher

(school)

Community

Stars From a

distance

--- --- X -Art classes at the

museum Michaela X grandparents X X Ballet instructors

Voice instructors Alex X grandparents --- X ---

Nevada From a

distance

step-sister

cousin

X X ---

Dr. J From a

distance

--- X x On-line communities

Raph From a

distance

sister

cousins

X X -Dance instructors

Leah X sister X X On-line communities

Paws X sister

X X -Art classes at the

museum

-On-line communities X represents yes; --- represents no;

Some interesting patterns emerged when looking at this data. Parents and family

members are important people in nurturing the creative lives of the participants.

However, not all participants directly stated this. From a distance is a distinction made to

illustrate the fact that Stars, Raph, and Nevada never directly credited their parents in

nurturing their creativity, and Dr. J explained that his mother supports his creativity but

knows nothing about it. Yet, the participants later explained that their parents did send

them (Stars and Nevada) to schools that promoted creativity, provided classes or lessons

(Raph, Stars) in the arts, and offered support by taking note of their creative endeavors

(Raph, Stars, Nevada, and Dr. J). This contradiction suggests that the participants may

166

not yet “see” the support their parents have given to them.

Other family members supplemented parental influence. Grandparents provided

companionship, inspiration, and instruction to both Michaela and Alex. Raph’s sister was

his childhood companion in a variety of creative adventures, and his cousins inspired him

by sharing their own creative endeavors and perspectives. Paws’s and Leah’s sisters were

companions when they were younger and today offer support, affirmation, and

encouragement. Nevada’s soon-to-be stepsister encouraged him to pursue his art, and his

artistic cousin had visited art museums with him.

Teachers also nurtured creativity. Each participant spoke of teachers as an

important part of their creative context. Some participants spoke of particular teachers.

For example, Raph said,

I had a really good teacher in fourth grade. There was a lot of variation in the

curriculum, and I would see that not only in the writing and the English but also

in the math and science, too. When I think of elementary school and … of being

creative, I always think of fourth grade, and I think of that teacher. (personal


Nevada also spoke of two teachers. He said: “I got a really, really good teacher in

kindergarten through third grade” (personal communication, July 28, 2015). He described

how her art activities nurtured his love for art: “I always enjoyed art. She had us draw a

house like other artists did. She would show us a book with … art in it. I liked looking at

the other art” (personal communication, July 28, 2015). He also surprised me when he

described me (one of his sixth grade teachers) in this way: “You were like the special-est

person that I especially remember (both laugh)” (personal communication, July 28,

167

2015). He shared that he had never written any poetry before and, during that year, he

wrote poetry that to this day is treasured by his family. The remaining participants, rather

than describing specific teachers, spoke of the activities or experiences that occurred in

school.

Several of the participants spoke of friends who played a role in their creative

lives. Dr. J’s friends are an admiring audience of his drawings and writing and are his

companions in making music in the marching band. Leah’s friends ask for her assistance

in interior design projects. Nevada spoke of a friend who helped him through a writing

obstacle, and Michaela’s friend encourages her in her writing and mastering of the

ukulele. Raph is collaborating with friends in creating a multi-player computer game, and

Paws counts on her friends for inspiration and problem solving. Both Paws and Dr. J

belong to on-line communities who also provide the same. Only Stars and Alex made

little mention of friends affecting their creativity.

In summary, various family members and people outside of the family (teachers,

friends, and on-line communities) have been influential in each of the participants’

experiences and development of creativity. I observed that the more involvement with

parents and other family members, the more joyful the recollections (field notes: Stars,

July 19, 2015; Alex, July 21, 2015; Paws, July 24, 2015; Leah, July 28, 2015; Michaela,

August 14, 2015). If the parents were not positively involved, the participants expressed

this joyfulness in the recollections of other family members or teachers influencing their

creativity. The more distant the parents, as in Nevada and Raph’s situation, the more

guarded and distant the recollections of the parental involvement (field notes, Nevada,

July 28, 2015; Raph, August 11, 2015). However, in Dr. J’s spoke fondly of his parents

168

(field notes, August 1, 2015). Paws summed up the importance of people in her life with

creativity in the following way:

My parents, siblings, friends, and other adults provide constructive critique on

what I am doing. They inspire me when I am feeling down, or when I am going

through a period where I am having trouble creating. And, just in general, they are

very supportive. (personal communication, July 24, 2015)

Activities. During the many conversations that occurred during the interviews and

the focus group, the participants described a variety of creative activities they have

engaged in through the years. The table is a time-ordered matrix (Miles et al., 2014). I

have ordered the participants by their ages at the time of the interviews (see ages depicted

after their names), and I have organized their activities from their earliest recollection

(their awakening) to their present day activities. This progression shows how the

activities developed in complexity over time (see Table 13).

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Table 13 Creative Activities Chronologically Presented

Regular font: home activities; Italicized font: school activities; Bold font: both school and home activities

Age Stars (13)

Michaela

(13) Alex (13) Nevada (15) Dr. J (17) Raph (19) Leah (24) Paws (24)

3-5

years

old

-hand

turkey -class at

the art

museum

-coloring

-Play

Dough

-visiting art

museum

-painting

-art class

at the

museum

-Shaving

cream art -watercolor

of emotions

-Lois Ehlert

art work

-creating

video game

-Legos

-Conservation

Club

-Mini-

magazine

-coloring

-crafts

-coloring

-drawing

-visiting

art museum

-Disney movies

6-13 -looking at

art

-pyramid -past,

present,

future car -drawing

-writing

-playing

guitar

-crafts

-ballet

-singing

-cooking

-theatre

-Power of the Pen

-poetry

-cork art

-piano, saxophone

-musical theater

-drawing

(paper/pencil and on

tablet)

-poetry

-glass work

-creative homework

assignments

-drawing

-poetry

scrapbook -turtle

shadow prop

-giant Tootsie Roll

-percussion instruments

-writing

-pinecone

Christmas

tree

-spike-saver

invention

-poetry -dance

-Power of

the Pen

-crafts

-art class

-poetry

-piano

-dance

-cooking

-writing and

illustrating

stories -winning a

drawing

contest -class at the art

museum

14-18 -geometry art in math

class

-painting for

Father’s Day

gift

-draws

Anime

-reads and

writes

poetry

-writes science

fiction

-band

-poetry

-writing

-Hip-hop

music

-band

-looking at

art at the

museum

-piano

-dance

-cooking

-poetry

-painting -pastels

-graphic design

-human anatomy -animation

-musical theater

-Glee Club

19-

current

age

-poetry and

other forms of

writing

-Hip-Hop

music

-computer

game design

-piano

-dance

-cooking

-art classes

-Japanese drumming

-Animation -poetry

-drawing

-storyboards

170

The creators in this study had participated in a variety of creative activities some

of which were common across cases. All of the participants have had musical experience.

Five of the participants mentioned that they express their creativity through drawing.

Four had participated in theater (mostly musicals), and four write poetry outside of

school. Three had taken classes at the art museum, and three spoke of their creativity

expressed through dance. Two participants mentioned cooking as a way to engage their

creativity, and two have participated in the Power of the Pen. These activities suggest that

the creative selves of the participants’ find expression through a variety of creative

activities in their lives.

Having examined the types of activities across cases, some other interesting

patterns emerged. One pattern that emerged is most of the earliest creative activities

occurred in the home or were engaged in because of the parents in the home. However,

this was not true for one of the participants: Nevada recalled his earliest memories of

creativity as taking place in the classroom. Looking further down the column, it became

evident that all but one of his recalled creative activities took place at school. This

corresponds to his description that his home environment lacked creativity. Even Raph

recalled creative activities in the home though his activities were primarily directed by

his older sister (not his parents) which corresponds to his statement that his parents are

not creative.

Another pattern that emerged is that as the participants matured, the number of

creative activities in school increased. However, this is not the case for Leah, Dr. J, and

Raph: Leah, by preference (she said creative activities do not belong in the content areas

[except in art], and creativity is best engaged in at home), and Dr. J and Raph, by neglect

171

(they perceived their schools as non-creative environments).

A fourth pattern also emerged: the creative activities became more complex as the

participants matured. The activities of the early childhood years were primarily

exploration, experiential, and free of intense instruction. This time of joyful discovery

changes with the passing of time as many creative activities center on lessons, classes,

and focused learning. The activities also cross modalities: music, art, dance, theatre,

writing, singing, and cooking.

Internal contexts: cognitive. During the interviews, I questioned the participants

about their thoughts while they created. I wondered where they got their inspirations. I

also asked what kinds of obstacles they encountered and how they addressed these

obstacles. I then asked them to describe their creative processes. Finally, I asked if their

thinking was convergent or divergent during their creative process. The matrices visually

represent their answers across the cases.

Inspirations The topic of inspirations is framed by the following question: What

inspires you to create? See Table 14 for cross-case findings.

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Table 14

Inspirations

Natural settings

Seeing Others’ Work

Music Assignments Others

Stars

Michaela

reading

Alex

Nevada

Dr. J abstract art

reading

Raph a variety of settings

Paws Disney, art, and

almost everything

Leah

The participants reported that they found inspiration to create in a variety of

places and through a variety of activities. The most common inspiration came from class

assignments as all participants reported assignments stimulating their creativity. Another

inspiration several participants spoke of was looking at others’ artwork or reading others’

writing (Stars, Michaela, Nevada, Dr. J, and Paws). Nevada, Dr. J, Leah, and Paws also

said that technology provided inspiration: on-line communities, Pinterest®, YouTube®,

and Google®. Music was said to inspire both Alex and Dr. J. Finally, Paws said that she

finds inspiration when looking at Disney animation, and then she summarized by saying

she actually finds inspiration “almost everywhere” (personal communication, July 28,

2015).

173

Obstacles and their solutions. The topic of obstacles is framed by the following

question: Once you have begun a creative activity, what gets in your way? How do you

handle that circumstance? See Table 15 for cross-case findings. On the table, I ordered

the participants by age to see if any patterns would emerge as related to maturing.

Table 15

Obstacles and Solutions

Stars (youngest)

Michaela Alex Dr. J Raph Paws Leah

Obstacles: -distractions

from other

people

-writer’s

block

-story

endings

-story

startings

-not

happy

with

quality

-unrelated

plot

points

-writer’s

block

-distractions

-depicting

emotions

-losing

interest

-doubt

-lack of

drive

-fear

-deciding

best

practice

-mental

stress

Solutions:

Puts work

aside

Movement -swims

-takes a

shower

-multi-tasks

-paces

-multi-

tasks

-runs or

swims

-swims

-drives

Thinks

Other -seeks

others’

-drinks

tea

-reads

-reads

-listens to

music

-finishes

tangent

-seeks

others

-reads

The participants describe a variety of obstacles, yet no one obstacle was

dominant; each obstacle is particular to the participant. However, the participants

employed common solutions to these individual obstacles. The most common solution

was to put the work aside: five participants mentioned this solution (Michaela, Alex, Dr.

174

J, Raph, Paws, and Leah). Raph and Dr. J explained that when they encounter an

obstacle, they put aside the work and move on to another creative project as they both

work on multiple creative projects simultaneously. Michaela, Dr. J, Raph, and Paws

mentioned that they put the creative project aside and then engage in a non-creative

activity: swimming, running, pacing, reading, talking with friends, eating, drinking tea,

and/or going for a drive. Regardless of the activity, during this putting work aside, the

participants reported that when they returned to the work, the obstacle was gone.

Stars said that putting aside work was not helpful for him, and Alex said he does

not always use this solution. These young men described another solution: they increase

their focus inward and try to solve the problem. Stars said that he finds just sitting and

thinking more deeply is the most helpful to him. He actually explained, “movement does

not help” (personal communication, July 19, 2015).

The most surprising obstacle and solution was Dr. J’s difficulty with creating

emotions in his writing. He explained: “I can't dig into my own self” (personal

communication, August 1, 2015) and create emotions for the characters. His solution is to

listen to music that depicts the emotion. With the help of the music, he is able to bring

forth the emotion from within and then put it in his writing.

The creative process. The following questions frame the topic of describing the

creative process and the thinking while creating: How do you describe your creative

process? What kind of thinking occurs during the creative process: divergent or

convergent or both? The table below introduces the participants’ answers to the first

question (see Table 16)

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Table 16

Participant Descriptions of the Creative Process

Descriptions of Creative Processes

Stars -trial and error; -brings two contrasting ideas together;

Michaela -“You can't think logically at the beginning;” -lists of associated images;

Alex -intense focus; -asks questions: “What's going to come next," or "How will it be better?"

Nevada -layers and brings together different elements; -thinks of all associations with the subject;

Dr. J -plans a structure ahead of time; -uses intuitive decisions afterwards (results in many tangents);

Raph -first step is to research; -at times begins with a structure, but not usually

Paws -thinks of how she wants the piece of art to look; -rough sketching; -produces abundantly in the “heat of the moment;” -evaluates somewhat during the process but primarily waits until the creating is complete;

Leah -mentally works out the entire process in her head until all things are considered and all problems are solved; -once mental work is done, creates intuitively

As seen in the above table, the creative processes of participants is very

individual. Stars said he likes to begin with two contrasting elements and described his

creating as trial and error, implying that he evaluates his product as he goes. Alex, too,

said that he evaluates as he writes and as he draws. Michaela, on the other hand,

evaluates at the end. She described her writing in this way: “I will write my story how I

am thinking of it instantly. Then I'll go back and read it, and I'll see if it makes sense”

(personal communication, August 14, 2015). Alex also described his process of writing

his think-aloud poem in this way. He wanted to bring movement to the picture that he

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recalled from memory: “I was trying to picture the picture and mainly use some of the

details … to make it more into a moving picture” (personal communication, July 21,

2015). Nevada said he likes to brainstorm associations and then layer different elements

to create either a piece of writing or a piece of art. Dr. J explained that he prefers to begin

with a structure and the spaces are filled in intuitively. Raph is just the opposite: He

rarely begins with a conscious decision about structure; rather, he said that he likes to

begin with research about the topic, or else he draws on any knowledge or memories

related to the subject (this was obvious during the think-aloud). Paws described how she

tries to imagine the piece of art and then sketches abundantly until an idea formulates

(this applies to both art and writing). Leah said that she does just the opposite: She plans

the entire idea down to the smallest detail before she creates. This applies to art, writing,

music, and cooking. Such different processes for each creator!

Divergent and convergent thinking. As seen in Chapter 3, the discussion of

convergent and divergent thinking began with an explanation of the two definitions and

then was followed by a discussion of how the two types of thinking are present in their

lives. In this study, the participants understood that divergent thinking occurs when

multiple ideas or solutions are acceptable when making decisions during the creative

process, and that convergent thinking occurs when one correct solution is sought when

making decisions. Some general examples of the two types of thinking (given by the

participants of the second focus group) can be seen on Table 17.

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Table 17

Excerpts from the discussion on clarifying convergent and divergent thinking

Participant: Convergent Thinking Divergent Thinking

Dr. J.

“Every time when I am at school:

teachers give you information, and

then you just throw it back on tests.”

“When I am writing, I think

divergently. When I am writing

fiction.”

Alex “In math class, where there are

usually only one or two sets of

answers, you have to remember how

to do it the right way, one way.”

“When you are brainstorming for

ideas you have to be kind of

divergent, getting ideas from

everywhere. I brainstorm before I

begin a project unless we are given

something specific that we need to

write about. Even when I am given

a prompt, I start with a web which is

a convergent decision. Putting your

ideas into the web can be divergent

or convergent.”

Michaela “Your school schedule is

convergent.”

“When I was writing this poem

specifically, I had no idea what to

do, so I started writing down ideas,

and then I got completely carried

away with myself.”

After the discussion, I explained that creativity is generally associated with

divergent thinking. However, the participants discussed how both divergent and

convergent thinking are a part of their processes. The next discussion focused on the role

of both types of thinking specifically used during their creative processes. The

participants first described how they engaged in both types of thinking (convergent and

divergent), though at different times and for different reasons, within the creative process

(see Table 18).

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Table 18

Description of the Thinking during the Creative Process

Divergent/Divergent/Convergent Convergent/Divergent/Convergent

Stars Dr. J

Michaela Nevada (abandoned his work)

Alex

Raph (struggled with his original

convergent structure and switched to divergent, divergent, convergent)

Leah

Paws

It is evident from the data that the participants use both divergent and convergent

thinking when beginning a creative project. The choice depends on the preference of the

creator. Some must engage in convergent thinking to begin their process as they rely on a

form of structure to jumpstart their creativity. Others do not need this: They begin their

process simply by “beginning” which they defined as divergent thinking.

Dr. J, Nevada, and Raph used convergent thinking at the beginning of the creative

process primarily in deciding on the structure of their work. They spoke of beginning

their creative endeavor with a defined structure before engaging in the flow of the

creating. In drawing, Dr. J explained:

I am very convergent when I am drawing since I exclusively draw Anime. So I


same set: I'll add the body and the hair and it is the same process every single

Switched

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time. I have a certain linear method, step-by-step, one-way of drawing. (personal

communication, Focus Group 2, August 23, 2015)

Dr. J also said that he relies on structure when he is beginning a piece of writing:

“Well, I do plan the general structure of what's going to happen, but I fill in the details as

I go” (personal communication, August 1, 2015).

During the first interview, Nevada explained his use of convergent thinking as the

first step in planning his think-aloud poem: “I plan this structure in my head before I

begin writing. Haiku is five-seven-five. I like Haikus. Free verse is too unstructured. I

like structure. I would probably use an emotion for each line” (personal communication,

July 28, 2015).

Raph also made decisions about structure using convergent thinking. He said that

he liked the thought of connecting his think-aloud poem to the Pledge of Allegiance but

originally decided “to not start with the Pledge of Allegiance and to try to work it in

later” (focus group, personal communication, August 17, 2014). Instead, Raph recalled

devising a specific structure: “I wanted to incorporate the hip-hop feel and the sampling. I

came to that idea convergently because I read the information next to the painting, and it

specifically referenced hip-hop sampling” (focus group, personal communication, August

17, 2014).

Once the process of creating had begun, all participants (even those who began

with convergent thinking) reported using primarily divergent thinking though convergent

thinking did come into play. For example, Leah used convergent thinking while she was

creating her think-aloud poem:

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“I would probably bring in some science words because I always do that,

you know, like cerebrum and hemisphere and lobes and whatever”


“Homunculi . . . I am assuming that is plural form of homunculus”


Though she claimed that she does not think or make decisions during the creative

process, these two instances are evidence of thoughtful decisions made while creating.

Interestingly enough, she engaged in convergent thinking, as there was one answer to her

questions: What kind of words should I use? Science words. How do you write the plural

of homunculus? Homunculi. Perhaps because she answered the questions so quickly, she

was unaware that she had engaged in moments of decision making using convergent

thinking.

Revision began when the participants had finished their creating. When revising,

most participants reported using convergent thinking though a few engaged in divergent

thinking. Stars and Nevada described how divergent thinking comes into play during

their revision process. Stars explained that once he has read over his final draft, he then

has someone else read it aloud. He said that he listens and responds divergently:

I listen to the flow as I read it out loud. Or if I have my parents there, I'll have

them read it, and if it doesn't sound right, then I grab it from them and say, “Wait

a minute, wait a minute. I “gotta” fix that.” Right in the middle. I don't wait till

the end because I'll forget about it. (personal communication, July 19, 2015)

When Nevada is in the revision stage, he always considers the comments written by his

teacher. He begins this process with a certain structure that eventually gives way to

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divergent thinking: “I always start with the introductions, and I always read through the

whole thing. Then I brainstorm and go through what the teacher actually thought and

their opinions. Then I kind of want to disagree or agree” (personal communication, July

28, 2015).

As described by most of the participants, convergent thinking is dominant in the

revision process (see Table 24). Stars and Leah never described or engaged in any

observable type of convergent thinking, but the remaining participants explained it as

necessary to their revision process.

The evidence suggests that the divergent thinking changes to convergent thinking

as the creators attend to the details of their writing in order to locate and address areas of

dissatisfaction. The participants spoke about attending to matters of mechanics and

structure. Paws, however, explained that she also used convergent thinking in her

decision making to omit parts of her work:

…sometimes, when you are creating, you have an idea and you are really attached

to it, but no matter how much you try, it just doesn't work. So you have to be the

better person and think, okay: I have to kill the baby. (focus group, personal


As seen in her words, Paws needs to have a deliberate, convergent conversation with

herself, so that she is able to let go of the parts of her work that she likes, yet it does not

enhance the essence of her work.

Another interesting pattern occurred. It appears that when a convergent decision

about structure was not working, frustration resulted. Nevada described the structure he

wanted to use for his think-aloud poem: “When I tried to put it all into a haiku, I started

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going 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7. It's the convergent, linear thinking” (personal

communication, August 23, 2015). He then described the difficulties with this structure,

“I would probably use an emotion for each line. I just remember . . . it took some time. It

has too many syllables” (personal communication, August 23, 2015). When the poem

could not fit into the structure, he quit and never finished the poem.

Raph, too, made an initial decision about structure (designing it around a hip-hop

feel and the sampling) which also caused him frustration after many attempts at writing

the poem. When this happened, Raph simply let go of the initial structure, engaged in

divergent thinking (associating the Pledge of Allegiance with what he saw in the

painting), and then his writing began to flow. Unlike Raph, Nevada was unwilling to let

go of his initial convergent thinking of using a haiku structure, his creative process shut

down, and he abandoned the poem.

Summary. Several patterns and findings emerged as I examined the references to

convergent and divergent thinking during the creative process. Though creativity is

generally associated with divergent thinking, each of the participants revealed that both

divergent and convergent thinking are a part of their processes. For some, divergent

thinking was used to begin a creative work while others used convergent thinking to

establish a structure before engaging in divergent thinking. For most participants,

convergent thinking was also used as the final step in the creative process.

The middle of the creative process showed some interesting anomalies. Most of

the participants engaged in divergent thinking throughout the middle of their creative

process. However, Leah engaged in some convergent thinking in the middle of writing

her poem. These thoughts occurred very quickly. The convergent thinking never hindered

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her flow, and she seamlessly returned to divergent thinking. Perhaps the quickness of the

discursive process kept her from noticing a change.

Another anomaly occurred when Nevada and Raph did not move between the two

forms of thinking so seamlessly. They both began with a set structure of the writing that

never flowed or moved into divergent thinking. Nevada responded to this frustration by

walking away from his creative piece. Raph responded differently: He let go of the

structure and just began to write the words of the Pledge of Allegiance. From there the

writing began to flow.

The discussion of convergent and divergent thinking during the focus group gave

rise to Michaela wondering if she used more convergent thinking during her creative

process, would her results improve:

When does my thinking switch to convergent? Honestly, I think I need to focus

more on that. At the end, I am thinking convergently, but it might help if I started

earlier. I start on a story and then I don't know how to finish what I am writing,

and it does work out so well. So I think, toward the middle and the end is where I

begin to start thinking convergently. (focus group, personal communication,

August 23, 2015)

The presence of these anomalies and reflections suggest that creators who are not

progressing in their work may need to let go of the type of thinking they are engaged in.

Perhaps they need to switch their type of thinking either from convergent to divergent or

divergent to convergent to address the obstacle blocking the progress of their creative

endeavor.

Internal contexts: affective. During the interviews, I questioned the participants

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about their affective responses during their creative process. I wondered specifically

about their aesthetic response to the art piece that inspired their think-aloud poems. I also

wondered what kind of emotions they experienced while creating. See table below for the

responses to these questions.

Table 19

Description of Aesthetic and Emotional Responses

Participant Aesthetic Response Emotional Response

Stars He did not begin with seeing and

describing the piece of art. He jumped

right into interpreting

“peaceful focus”

loses awareness of surroundings

forgets to eat

Michaela Instead of taking time to note the details

of the necklace and describe them, she

immediately goes to interpreting the art

piece.

excited

peaceful to focus

not paying attention to the fact that maybe

you have five things going on tomorrow and

maybe you are stressed out

Alex He first took note of what was in the

picture by describing it. Then he began to

interpret it. Then he looked again at the

picture describing it and then returned to

interpreting. This recursive activity

continued while he wrote his poem.

uses art as a way to relax and decompress

from the day

it’s relaxing

it’s focused

Nevada He immediately made a writing decision:

“Definitely the emotions part is what I

would write about right away” (personal

communication, July 28, 2015). Then he

began with a vivid description of the

piece. After the description, he started

began structuring the poem

excited and happy: "‘I got this.’

Dr. J He chooses a piece of art and begins

describing the details of the painting and

emotions that he perceives. After reading

the title of the work of art (Woman

Haunted by the Passage of the Bird

Dragonfly Omen of Bad News), he sees

more

excitement

joy

peaceful feeling

energized and relaxed

I am not that aware

Raph He immediately noticed described, and

connected to his background knowledge

of the fleur de leis “He then proceeded to

describe the paining in detail. He

continues to move back and forth

between description and interpretation.

“There is excitement to write it and there's

excitement to read back over it, to re-

experience it and then there is the

excitement to show it to people” (personal


Leah Leah begins her response to the picture

with description and thinking of all the

things that she sees that she could tie into

the poem. Then Leah moves back and

forth from description of the art to her

stress and joy: “When I am doing that

thinking, I stress” (personal communication,

July 28, 2015).

when her creation is going well, she feels

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interpretation of the art and then repeating

the process. She then filed through her

background knowledge of science words

that can be used in the poem.

great joy

feelings of relaxation and stress relief while

creating

Paws She thoroughly describes the subject and

also notices the painting as having a “nice

bright red composition.

Begins sketching

excitement, inspiration and pride

loses a sense of time and of her

surroundings

Aesthetic response. Two categories of aesthetic responses to the chosen piece

emerged: seeing/describing and seeing/interpreting. It was interesting to observe the

thinking that the participants did once they chose the piece of artwork that inspired their

second poem. I wanted to know when they moved from the seeing and describing the

piece of art to the interpreting. I searched for patterns as I looked at both the transcripts

and the documents the participants created while writing during the think-aloud. See table

below for these patterns:

Table 20

Patterns of Aesthetic Responses

Begins with interpretation

Begins with description then moves back and forth between

interpretation and description

Modifies interpretation with subsequent

“seeing”

Stars Alex

Michaela Nevada

Dr. J (incorporated background knowledge)

Raph (incorporated background knowledge)

Paws (incorporated background knowledge)

Leah (incorporated background knowledge)

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I initially thought I would see the participants move from seeing and describing

the art to interpreting the art, but I was in for some surprises. As expected, six

participants began with seeing and describing the piece of art, but Michaela, and Stars,

the youngest participants, began with interpreting the art. As soon as they began talking

about their chosen piece of art, they began to interpret it and associate it with a story that

came to mind.

In the beginning of the think-aloud, Michaela never talked about the artwork

itself, but began immediately with building a story:

So I see it as you are getting help from like everyone and you are piecing things

together that you get from different people to make one thing. I like the idea of

someone not having much and taking help from other people, accepting offerings.

I do not think that is easy for people. (personal communication, August 14, 2015)

At one point, I encouraged her to look more closely at the piece of art and take note of

what she saw. This is what she said, “That reminds me of a human heart, or a squid. The

fork? Oh my gosh, I didn't even see the fork. I don't know how I feel about that”

(personal communication, August 14, 2015). Even when looking at the art piece after

being directed to do so, she quickly returned to her interpretation and her story. She both

mentioned and wrote down words that described the different pieces of the necklace, but

they never ended up in her poem. This may explain the lack of visual imagery in the

poem. During the focus group sharing of poems, even another participant (Nevada)

noticed and commented on the lack of imagery and suggested, “Actually, I would bring

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in ideas from the necklace. It’s more about philosophy than the necklace” (personal


Stars also began with interpretation: “It's different. I guess it's more, it kind of

reminds me of like a spider web. Except, I don't know, with kids. Yeah, yeah. Um, it kind

of like the fear of getting caught in a spider web” (personal communication, July 19,

2015). About half way through the think-aloud, I guided Stars to really look at the piece

of art. That is when he saw that “the colors are all like, it's really colorful and it would be,

it would be like, I kind of want to say like kids’ colors” (personal communication, July

19, 2015). From there, he returned to his interpretation (story) of the kids being trapped.

He never really returned to pure seeing and describing without interpretation. Like

Michaela’s preliminary writing in the sketchbook, these descriptions are there, but they

were never used in the poem.

The other six participants began their think-alouds with a serious viewing of the

piece of art as evidenced in the collected data. Alex, Nevada, Dr. J, Raph, Paws, and

Leah all began their poems by taking time to see and describe the piece of art before

beginning their interpretive response. Raph initially spent more time seeing the piece of

art than the other poets. All participants moved back and forth between seeing and

interpreting. Three participants also vocalized a change in interpretation after looking

more deeply at the piece of art mid-poem. For example, Dr. J said, “Hmmm, still, I am

thinking that maybe it's a misunderstanding because now that I look at that figure more, it

doesn't appear to be angry” (personal communication, August 1, 2015).

Emotional response. The affective experience during the creative process is

impacted by how well the process is going. As previously described, when an obstacle is

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encountered, some of the participants experience frustration, anger, or a temptation to

quit. Paws explained this experience well: “Sometimes, like if it's really just not working

… then I get really frustrated whenever I look at it. So I just crumble it up and go,

‘Movin' on’” (personal communication, September 12, 2015). Dr. J shares his affective

experience during an obstacle: “I probably feel anxiety when I am getting to those un-

connecting plot points” (personal communication, August 1, 2015). After an obstacle is

overcome or if an obstacle is never encountered, the affective experience is more than

positive; it is wonderful. See table below for patterns in experienced emotional responses

of the participants when their creative endeavors are going well.

Table 21

Description of Emotional Responses

Focus Excitement Peaceful/

Relaxing

Loss of

Awareness

Joy/

Happiness

Stars

Michaela

Alex

Nevada

Dr. J

Raph

Paws

Leah Stress

Relaxation. A common pattern found in the participants’ description of their

affective experience is that the creative process provides relaxation. Alex said, “I use art

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as a way to relax and kind of decompress from the day most of the time” (personal

communication, July 21, 2015). Michaela described her writing during her Power of the

Pen practices as “. . . really nice. Everyone is writing, you are just sitting in silence. It's

actually really peaceful” (personal communication, August 14, 2015). Michaela even

feels that way during the revision part of the creative process. She said, “Sometimes

during the revision, I get into the peaceful, happy place” (personal communication,

August 14, 2015). Leah described art class as “a place to chill and have fun” (personal

communication, July 28, 2015). Leah also explained, “To me it's like my stress relief

after I'm done with science. It's my way to relax” (personal communication, July 28,

2015). She specifically described how she unwinds after a long day of studying: “If I've

been studying all day or whatever, I'll just play piano at 1:00 in the morning until I'm

tired and ready to go to bed” (personal communication, July 28, 2015). Dr. J described

his peaceful response to creating in this way:

I know a feeling of peace and contentment, a lot. I usually don't put that in my

writing though I do feel it while I am writing. It's just me realizing that I am doing

something intellectual. I am creating something. I am creating new ideas or

improving existing ideas, that I am being productive and that gives me a peaceful

feeling. When I am creating, I feel both energized and relaxed. (personal


Enjoyment. Another common pattern found in the participants’ description of the

affective experience is that the creative process provides enjoyment. Dr. J described his

joy: “When I am just going, going, and going and I get excited, when I create the concept

with the main villain and stuff, and when all is moving along, I feel joy” (personal

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communication, August 1, 2015). Leah described her enjoyment when making

YouTube® videos: “I make them about health related things. So it's kind of science-y,

but I like the filming and editing and the creative parts of it, too” (personal

communication, July 28, 2015). She also described her early memories with creativity: “I

always loved beads, making necklaces, making anything,” and “I've done some sewing

like fixing clothes, making scarves, like knitting, things like that. I love doing hands-on

stuff” (personal communication, July 28, 2015). She described her feelings about another

creative experience in this way:

I love painting. I've painted my bedroom. I striped it different colors. I didn't have

any equipment to like, measure. People say to get lasers. So I just used a ruler to

measure to make sure it was the same all the way around. Which took forever, but

it was fun. (Leah, personal communication, July 28, 2015)

Paws simply said, “I enjoy drawing” and comments on her earliest memories of drawing:

Drawing when I was little was more like about having fun and thinking this is

what I want to do for the rest of my life. I drew just what I loved which was

cartoons. I drew my pets. I drew my family. They weren't very good, but I

enjoyed it. (personal communication, September 12, 2015)

Nevada also stated, “I always enjoyed art” and that “I do like to make music”

(personal communication, July 28, 2015). Dr. J recalled how he enjoyed making a

Christmas tree out of a pinecone, a ceramic pot, and a CD: “I liked it because it was

abstract and three-D. I like 3-D stuff” (personal communication, August 1, 2015). He also

described his creative endeavors as a hobby: “A lot of the creative stuff I do is just in my

own free time as a hobby” (personal communication, August 1, 2015). In describing his

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work in creating video games, Raph said, “It is very complex. It is a lot of fun” (personal

communication, August 18, 2015). Stars further explained, “When the creating is going

well, I feel excited for sure. I feel happy, ‘I got this.’ It lasts the whole time unless I

stumble upon something that needs help” (personal communication, July 19, 2015).

When their creative endeavors were moving along smoothly, the participants all reported

feeling joy and happiness while creating.

Excitement. A third common pattern found in the participants’ description of the

affective experience is that the creative process results in excitement. Stars remembered

the excitement of discovering how he was able to transform his own hand into a turkey

(personal communication, July 19, 2015). Dr. J enjoyed drawing because none of his

friends is able to draw the way he can: “When I do this kind of thing, I feel excitement

because it is something that no one else can do” (personal communication, July 19,

2015). Michaela recalled her excitement of drawing a figure by copying another figure

that had been turned upside down. Her drawing actually ended up looking like the hippo

that she copied. She said, “I don't know how that works. It was crazy!” (personal

communication, August 14, 2015). Michaela then specifically used the word excitement

after much thought:

When things are going well when I am creating, I think I feel not so much excited,

but (...) maybe that is the word. Excited. I think excited is the perfect word.

Because as soon as I get an idea of what I am going to write, I'm like, “Oh my

gosh.” If I really like it, I feel that is so cool, and I have to write about that. So, I

get excited. (personal communication, August 14, 2015)

Like Stars and Michaela, Raph also said that he experiences excitement when creating:

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Sometimes it is an excitement if it is something that I am very proud of doing.

There is excitement to write it, there's excitement to read back over it, to re-

experience it, and then there is the excitement to show it to people. (personal


Raph further explored and defined his affective experience in this way:

When I am creating, when I am working at my best, I'm feeling the emotion of

love for my work. There is definitely a very strong physical and emotional sense

of passion, and there will be an idea, [or] some sort of a revelation that causes that

passion. (personal communication, August 18, 2015)

Paws tells of a similar excitement when she said, “When creating, I feel

excitement and pride. I would have to definitely say excitement, pride, inspiration,

because this turned out really good. I can't wait to see what I do next” (personal

communication, September 12, 2015). Paws described the fun and the excitement when

engaging in the rotoscoping project in high school. When everyone else was groaning

about how long it was taking, Paws reported feelings in this way: “‘That was fun!’

Everyone else said, ‘This is taking forever.’ And I'm just sitting at the computer like, ‘I'm

doing ANIMATION!’” (personal communication, September 12, 2015). The participants

said excitement was part of their successful creative endeavors.

Loss of awareness. A fourth pattern found in the participants’ description of the

affective experience is that they lose a sense of their surroundings. Stars described how

he gets into a “zone . . . just like I'm really focused” (personal communication, July 19,

2015). Dr. J said, “When I am creating, I am not that aware” (personal communication,

July 19, 2015), and “I am always hyper-aware of my parents' needs. But if they are not in

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there, then I can get in that tunnel. So if there is nobody around, I get into the tunnel”

(personal communication, July 19, 2015). Paws said, “If I am super in the zone, and

sometimes mom will be like, ‘Hi, hi. What are you doing?’ and I'm like ‘Ahhh! When did

you get here?’” (personal communication, September 12, 2015). Paws also described the

loss of the sense of her surroundings in this way:

Being in the zone … feels kind of cool. I don't know how to describe it. You are

just so focused on what you are doing that everything around you just kind of

fades away. When you come out of the zone, you kind of come back to the real

world. You kind of realize, “Wow, I wasted like, or I spent three hours drawing or

something like that.” I shouldn't say wasted because if you love what you are

doing, you are not wasting any time at all. (personal communication, September

12, 2015)

Michaela described a similar phenomenon:

…a little bit after I've been writing, I think I am just so absorbed in what I am

writing, that I don't even think about my surroundings or like what's going on

behind me. If someone is talking behind me, and I'm so engrossed in what I'm

doing, I won't even pay attention. Like if my mom is trying to talk to me, I'm not

very observant. (personal communication, August 14, 2015)

Leah also experienced the same “zone” after engaging in the unpleasant stage of planning

her creative activity: “The joy comes while doing it. The joy feels like kind of like a Zen

state, and I forget everything, and I am just doing” (personal communication, July 28,

2015).

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Yearning. A fifth pattern found is that when the participants experienced a loss of

artistic expression (or if they simply imagined this loss), they were left with a yearning.

When describing his former experiences with dance, Raph concluded with, “It was fun. I

do miss it” (personal communication, August 18, 2015). Nevada passionately explained

that even though he wants to go into medicine, he never wants to give up art: “I don't

want to lose art. I want to keep it around (personal communication, August 23, 2015).

In summary, the participants described the emotional experience of creativity as

relaxing, enjoyable, exciting, and a pleasant way to escape current surroundings. It also

allows them to enter a “zone” where they can peacefully engage in the creative process. It

is such a rewarding experience, that if they could no longer have creativity in their lives,

it would be a loss. Leah summarized most of these experiences:

I’m not aware of my surroundings during that time. Not at all. Not at all. People

will talk to me, and two hours later, I'll finally like come out and they'll [say], “I

was asking you all these questions. . .” I don't even hear it. I don't hear a thing. I

don't see anything. Nothing is there. It is total focus. That's why it is so nice.

That's why it is such relaxation. It’s just like you forget about everything. I think

all of the things I like to do for pleasure give me this state where I can completely

zone out. Playing piano, leisure reading, singing, dancing, yoga, cooking, etc. I

completely lose myself when doing any of these and don't come back into focus

until I'm done. (personal communication, July 28, 2015)

Conclusion

This concludes the presentation of the data. The purpose of this chapter was to

capture the lived experiences with creativity as told by eight young creators. To

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accomplish this, the following methods were used: the participants’ words were recorded

and transcribed; the transcriptions, the documents, and the observations were coded and

then condensed into eight case profiles (which are located in the appendices). The data

was then again condensed and shaped into case summaries, structured around theoretical

propositions. After the presentation of the individual case summaries, the chapter

concluded with a presentation of the data across cases making use of matrices and

summaries. Matrices were created as a means of succinctly presenting the data across the

individual cases as related to the propositions. They were used to “organize the vast array

of condensed material into an ‘at-a-glance’ format for reflection, verification, conclusion

drawing, and other analytic acts” (Miles, et al., 2014, p. 91). The matrices, combined with

the summaries, illustrate the patterns that emerged. When analyzed, these patterns formed

the basis for six themes that emerged from the data.

Chapter Five will begin with review of the study’s purpose and research question.

This will be followed by an explanation of six themes through which the data will be

interpreted and analyzed in light of other studies on creativity. The chapter will also

include the answer to the research question, implications of the findings, limitations of

this study, and recommendations for further research on creativity as related to the

findings of this study.

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Chapter Five

Results and Conclusions

Creativity is a mysterious and complex aspect of the human condition that eludes

a common definition, description, and experience (Azzam, 2009; Feldman,

Csíkszentmihályi, & Gardner, 1994; NAGC, n.d.; Plucker, Beghetto, & Dow, 2004;

Starko, 2010; Stein, 1953; Sternberg & Lubart, 1999; Torrance, 1962; Torrance &

Shaughnessy, 1998; Vygotsky, 1967/2004). Some researchers are curious about the

process of creativity (Torrance, 1962; Wallas, 1926/2014), while others want to

understand what awakens and nurtures that process (Bloom, 1985; Wechsler, 2000;

Piirto, 2004; Simonton, 1988, 2008; Torrance, 1962, 1989; Wallas, 1926/2014). Some

want to understand how the external context awakens and nurtures creativity, and others

seek to unveil the internal working context of creators who go about their work (Ghiselin,

1952; Guilford, 1967; Piirto, 2004, 1998; Renzulli, 1998; Sternberg & Grigorenko, 2000;

Torrance, 1962, 1989; Wallas, 1926/2014). In asking my research question (How do

young creators describe the many aspects of their lived experiences [contextual,

affective, and cognitive] with creativity from its awakening to its current state?), I wanted

to make sense of all these facets of creativity.

The overall purpose of qualitative research is to portray publicly the private

thoughts, feelings, and perspectives of participants who have engaged in the phenomenon

explored in a study (Piantanida & Garman, 2009). Therefore, the specific purpose of this

descriptive, multiple-case study is to portray how young creators would describe, explain,

and demonstrate their creativity as defined by their own understanding of creativity, as

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recalled from their earliest memories, as explained from their current state of life, and as

shown through the creation of a poem during a think-aloud observation.

In sharing the young creators’ lived experiences with creativity, from its

awakening to its present state, the findings of this study illuminate the value of creativity

and deepen the understanding of creative experiences. Chapter 1 introduced this study by

describing the background of its origin, presenting the research question, and defining

terms relative to this study. Chapter 2 then grounded this study in the presentation of

relevant seminal literature and an appropriately designed methodology. Chapter 3

outlined and defended the research procedures used for this investigation into creativity.

Chapter 4 began the portrayal of creativity as seen through the experiences of eight young

creators in the presentation of data gathered through multiple sources (surveys,

interviews, participant observation in the form of a think-aloud, and document

collection). Data were organized around theoretical propositions derived from the

literature review and presented in two ways: first, through individual case summaries

(within case), and second, through data presentation across-cases (between cases) using

matrices, figures, quotations, and summaries.

The portrayal of creativity as seen through the experiences of eight young creators

continues is this chapter through the analysis of the data. While working with data in

Chapter 4, patterns began to emerge within and between the propositions. Bogdan and

Biklen (1982, 2007) define qualitative data analysis as “working with data, organizing it,

breaking it into manageable units, synthesizing it, searching for patterns, discovering

what is important and what is to be learned, and deciding what you will tell others” (p.

145). As patterns emerged, data presentation led to both analysis and discovery of what is

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important and what is to be learned (the results of the study).

The results of the data analysis define the findings of this study. The findings of

this study are discussed in the context of six themes that emerged from the participants'

stories, which align with the original theoretical propositions. Their stories were pieced

together to create a comprehensive portrait of both their individual and collective

experiences with creativity. The themes are Expression of Self (definitions), From Playful

to Serious (external context: creative activities), Companions in Creativity (external

context: people), School is Important (external context: places), Awareness of Thinking

(internal context: cognitive), and The Hermetic Work Space (internal context: affective).

In this chapter, the following tasks will be accomplished: 1) the research question

will be answered through interpretation and discussion of findings within the context of

the themes relative to the larger body of literature; 2) the implications of the findings will

be discussed; 3) the limitations of this study will be presented; and, finally, 4)

recommendations for further research will be explored.

Results Interpreted in Light of Literature



state? This multi-faceted research question will be answered through the discussion of six

major themes (An Expression of Self, From Playful to Serious, Companions in Creativity,

School is Important, Awareness of Thinking, and The Hermetic Work Space). The

discussion of each theme will include a description of how the theme emerged, evidence

that illustrates and supports the theme, a review of literature relative to the theme, and a

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summary that provides answers to the particular facet of the research question relative to

the theme under discussion.

Theme One: Expression of Self. This theme aligns with the proposition that

creativity has numerous definitions. This section begins with how creativity is defined by

the participants, then there is a discussion of their definitions as related to definitions of

creativity found in literature. This section concludes with the answer to that particular

facet of the research question. What is creativity? According to the participants in this

study, creativity consists of making something new that emerges from the complex

landscape within themselves. This theme emerged from the participants understanding of

creativity as seen in their definitions and in their selection of art during the think-aloud

observation (see Figure 3).

Figure 3. Emergence of theme one: Expression of Self

Each participant selected a piece of art that related to an interest, to background

knowledge, or to a preference. Leah’s has a medical, academic background, and she

Defintions of Creativity

Selection of Art

Expression of Self

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chose an abstract piece of art depicting the human brain. Dr. J has a love of science

fiction, and he chose a picture with alien-like figures. Stars loves movement and play,

and he chose to create a poem inspired by Harmonic Motion, a colorful, crocheted

playground for both children and adults.

In looking at the participants’ definitions of creativity, all but Raph used the

concept of self-expression in their personal definitions. What is interesting is that the

definitions quoted in the literature review do not contain this concept. Yet, it is an

important part of the young creators’ ideas of creativity: Seven out of eight participants

included the concept in their definition of creativity (see Table 22).

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Table 22

Evidence of Creativity Being an Expression of Self

Participant Evidence Date of

Communication

Stars

“…it relates to your life and real world problems.

Creativity relates to the significant things in my life.”

August 17, 2014

Michaela.

“Expressing yourself in different ways.” August 23, 2015

Alex’s

“It's expressing yourself in unique and original ways.” August 23, 2015

Nevada

Creativity is using your imagination, your own ideas,

and putting it down on paper through your own skills

such as like drawing, poems, or writing.”

August 23, 2015

Dr. J

“…putting it down on paper through your own skills

such as like drawing, poems, or writing.”

August 23, 2015

Raph

---

August 18, 2015

Paws

“What an artist creates not only says a lot about the

artist, but it says a lot of what we want to convey to other

people.”

“…a way of expressing one's self using a variety of

mediums.”

August 17, 2014

August 17, 2014

Leah

“Taking ideas inside yourself.” July 28, 2015

Ordered by chronological age of participants, beginning with youngest.

In examining the literature, the idea of creativity as being an expression of self, to

some extent, aligns with what Csíkszentmihályi (1996), Wechsler (2000), and Piirto

(2004) say. Though Csíkszentmihályi’s (1996) study concentrated primarily on Big-C

creators (people whose creativity “has changed our culture in some important respect” [p.

26]), he did acknowledge that there are people (little-c and mini-c creators) who are

“personally creative: individuals whose perceptions are fresh, whose judgments are

insightful, who may make important discoveries that only they know about” (p. 26). The

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participants in this study are not changing our culture at this time, but they are creating

fresh, unique ideas and products which they enjoy creating, and, at times, sharing with

others.

Csíkszentmihályi (1996) explained that creativity happens is an interaction

between a person’s thoughts and a sociocultural context. This interaction was evident

during the think-aloud observation. I watched and listened to the participants as they

produced a poem where they intermingled their “seeing” of the piece of art with their

prior knowledge, values, expectations, memories, imagination, and experiences gained

from schooling and from life. In this study, this “intermingling,” since it occurred

internally, is simply called the self.

Similarly, Wechsler (2000) noted various ways the self influenced the poetry

written by Brazilian poets. She explained that the poets’ experiences with 1) African and

Portuguese cultural influences; 2) Catholic culture which promotes morals, values, and

strong family ties; and 3) nature, loneliness, poverty, and childhood bedtime stories were

made visible in their creative expressions. All of these aspects of the self have had an

influence on their creativity.

Piirto (2004) also sees the self as an aspect of creativity. She said creativity is in

“the personality, the process, and the product within a domain in interaction with genetic

influences and with optimal environmental influences of home, school, community and

culture, gender, and chance” (p.37). According to her explanation, the self includes both

what the creator is born with and what is nurtured within the creator through the

environment. This combination intermingles with the creative process and the creative

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product. She, like the participants in this study, recognized the presence of the self as an

important aspect of creativity.

In summary, this perception that creativity combines originality with expression

of the self adds a dimension to the definition of creativity that was not included in the

formal definitions presented in the literature review. However, this idea of the self being

part of the process and the product is supported in the work of Csíkszentmihályi (1996),

Wechsler (2000) and Piirto (2004).

How do the participants describe creativity? The answer to this particular facet of

the research question includes two parts: Something original is created, and the product

and process are an expression of self. Therefore, the evidence from this study aligns with

the findings of Csíkszentmihályi (1996), Wechsler (2000), and Piirto (2004). The results

of this study suggest that inspiration to create and the process of creating something

comes from the internal context of the person. The complexity of the interaction between

the self and the external context is described by the participants in this study as “an

expression of the self.”

Theme Two: Playful to Serious (and an abundance of in-between). How do the

young creators describe the awakening and their earliest experiences with creativity?

How do they describe their experiences from the beginning and continuing into the

present? The answer to these questions emerged from the propositions External Contexts

(activities) and Internal Contexts (affective) and developed into this theme (see figure 4).

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Figure 4. Emergence of theme two: Playful to Serious

Each of the participants recalled their earliest experiences with creativity as being

playful, enjoyable pastimes that eventually developed into endeavors that were more

serious and offered more challenges. As participants described the affective experiences

while engaging in external creative activities, a pattern emerged that first began with

“fun” activities in supportive environments and then evolved into more challenging and

serious experiences as the participants grew in skill and learning (see Table 23).

External Contexts: Activities


Playful to Serious

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Table 23

Early Creative Experience vs. Later Creative Experience

Evidence Date of

Communication Stars’s wonderment of discovering that his very own hand could be used

as a pattern for drawing a Thanksgiving turkey transformed into his

careful seeing and describing of a Frederick Remington sculpture and

crafting a story.

July 19, 2015

Michaela is no longer happily making Playdough blueberry pies. Rather,

her creativity is nurtured in Power of the Pen competitions that require

three different 40-minute rounds against five other opponents from

different schools.

August 14, 2015

Alex’s imagination was stimulated as a young boy splashing paint on

paper and playing with big construction trucks. Later, he sees a picture of

a seascape and imagines a young man’s yearning for his lover. He created

an award winning poem that describes the travels aboard a ship to reunite

with her.

July 21, 2015

Nevada, as a little boy in kindergarten, used watercolors to create three

faces that showed three emotions, being sure to capture his own smile on

the one labeled “ecstatic.” As a seventh grade student, he created a larger

than life Tootsie Roll as an expression of his passion for eating them even

when he had braces.

July 28, 2015

Dr. J created a video game using Microsoft paint when he was five years

old and today is writing science fiction novels.

August 1, 2015

Raph’s early hip-hop dance lessons and recitals have found expression in

creating the design, music, and graphics for a multi-player computer

game that was promoted last October.

August 18, 2015

Paws’s early stories about the Parrot Fish and the adventures of the three

bugs were precursors for the animated shorts that that can be viewed on

her on-line portfolio.

July 24, 2015

Leah’s early craft sessions with her sister developed into interior design

projects for herself, family, and friends.

July 28, 2015


In her studies on creativity, Piirto (2004) described early creative experiences in

similar terms. Piirto (2004) wrote that these experiences were part of a particular context

of “Family fun [including] a creative tone and atmosphere” (p. 112). Bloom (1985) made

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similar generalizations in Developing Talent in Young People. He described the initial

introduction to piano and art as “interesting and rewarding” (p. 517). He explained,

During these early years, much of the teaching and learning was playful. The

children enjoyed the learning because it was so rewarding. With very little effort,

one could do interesting, new things. There was much to discover and explore on

one’s own or with the aid of the teacher. In most case, the children enjoyed these

early years of learning. (p. 518)

The earliest creative experiences exuded happiness and delight as seen by both the

participants in this study (see Table 23) and the participants in Bloom’s (1985). The

happiness and delight was rooted in the newness of the experience, the exploration of

materials or ideas, and the joy of production.

These findings are somewhat different from those that emerged from Wechsler’s

(2000) work with Brazilian poets. Their early memories did consist of wonderful (and

sometimes scary) bedtime stories told by female members of the family, and “a deep

involvement with nature and animals [which] greatly affected the sensitivity of these

creative Brazilian individuals” (p. 86). However, most of the poets also said their creative

experiences emerged not from joy, but as a response to “feelings of loneliness and being

different” (p.86) and the isolation “gave them the opportunity to sense the subtle details

of the world” (p. 86). None of the participants of my study articulated a similar response.

However, Nevada did contrast the environment of his home and the environment of

school: he said that his creativity emerged from the joy of the social and academic

contexts of school rather than from the quiet of his home.

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Early, playful creative experiences evolved into activities characterized by

complexity and challenge. As the participants in Bloom’s (1985) study grew in their skill

and experiences with creativity, he noted how they progressed from playful experiences

to more serious and challenging creative tasks. As their skill developed, the participants

were introduced to a broader perspective and more demanding practice and performance

requirements. This experience also came through in the voices of the participants of this

study (see Table 22, p. 189). Both studies suggest that early positive experiences and joy

in creating motivates creators to engage in more complex and demanding creative

endeavors.

Bloom (1985) continued the description of this evolution: the early experiences

are “followed by a long sequence of learning activities that involve high standards, much

time, and a great deal of hard work” (p. 508). Experiences similar to those of Paws and

Raph (who have dedicated their university studies to developing aspects of their

creativity) also align with Bloom’s (1985) findings: “There are special learning

experiences that strengthen dedication to an activity that eventually becomes a

combination of work and play—an avocation, a calling, or a lifelong career” (p. 508).

Both Paws and Raph have described their current creative work by emphasizing both the

work and joy they experience as they continue to grow in skill and knowledge.

This experience somewhat matches the development of the Brazilian poets

though, unlike the participants of this study, the university was not the place where they

developed their craft. The creative development of the poets in Wechsler’s (2000) study

took a serious turn after they were in the midst of their careers:

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An electrical engineer declared that he chose this career because he could exercise

his imagination and creativity while thinking about electricity, which is invisible.

However, he does not have any chances to exercise his verbal creativity. Another

young poet, 38 years of age, saved enough money from a bureaucratic job to be

able to quit his job and dedicate his life to writing poetry and lecturing to young

school-aged children on the importance of expressing emotions through writing

and composing poems. (p. 87)

These poets began with the joyful and playful childhood experiences of simple bedtime

stories and nature walks, skipped the formal study of their craft at the university level,

and then made intentional career decisions to incorporate creative endeavors.

In summary, the results from this study parallel the results of Bloom (1985), Piirto

(2004), and Wechsler’s (2000) work in how creativity begins: It is awakened by playful,

delightful childhood experiences that eventually give rise to creative activities that

demand more challenging work, greater effort, and more complex skills.

This finding is important to fully understanding the impact of early experiences

with creativity. The majority of early experiences with creativity were reported as joyful

and full of fun and wonder, but not all experiences were remembered in that way. Recall

how Leah reacted to her school’s poetry assembly: “It was just terrible for me. Well, I

haven't done anything with poetry since” (Leah, personal communication, July 28, 2015).

This example shows the power of the affective response to early creative experiences and

its lasting impact on an individual.

A subtheme to theme Playful to Serious emerged when examining the varied

activities described by the participants (see Table 13). Looking at the table, it is evident

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that the participants have found creative expression in not one or two types of activities,

but in an abundance of creative activities across numerous modalities: music, art, dance,

theatre, writing, singing, and cooking. The one common activity for all of the participants

was music (i.e. instrumental lessons, band, chorus, musicals, and ensembles). This led me

to do a literature search about the connection between music and general creativity;

however, I was only able to locate articles describing a connection between music and

poetry. In one article, Music and the writing of poetry: a collaboration of parallel styles

of communication, Avery (1999) stated her belief “that the student needs to explore the

poetic language in a similar practice that the musician would fully appreciate their art”

(p.187). She also quoted Sessions (1974):

The real role of the musical ear is to organize musical sensation. The ear not only

discriminates; it associates and coordinates musical impressions. It creates,

discovers, or becomes and remains aware of relationships between sounds,

between ideas, and between rhythmic accents, motifs, phrases, periods, sections,

movements. (p. 32)

These this “musical ear” is also necessary for fully enjoying and experiencing poetry.

Avery (1999) also explained that the “development of music and poetry has remained

historically contingent on each other respectively” (p. 187).

Findings in literature indicate that teaching students how to read poetry enhances

their ability to interpret music, especially vocal music (Guralnick, 2009; Helsinger, 2015;

Samuelsson, Carlsson, Olsson, & Wallerstedt, 2009; Thibault, 2011; Walton, 2011).

Therefore, the literature makes a connection between poetry and music. However, I was

unable to determine a connection between music and general creativity.

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In conclusion, how do the young creators describe their earliest experiences, the

awakening, of their creativity? How do they describe their experiences from the

beginning and continuing into the present? The answer to this particular facet of the

research question is: They were introduced to creative activities (often hands-on) that

evoked wonder and delight. These activities provided a solid foundation for later creative

activities that were more complex and required increased effort and skill. As their

creativity developed, the young creators not only engaged in a variety of creative

expressions, but they also shared the common experience of participating in a variety of

musical activities both inside and outside of general music class.

Theme Three: Companions in Creativity. Who were the people that influenced

the creativity of the young creators of this study? How do the participants describe the

influence of these people? This theme emerged from the propositions: External Contexts:

(People); Internal Contexts (Affective); and Internal Contexts (Cognitive: Inspiration and

Obstacles) (see Figure 5).

Figure 5. Emergence of theme three: Companions in Creativity.

External Contexts:

People

Internal Contexts: Affective

Internal Contexts: Cognitive

(Inspiration, Obstacles)

Companions in Creativity

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Each of the participants described many people who have accompanied them

throughout their awakening and continual development of creativity. These companions

have been, and continue to be, sources of inspirations and affirmation, providers of

experiences, and, for some participants, providers of solutions to obstacles they encounter

while creating. The companions oftentimes are family members. For others, the

companions are teachers, friends, or professionals in their fields (see Table 24).

Table 24

Companions in Creativity

Participants Evidence of Companions Date of

Communication

Stars

parents, teachers, friends July 19, 2015

Michaela

parents, grandparents, teachers, friends August 14,

2015

Alex

parents, grandparents, teachers July 21, 2015

Nevada

teachers, sister, cousins, friends July 28, 2015

Dr. J

parents, friends, on-line communities August 1, 2015

Raph

.

sister, cousins, friends, professors August 18,

2015

Paws

parents, sister, teachers, friends, professors, on-line

communities, experts in the field

July 24, 2015

Leah

Parents, sister, teachers, on-line communities July 28, 2015


The theme, Companions in Creativity, is supported by the work of Bloom (1985),

Weschler (2000), Csíkszentmihályi (1996), and Piirto (1998, 2004). They, too, made

generalizations about the importance of others in the lives of young creators. Though

none of the participants in my study have been working in their specific domains long

enough to become eminent (such as those in Bloom’s, 1985; Weschler’s, 2000; and

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Csíkszentmihályi’s, 1996 studies), each of the studies reported families, friends, teachers,

and peers in their creative fields as influencing their creative selves.

Csíkszentmihályi (1996) stated, “In most cases, it is the parents who are

responsible for stimulating and directing the child’s interest” (p.161). Weschler (2000)

also described mothers of the Brazilian poets in this way:

Unanimously, these writers and poets responded that their mothers were the

persons who most influenced their creativity and functioned as their mentors.

Their mothers supported, encouraged, and praised their earliest creative efforts.

Although the mother was semi-illiterate, in many cases, she was understanding

and approved of her child’s interests in reading and writing. (p. 86)

This describes well what the young creators said about the influence of their

parents. All but one of the participants spoke specifically of parents as providing some

means of support. This support ranged from providing experiences that contributed to his

or her intellectual development (Csíkszentmihályi, 1996, p.161) (i.e. creative educational

settings and materials, and broad world experiences) to forming a close, supportive, and

congenial relationship with the child and his or her creative endeavors. Though Raph did

not describe his parents’ involvement in this way, I did detect pride in and enthusiasm for

his son’s studies to become a writer when talking to his father during the recruitment

stage of this study (personal communication, July 2015).

Piirto (2004) also described family mythology or family scripts as powerful

influences in developing creativity. Some examples of family scripts are “‘In our family,

we value the art and talk about art,’ or ‘In our family, we go to museums,’ or ‘In our

family, we go to college’” (p. 113). The participants reported hearing similar scripts

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about their early experiences with creativity, visits to museums, and their future

aspirations. However, not only parents perpetuated the scripts, but also siblings, cousins,

and grandparents contributed to this practice, as sometimes “the entire family is

mobilized to shape the child’s interests” (Csíkszentmihályi, 1996, p.162).

As seen in the data presentation, the participants of this study also spoke

specifically of how friends, peers in their field, and/or teachers supported their creativity

by perpetuating the family scripts or merely providing support and encouragement.

Sometimes this came in the form of affirmation and sometimes in the form of public

recognition. Dr. J spoke of his excitement and pride when sharing his Anime® drawings

with friends:

I feel excitement because it is something that no one else can do. My friends who

play Pokémon®, cannot draw for the life of them. So I took all my drawings into

school and it blew their minds. (personal communication, August 1, 2015)

This same experience is evident in Bloom’s (1985) work when he speaks of the

influence of parental approval of their children’s products and how “rewards and

recognition by siblings, peers, and sometimes a wider public also provided motivation”

(p. 518).

Teachers were also important to the development of creativity. Each of the

participants described an important teacher or professor who influenced their creativity.

Stars’s teachers provided creative assignments, and Michaela’s Power of the Pen coach

helped her when she encountered obstacles in her writing. Alex’s teacher taught him how

to write an ekphrastic poem that won him the honor of first place. Nevada’s teachers

encouraged creativity when it was so glaringly absent at home. Dr. J’s computer teacher

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gave him the tools and opportunity to create and play his first video game. Raph’s teacher

opened his eyes to the possibilities of poetry. Leah’s art teachers gave her a refuge from

her mental stress. Paws had teachers from early childhood through the present who affirm

her work, challenge her skills, and open her eyes to all things creative. Csíkszentmihályi

(1996) found similar teachers, as reported by the participants of his study, “Individual

teachers often awaken, sustain, or direct a child’s interest (p. 174). He explained their

influence in this way: “The teachers noticed the student, believed in his or her abilities,

and cared” (p.174).

Piirto (2004) also found that the writers in her study had great “praise for good

teachers and encouraging parents” (p.91). The participants in Wechsler’s (2000) study

“reported that, in general, they received understanding, acceptance, and admiration from

their teachers during their elementary and high school years” (p. 87).

This study also found that on-line communities of people influenced the creative

lives of the participants. Both Dr. J. and Paws found inspiration and solutions to obstacles

in conversing with members of their on-line communities. Leah and Nevada also turned

to particular sites on the internet to get ideas for new creative endeavors.

In summary, once again the findings of Csíkszentmihályi (1996), Piirto (2004),

Bloom (1985), and Wechsler’s (2000) works parallel the findings from this study: a

variety of people have influenced the creativity of the participants. Bloom (1985)

described the importance of the external context of people: “families and teachers were

crucial at every point along the way to excellence” (p. 509).

These findings are important because they say that a variety of people in

relationship with young creators can awaken and nurture creativity in young people in

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many different ways. They can provide a variety of experiences and materials to

stimulate and awaken creativity. They can simply recognize, acknowledge, and affirm a

young person’s creativity. They can offer support when obstacles are encountered, inspire

when the muse is silent, and provide “scripts” which frame the importance of creativity in

life. This variety of people includes parents, teachers, family members, peers, and

community members. Such a broad group of people (and such a variety of ways to

influence creativity) offer hope for individuals whose early environments lack

experiences with creativity; opportunities to engage in and awaken creativity can be

experienced at any point in a person’s life.

Who are the people that influence the creativity of the participants and how do the

participants describe their influence? The answer to this particular facet of the research

question is parents, grandparents, siblings, cousins, teachers, and even on-line

communities provide experiences, support, affirmation, and inspiration to the young

creators in this study.

Theme Four: School is Important. What contexts, in terms of place, influence

the creative lives of the participants? Home was an important context, but I found the

importance of school more intriguing as the literature shows a decline in creativity once

children attend school. This was not the case in this study. This theme emerged from the

propositions: External Contexts (place and activities) and Internal Contexts (affective)

(see Figure 6).

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Figure 6. Emergence of theme four: School is Important

The young creators in this study described a variety of creative activities and

productions offered to them through their schools. All spoke fondly of particular hands-

on activities, but the schools provided more than that (see Table 25).

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Table 25

Creative Opportunities Offered in School

Participant Evidence of Creative Opportunities Date of

Communication

Stars

poetry contests; poetry book, Strumming for God;

seasonal musical/instrumental productions; peace

project; class discussions; field trips

July 19, 2015

Michaela

Ekphrastic Poetry Contest; Power of the Pen; theatre

productions; French competitions; class discussions;

field trips

August 14, 2015

Alex

Ekphrastic Poetry Contest; Band; clubs; places to create

after school; class discussions; field trips

July 21, 2015

Nevada

Ekphrastic Poetry Contest; seasonal

musical/instrumental productions; poetry book; class

discussions; field trips

July 28, 2015

Dr. J

Ekphrastic Poetry Contest; band; class discussions August 1, 2015

Raph

.

band; poetry book; product design; Power of the Pen;

class discussions; developing personal study strategies;

creative writing classes

August 18, 2015

Paws

Ekphrastic Poetry Contests; art contests; band; musical

productions; animation projects; creative writing classes;

field trips; class discussions; Japanese drumming group

July 24, 2015

Leah

poetry recitation assembly; Ekphrastic Poetry Contests;

seasonal musical/instrumental productions; class

discussions; choir; field trips

July 28, 2015


Each participant recalled happy memories of creative activities and creative

experiences they had at school. However, their experiences are very different from those

found in schools described in the literature. Bronson and Merryman (2010) wrote about

the decline in creativity in America:

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Kyung Hee Kim, at the College of William & Mary, discovered [this] after

analyzing almost 300,000 Torrance scores of children and adults. Kim found

creativity scores had been steadily rising, just like IQ scores, until 1990. Since

then, creativity scores have consistently inched downward. “It’s very clear, and

the decrease is very significant,” Kim says. It is the scores of younger children in

America—from kindergarten through sixth grade—for whom the decline is “most

serious.” (para. 6)

Piirto (2004) also wrote about the impact of the 2002 federal educational program

called “No Child Left Behind.” She quoted a principal who “called his teachers together

and made the following statement: ‘Creativity is not permitted.’ He then went on in detail

about how the teachers were to concentrate on teaching students to take multiple choice

tests based on state standards” (p.97). Bronson and Merryman (2010) echo the same

sentiment: “Overwhelmed by curriculum standards, American teachers warn there’s no

room in the day for a creativity class” (para. 11) These were the same years the

participants in this study were in school, yet for the most part, school was an important

place in which their creativity was nurtured and developed.

For each participant, the nurturing and the development of creativity came at

different times, through different means, and in different degrees. For example, Dr. J has

very few memories of any learning in elementary school and most of Raph’s creative

endeavors were outside of school until he went to college. However, each participant

recalled school activities, classroom learning, classroom projects, opportunities for public

expression in creative forms, school relationships, and/or a special teacher that influenced

their creative selves.

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In Csíkszentmihályi’s (1996) study, the participants said that school had little

effect on their creative lives. He even found that “school threatened to extinguish the

interest and curiosity that the child had discovered outside its walls” (p. 173). Six of the

eight participants of my study did not have this experience (Dr. J and Raph’s perceptions

parallel those of the participants in Csíkszentmihályi’s (1996) study).

There are six different schools represented in this study: Four are private schools

and two are public schools. The public schools were perceived as neglectful of creativity.

In this study, the private schools are perceived as being unique in their ability to create an

environment where varieties of experiences encourage creativity. On the other hand,

perhaps the participants in Csíkszentmihályi (1996) and Bloom’s (1985) studies are so

distant from their childhoods (Csíkszentmihályi’s participants were at least 60 years old,

and, in Bloom’s (1985) study, few were under the age of 35) that they could not recall

early experiences.

In summary, the findings of this study are in contrast to those found in literature.

Because the participants in this study shared stories and experiences that showed school

can be an environment that awakens, nurtures, and develops creativity, it serves as an

answer to how the young creators experienced creativity in terms of context, affective

experiences, and external activities. School was an important context in the awakening

and nurturing of creativity as it provided opportunities for the participants to explore

many mediums and expressions of creativity.

These findings are important because the schools presented in the literature

appear to place emphasis on accountability: many have removed opportunities to nurture

creativity in the school environment to make room for the testing culture. Two of the

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participants experienced this lack of creativity in their public school setting, yet the other

six had the opposite experience in their private school settings.

What context is important in the awakening and nurturing of creativity? The

answer to this particular facet of the research question is home, of course, is a place

where creativity can be nurtured as seen in this study’s findings, but, more significantly,

school has been important to this study’s participants. This is a significant finding

because it is in contrast with literature relevant to this study. The descriptions of creative

opportunities provided for the participants at school illuminate possibilities for schools to

consider. This is especially important to students like Nevada, who one day wants to be a

doctor, but always wants art to be a part of his life. This love of art was nurtured in the

school environment as seen in his words:

All my creative stuff has been at school. I like being around people and it is too

solitary, kind of, at home. I don't like being by myself and thinking by myself. It

is both the people my age and the teachers that make school a good place to

create. It really has nothing to do with space. It is the people: teachers and friends.


Theme Five: Awareness of Thinking. What is the internal cognitive experience

of the participants while engaged in the creative process? The answer to this question is a

complex interaction of many types of thinking. This theme emerged from the sub-

categories of the Internal Contexts: Cognitive and Affective (see Figure 7).

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Figure 7. Emergence of theme five: Awareness of Thinking.

The participants in this study revealed their thinking processes during the think-

aloud observation, and described their thinking processes in their conversations during

the focus group interview. I listened and recorded evidence of both divergent and

convergent thinking. I also listened for descriptions of their creative processes. I then

observed their aesthetic response to a piece of art during the think-aloud. Finally, some of

the participants also described how the study affected their thinking.

These data sets give insight into the aspect of the research question concerning the

internal context of creators while they are creating. Creativity is usually associated with

divergent thinking. J. P. Guilford’s (1967) theory of the Structure of the Intellect

distinguished convergent and divergent thinking. Convergent thinking is defined as the

type of thinking exercised when searching for one single correct answer to a problem. It

is usually associated with standardized tests. Divergent thinking is the opposite of

convergent thinking in that it is exercised when seeking and considering multiple answers

and directions for problem solving. Divergent thinking is most frequently associated with

Internal Context: Cognitive

Internal Context: Affective:

(Aesthetic)

Awareness of

Thinking

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creativity. I wondered if I looked carefully at the thinking of creators, would I find only

divergent thinking, or would I find both.

The literature on thinking and creativity has been primarily on divergent thinking.

O’Quin and Derks (1999) said there has been less attention given to convergent thinking

in studies done on creativity. In fact, “many researchers adopted Guilford’s suggestion,

and ‘divergent-thinking’ tasks quickly became the main instruments for measuring

creative thinking” (Plucker & Renzulli, 1999). However, in this study, the participants

described, and I observed, both types of thinking at various times throughout the study

(see Table 26).

Table 26

Types of Thinking during the Creative Process

Beginning Middle End (Revision

Process)

Divergent Stars

Michaela

Alex

Paws

Leah*

Stars

Michaela

Nevada

Alex

Dr. J

Raph

Paws

Leah

Stars

Michaela

Nevada

Convergent Nevada

Dr. J

Raph

Leah Michaela

Nevada

Alex

Dr. J

Raph

Paws *As Leah did not attend either of the focus groups, I was only able to observe her thinking creative process

while she participated in the think-aloud.

Several patterns emerged as I examined the references to convergent and divergent

thinking during the creative process. For some, divergent thinking was used to begin a

creative work, while others needed to begin with convergent thinking in order to establish

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a structure before engaging in divergent thinking. In addition, most participants used

convergent thinking in the final step of the creative process.

The middle of the creative process was intriguing. Most of the participants

engaged in divergent thinking throughout the middle of their creative process. However,

Leah actually made some convergent decisions while in the process of writing her poem.

She quickly made these decisions and, therefore, never hindered her creative flow: she

seamlessly returned to divergent thinking. This is in contrast to her own description of

her creative process: if she encounters an obstacle not part of her well-thought out and

detailed plan, she has to interrupt her creative process and return to the planning phase.

Perhaps the quickness of the discursive process kept her from noticing a change in her

thinking.

Nevada and Raph, however, did not move seamlessly between the two forms of

thinking. They both decided on a set structure of the writing that never flowed (moved

into divergent thinking). Nevada responded to this frustration by walking away from his

creative piece. Raph responded differently: he let go of the original structure and began to

write the words of the Pledge of Allegiance. At this point, he engaged in divergent

thinking and his writing began to flow.

The participants also described their creative process during the initial interview

and during the focus group interviews. The table below (see Table 27) shows their

descriptions in light of Wallas’s (1926/2014) work on the stages of the creative process.

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Table 27

Participants’ Creative Process in Light of Wallas’s (1926/2014) Stages of the Creative

Process

Preparatio

n

Incubation (in

response to

obstacles)

Illumination Verification

Stars Brings two

contrasting

ideas together.

Stops his work but sits

and thinks.

Begins writing

intuitively. Trial and error: he

is constantly

checking the

quality of is work.

He evaluates as he

goes. Michaela Lists images

associated

with ideas.

(sketchbook)

Reads a

variety of

books.

Puts aside work: has a

snack, reads a book,

swims, takes a shower,

drinks tea.

“You can't think

logically at the

beginning; you have

to be really, really

creative”

Occurs once she

realizes she doesn’t

have an end to her

story.

Alex Goes into a problem

solving mode.

Puts aside work for a

day.

“So this was just

flowing, and that,

because of this flow

it helped me make

the decision for the

next one.”

Checks to see if it

makes sense.

Nevada Layers

different

elements.

Thinks about

the subject and

anything that

goes along

with it.

---

“I am pulling on

memories. First I

have a memory and

sometimes it just

flows in the head

and like away it

goes.”

“Everything needs to

be perfect, so I don't

normally go too far

into my writing

before I fix it.”

Dr. J May plan a

structure ahead

of time.

Multi-tasks.

Refers to his previous

work or puts his work

aside.

Listens to music that

depicts emotion.

Finishes tangent and

tries to incorporate it

later.

The writing

afterwards is

intuitive as he fills

in the details:

“There are lots of

surprises because of

my tangents. So

when I am writing

those tangents, I am

not thinking. They

are more intuitive”

---

Raph “The first step

is to research

it, to find out

all about it.”

Multi-tasks.

Puts his work aside:

goes for a run or a

swim.

Began writing from

ideas related to the

Pledge of

Allegiance and then

the writing

“flowed.”

Uses accented and

unaccented syllables.

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Leah Mental stress

of preparation.

Can last for up to two

weeks.

Returns to

preparation.

Happy moments of

creation: “Once I

start, it just flows.”

Checks to see if it

meets her standards;

if not, she throws it

away.

Paws Mentally plans

the desired

look:

rough

sketching or

the rough

outlines.

Puts aside work:

going on the

computer, texting her

friends, reading a

book, swimming, or

driving.

When she comes up

with an idea, she

wants to first get her

thoughts down, and

she starts building

the idea from there.

If she feels

something is not

working, then she

goes back and gets

rid of the offending

element.


In creating the chart, I noticed that when the participants encountered obstacles,

they engaged in activities that resembled the activities described in Wallas’s (1926/2014)

incubation stage of the creative process. These activities include engaging in mental

relaxation in the form of pursuing unrelated tasks; engaging in physical exercise

especially in natural settings; and engaging in mental idleness as “unrelieved toil” (p. 43)

interferes with incubation. In contrast to this study’s findings, he also believed that

“industrious, passive reading (p, 44) interferes with incubation, though both Michaela and

Leah said passive reading actually helped them overcome their obstacles.

I also noticed that when comparing the chart for divergent and convergent

thinking, convergent thinking seemed to line up with the preparation and verification

stages and divergent thinking lined up with the incubation and illumination stages.

Wallas (1926/2014) actually describes the illumination stage as the uncontrollable,

unexpected, and sudden appearance of a new idea. This aligns with the participants’

description of divergent thinking.

So what does all of this mean? According to the experience described by the

participants, using the language of Wallas (1926/2014), when an obstacle occurs during

the illumination phase, the participants consciously return to the incubation phase (see

Table 27). How is this significant? If a person is guiding others’ creativity and the

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participant has encountered an obstacle, the mentor might suggest some incubation

activities to prevent abandonment of the creative work.

Beyond the types of thinking that the participants engaged in during the creative

process, I was also interested in observing the participants aesthetic response to the piece

of art that inspired the think-aloud poem. I noticed a difference in the creators’ ability to

see a piece of art in its fullness before beginning a written response. I saw a correlation

between this ability and the creators’ ages and experiences. I wondered if, perhaps, the

ability to view art is developmental. This led me to look into aesthetic development, and I

did find the Theory of Aesthetic Development (Housen, 1983, 2002) supported the

correlation I had observed (see Appendix CC).

Stars and Michaela immediately began their think-aloud with an interpretation of

the art piece: they began with story making. According to Housen (1983, 2002), they

were primarily in the first stage of development: the accountive stage. This was evident

in that “the viewer (the "storyteller") and the image ("the story") are one. The viewer

engages in an imaginatively resourceful, autonomous, and aesthetic response” (Visual

Thinking Strategies, 2016). This was evident in that the two youngest creators began

creating their story with minimal description or “seeing” of the fullness of the piece of

art.

Alex began his think-aloud with description and then progressed into pondering

the meaning of the art piece by associating the elements to his values and perceptions.

This thinking places him in the constructive stage of aesthetic development: “As this

viewer strives to map what he sees onto what he knows from his own conventions, values

and beliefs, his observations and associations become more linked and detailed. The

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viewer looks carefully and puzzles. An interest in the artist's intentions develops” (Visual

Thinking Strategies, 2016). Alex saw all the elements of the artwork as peacefully co-

existing, while he interpreted the people in the boat as disturbing the natural and peaceful

environment of the sea.

The other participants are well acquainted with viewing art and seemed to be at

the highest stage of aesthetic development, the interpretive stage: The viewer

incorporates the imagination while thinking about and examining the work (Baldwin,

1975). Transcending prior knowledge and experience, the viewer gives himself

permission to encounter the artwork with “a childlike openness,” and “Drawing on their

own history with the work in particular, and with viewing in general, these viewers

combine a more personal, playful contemplation with one more broadly encompassing

and reflecting universal concerns” (Visual Thinking Strategies, 2016). Dr. J viewed the

picture and imagines what it is like for those who are oppressed. Raph contemplated the

dichotomy of the culture of a young, African American man and that of mainstream

America. Leah connected with human anatomy and personified the brain. Paws created a

story by blending the image that she sees with her vast knowledge of Asian culture, world

mythology, and feminism.

In summary, the findings from this study, when interpreted in light of the

literature, provide insight into the cognitive and affective processes of the participants

while engaged in the creative process. This insight answers this part of the research

question: How is the creative process experienced cognitively (in terms of divergent and

convergent thinking and of the response to obstacles) and affectively (in terms of

aesthetic response).

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The findings show a movement from one type of thinking (convergent or

divergent) to the other types of thinking, and the movement varies among individuals.

Some creators began with convergent thinking while other creators began with divergent

thinking. The thinking during the middle of the creative process was primarily divergent,

though some switched to convergent if they stopped to evaluate their work. If this switch

is done quickly, the pleasantness of the flow seemed not to be interrupted. The final part

of the creative process (the revision stage) also varied depending on individual

preferences and the demands of particular decisions. Convergent thinking is necessary to

address issues of mechanics and spelling.

The findings also show a nuance to Wallas’s (1926/2014) stages of creativity:

Sometimes the illumination stage is interrupted by an obstacle, and the participants then

engaged in activities that resemble those found in the incubation stage. This means that

progress through the incubation stage and the illumination stage is not linear; rather, it is

recursive.

The findings also support Housen’s (1983, 2002) theory that the ability to view art

is developmental. The younger creators in this study tended to view the art in context of

stories they imagined while looking at the art, causing them to overlook many elements.

The more mature creators were able to closely examine the piece, connect with their

background knowledge, and then engage the imagination in order to write their poem.

These findings are significant as they provide insight into the cognitive processes

involved in creativity and this insight can provide direction when helping a young creator

respond effectively to an obstacle. For example, if the creator has decided on a structure

(convergent thinking) that is not working, the creator may be directed to switch to

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divergent thinking. If another obstacle is encountered, the creator may be directed to

engage in some activities connected with the incubation stage of the creative process:

temporarily setting aside the work to 1) engage in physical movement (swimming and

showering seem to help); or 2) work on some unrelated task such as reading or talking

with others.

Findings that give insight into the affective process of aesthetic response are

significant as they identify the creator’s stage of aesthetic development. Identifying the

stage provides understanding into why a young creator responds to a piece of art in a

particular way. Visual literacy experiences support the creators’ abilities to see and enjoy

a piece of art more fully.

Theme Six: The Hermetic Work Space. What is the affective experience of

creativity? The young creators used these words to describe their emotions while

creating: peaceful focus, excitement, joy, and losing sense of time and of their

surroundings. This theme emerged from evidence found primarily in the participants’

responses to the proposition of Internal Context: affective and the proposition of Internal

Context: cognitive, especially in the areas of inspiration and the creative process (see

Figure 8).

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Figure 8. Emergence of theme six: The Hermetic Work Space

The young creators in this study described something beyond a peaceful “feeling”

or a pleasant, relaxing affective experience when creativity was going well, or “flowing.”

They spoke of a place: an internal context, an emotional state, which provides them a

retreat from the cares of their lives (see Table 28). I described this internal context as a

“hermetic work space” as it seals off the creator from the cares and pressures of the

participants’ daily life and provides them a quiet, peaceful environment that is conducive

to their creativity.

Table 28

A Sense of Place

Participant Evidence Date of

Communication

Stars

“…a comfortable place to be creative is when I get in

my zone.”

July 19, 2015

Michaela.

“That it is also very peaceful to be trapped…” August 14, 2015

Alex’s

“I use art as a way to relax and kind of decompress from

the day most of the time.”

July 21, 2015


Internal Context: Cognitive

(Inspiration)

Internal Context: Cognitive (Creative Process)

Hermetic Work Space

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Nevada

N/A

N/A

Dr. J

“So if there is nobody around, I get into the tunnel. But I

don't ever seek that place. It just happens.”

August 1, 2015

Raph

N/A

N/A

Paws

“Being in the zone . . . feels kind of cool.” July 24, 2015

Leah

“There is no thinking while I am in that zone.” July 28, 2015

Data collected in this study showed a delight and excitement experienced when

the participants were in the process of creating or after having created. Piirto (2004)

explained that some view the creative process as “an altered consciousness, an immense

concentration, and an attainment of solitude” (p.71). Each of the participants in this study

consistently described this experience during the creative process. However, another, and

perhaps a more powerful attraction, was the experience of a “place” during the creative

process itself. They found this place to be a retreat from the world that was both timeless

and relaxing.

Csíkszentmihályi (1996) explained that the enticement of the creative process that

the participants of his study described is initiated by the primitive and powerful human

urge to “relax, to curl up comfortably on the sofa” (p.109). This enticement is rooted in

survival and is an internal regulator designed to prevent us from running ourselves ragged

and leaving ourselves without enough “reserves of strength, body fat, or nervous energy

to face the unexpected” (p.109). He said that in talking with creative people, they suffer

through the long hours of concerted effort and they encounter obstacles, both internal and

external. However, all described the joy of having created and the “quality of experience

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they felt when they were involved with the activity” (p. 110). He calls this experience

“flow” because that word best describes the feeling of creativity going well: it is an

“almost automatic, effortless, yet highly focused state of consciousness” (p.110). He also

said the description of the experience rarely varies regardless of “culture, gender, or age”

(p.110).

The participants in my study did describe the same experience and these

descriptions answer the affective aspect of the research question. However, in their

descriptions, they also suggested that they go to an internal context, an internal place,

where they sought not only an environment to create, but also a place to escape pressures

and worries. It was in this place where they could enjoy the feelings of relaxation, peace,

and happiness. Csíkszentmihályi (1996) described the affective experience during the

creative process as “flow.” I describe the function of this experience as an internal

context, an internal emotional place: a hermetic work space.

In summary, findings relative to the affective experience of creativity build on

Csíkszentmihályi’s (1996) work: Not only do the participants experience enjoyable

emotions while creating, but they also experience a sense of place that that seals them off

from the world. I call this place the hermetic work space: a place that is sealed off from

the stress and worries of everyday life. The hermetic work space is a safe and pleasurable

place to go about the work of creating.

These findings are important in that both literature and the participants describe

the affective experience of creativity as being peaceful, joyful, exciting, and satisfying.

These findings show the value of providing many opportunities to create. Leah wrote in

an email:

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I think the main thing that drives me to create is the feeling of relaxation and

stress relief I get while creating. Playing piano, for example, is my way to relax at

the end of the day, and so I'm not so much driven to play because I want to make

a new song or something, but I just want to turn my brain off. I can't think at all

when I'm playing (or dancing or anything) and it's the best feeling. (personal

communication, March 30, 2016)

What is the affective experience of creativity? The answer to this particular facet

of the research question is: participants describe feelings of happiness, relaxation, focus,

and even excitement. They lose a sense of time and a sense of their surroundings. They

enter an internal work space, a hermetic work space, which allows them to do the work

of creating.

Research Question



state? The young creators say that the definition of creativity includes not only

originality, but also the expression of the self. They say that their early experiences were

playful, fun, and abundant. These experiences formed a foundation on which to

experience more challenging and complex creative activities. They say that various forms

of music were part of their creativity. They say that the journey of becoming a creative

individual included the encouragement, guidance, and support of others: parents, siblings,

extended family, teachers, friends, and members of the community. They say that schools

offered an abundance of opportunities that awakened and nurtured creativity in their

lives. They say that the thinking in creativity is complex and multi-faceted. In addition,

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they say that in understanding their own cognitive processes, they have become creators

who engage more effectively in their creative processes. They say that the creative

process not only includes feelings of joy, peace, excitement, and satisfaction, but it also

provides a retreat, a place where they can escape the overwhelming demands and toils of

their lives. In summary, they say creativity is good. It is valuable. It is important in their

lives.

Implications

The results of this study reflect the knowledge, experience, and stories voiced by

young creators on the topic of creativity. In many ways, the results not only affirm what

literature has already presented about creativity, but they also flavor it in a fresh way.

More importantly, the results speak out against the neglect of creativity and give value to

this aspect of the human experience.

Giving thought to the theme, Playful to Serious, findings show context and

activities of early creativity evoked experiences of joy, play, and wonder. The novice

creators had the opportunity to experiment with materials with little direction. These

characteristics embodied all of the descriptions of the participants’ earliest experiences

with creativity and are, perhaps, the beginning of their creative paths. When considering a

context for awakening creativity, joy and wonder are important ingredients in the mix of

materials, directions, process, and product. In a context filled with joy and wonder, with a

variety of materials, and with the freedom to explore, the young creators will not

experience a neglect of creativity as described in the literature review and by some of the

participants.

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Giving thought to the theme, Companions in Creativity, findings show that

relationships are important to the one who is creating. The participants, as well as Bloom

(1985), Piirto (2004), and Wechsler (2000), speak of the importance of parents, siblings,

extended family, friends, teachers, and others in the community. In addition, the

participants of this study also included people connected through technology. Paws and

Dr. J are very active in on-line art/writing communities. These communities offer

inspiration, support, and even revenue for their creative products. Nevada and Leah get

their ideas for projects by seeing what others are doing by accessing websites like

Pinterest® and YouTube®. YouTube® has also provided Leah with a medium to create

videos to inform others about her life with polycystic ovarian syndrome. As seen in this

study, technology has become an important way to connect with other creators.

Therefore, when considering the many people who are important in nurturing and

encouraging creativity (and therefore giving it value), it is important to include the people

who are connected to young creators through technology.

Giving thought to the theme, School is Important, findings support all the

possibilities school has to offer young creators. The literature reveals that there is tension

surrounding the idea that creativity should have a place in school. Some believe that

creative activities and classes use up valuable learning time (Kim, 2012; Piirto, 2004) that

is necessary for students to learn all they are required to learn according to state and local

standards. This has resulted in a neglect of providing creative opportunities to students in

school. Two participants in this study experienced this neglect. The findings also revealed

a young creator, Nevada, whose primary creative experiences have been at school. The

school environment awakened his creativity. The school environment engrained within

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him both the value of academics that inspired him to study medicine and the value of

creativity, so that he would “never lose art” (personal communication, July 28, 2015).

The participants say that a school lacking in experiences with creativity is one

that is boring, passionless, and mindless. Similarly, Torrance (1962) stated that stifling

creativity “cuts at the very roots of satisfaction in living” (p. 2), impedes mental health,

and the development of fully functioning people, and actually inhibits acquisition of

knowledge and academic and vocational skills. Murray (1960), a Harvard psychologist,

also made this observation: “An emotional deficiency disease, a paralysis of the creative

imagination, an addiction to superficials—this is the diagnosis I would offer to account

for the greater part of the widespread desperation of our time” (p. 10).

Perhaps knowledge of the foreboding consequences of neglecting creativity might

inspire a teacher or a parent to consider providing a creative context for youngsters in

their care. Yet, though the good intentions are present, perhaps feelings of inadequacy

concerning their own artistic creativity plague their intent. It can be helpful to remember

what the participants said: creativity is not limited to the arts. It can take the form of open

classroom discussions or practical problem solving in areas that are pertinent to the

students’ lives. Bronson and Merryman (2010) wrote:

Researchers say creativity should be taken out of the art room and put into

homeroom. The argument that we can’t teach creativity because kids already have

too much to learn is a false trade-off. Creativity isn’t about freedom from concrete

facts. Rather, fact-finding and deep research are vital stages in the creative

process. Scholars argue that current curriculum standards can still be met, if

taught in a different way. (para. 12)

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Especially for students who do not come from creative homes, school offers the

possibilities for awakening and nurturing creativity in a multitude of ways. This

perspective is important when developing curriculum and instruction as school may be

the only place for a youngster to explore creativity. In doing so, schools will address the

neglect of creativity: if opportunities for creativity are incorporated throughout the

school, creativity will be seen as a valuable component of daily life.

Giving thought to the theme, Awareness of Thinking, the findings of this study

indicate the type of thinking a creator uses during the creative process impacts the

creativity. If students encounter an obstacle or are unhappy with the product, the students

can switch their thinking from divergent to convergent or convergent to divergent, and

the process and product may improve. When Nevada stayed within the confines of

convergent thinking, he lost interest and abandoned the project. However, when Raph

switched from convergent to divergent, his writing flowed, and he was able to construct a

powerful poem. A period of incubation also helped young creators manage the obstacles

that are a natural part of creativity. Having these solutions to obstacles will assist those

who care about creativity in the lives of young people.

Giving thought to the theme, Expression of Self, findings show that there are a

multitude of ways to nurture the self through creativity. A rich context for awakening and

nurturing creativity is one that honors this “self” and nourishes this “self,” and creating

this context can be a consideration when developing curriculum and instruction. In

addition, having students discuss their experiences with the creative process is a possible

topic for reflective practice: Conversations with young creators about their creative

products and creative process gave personal insight into their own creativity and inspired

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them to extend beyond their typical approach to their creative process. These same

conversations also have the potential to communicate that both the creative product and

the creator are of value.

Giving thought to the theme, The Hermetic Work Space, findings show that

engaging in the creative process may be a way to ameliorate the stress described by the

young creators. The participants spoke of how creative experiences affirmed and nurtured

the self and brought a sense of peace to their lives. It would be wonderful if all the young

people in our care were able to find the door to their own hermetic work space. Entrance

to the each persons’ hermetic work space is through a door that can be opened only by

the creator. Those who work with young people can discover what contexts are needed

(i.e. solitude or social) to unlock that door, so the creator can enjoy and be refreshed by

the affective benefits of working in their own private, interior space. Creating contexts

that work for individual creators and supporting their efforts show that both the creator

and their creative process are valued.

Limitations of the Study

One limitation is this study included only eight, young creators’ voices. Though

the sample size was small, it was large enough to evoke surprise and wonder. I never

expected to learn about the creative process of a young man who has autism (Dr. J) or

about Leah’s passionate beliefs about how creativity fits in her very stressful life. I know

there are more stories and experiences to be told that will inspire and guide parents and

teachers as they accompany young individuals in discovering creativity in their lives.

Another limitation is the participants come from a somewhat homogenous culture

in that they are European American and are of the lower middle to upper classes. As seen

239

in Wechsler’s (2000) work, different cultures influence the development and expression

of creativity. If we explore other cultures, what other surprises await those of us who are

interested in hearing how young people go about creating?

A third limitation of this study is Leah was unable to attend one of the focus

group discussions. She was becoming overwhelmed by the process of applying to

medical school and had already informed me that she would honor her commitment to the

first interview, but that would be the end of her participation outside of email

communication. Her responses to the interview questions were most surprising. Further

exploration of the tension and dichotomy she described when discussing the use of

creativity to learn in content areas might provide more results that are surprising. I

wonder if the focus group discussions would have broadened her view of creative

activities beyond those defined by the arts. I would have also been curious to see how she

interacted with the other participants as they shared their poems and their views on their

creativity, the creativity in others, and how they, themselves, engage in the creative

process.

The final limitations of this study are those within me. The first one is I am a

novice researcher, and it is evident in my interviewing skills. In looking back at the

transcripts as I write the final draft of my dissertation, I wonder why I did not ask more

questions. For example, I could have asked Dr. J: What is the meaning of the repetitious

use of the word again in your think-aloud poem? The second limitation within me is that

I have limited knowledge of autism and even less knowledge of how it affects creativity.

I was surprised to have recruited a young creator with autism, and I decided to keep the

IRB approved interview protocol to maintain consistency among my participants.

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Perhaps with more background knowledge of this condition, I may have asked different

questions, probed differently, and maybe even interpreted the data differently. I was

fascinated by his solution to writing the emotions of the characters in his stories: he

listens to music that depicts the emotion while he is writing. I was also impressed with

the accomplishment of designing a primitive video game at the age of five and the

prolific writing he produced before his senior year. I know he does not have the

identification of twice exceptional (special needs: autism and gifted: high cognitive and

creative), but I wonder if he should. None of these questions was explored within the

context of this study. Therefore, as Dr. J left me with many questions, I imagine there is

more to learn from him about his creative process.

The third limitation within me goes back to my own childhood. I came from one

of those creative households enriched by family scripts and experiences that included the

joy of creating, an abundance of travel, and home and school experiences that broadened

my understanding of the world. All of these experiences were stirred with deep reflective,

caring conversations with my parents, sisters, friends, and teachers. In summary, my

experiences with creativity sung of home, happiness, and peace. I have put all my efforts

in guarding against this bias in my analysis and interpretation of the data. I made sure to

listen carefully to and report the stories of Raph and Nevada, who do not come from

creative homes, yet are both committed to being creative individuals. It is a relief to know

that the home is important, but it is not the only place where creativity can be awakened.

Recommendations for Further Research

This study has resulted in an intense description of creativity as told by eight

young creators. As is often the case of descriptive case studies, descriptions of their

241

creative experiences have formed “a rich data base for future research” (Merriam, 1988,

p. 25). Suggestions for further research are as follows:

Further study of young creators. This will add more voices to this choir singing

of creative experiences. The more we know about how young people experience

creativity, the better families and schools can create environments and experiences that

will awaken and nurture the individual development of our young people. Young creators

from more diverse cultural and economic backgrounds also have voices to be heard on

this subject. Are there more young creators like Leah? Like Dr. J? Are there more

creators that have more surprises to share with us?

Further study of young creators with autism. As the diagnosis of this condition

becomes more prevalent in our society (King & Bearman, 2009, p. 1124) and more

families and teachers are seeking ways to reach and teach children with this condition,

research into creativity and autism may provide answers to their questions. The benefits

of experiencing the creative process such as the relaxation, peace, and joy found in the

hermetic work space may be a gift to young people with autism. I did think it was

interesting that Dr. J preferred not going into that work space which he referred to as “a

tunnel” as it had potential to become a frightening place. I wonder if this response is due

to autism or due to a vivid imagination. He also said in the interviews that he rarely gets

angry. I wonder if this is because he has found a protective, productive place within

creativity. There is still much to be learned about creativity and autism; this study just

barely scratched the surface.

Further study of the impact of Power of the Pen on creative writing and general

creativity. Both Michaela and Raph have participated in the Power of the Pen. Both are

242

prolific not only in their creative writing, but also in the variety of modalities through

which they seek to express their creative energy. The mission of Power of the Pen is as

follows:

Because the ideas, dreams, and beliefs of today's youth form the foundation of

tomorrow's communities in Ohio, Power of the Pen is dedicated to helping young

people find and develop a creative voice that is uniquely their own. It is a mission

we will realize when we inspire every teacher and challenge every student to truly

embrace the art of creative expression through writing as a life skill. (Power of the

Pen, n.d.)

It would be interesting to see if their prolific expressions of creativity can be linked with

their experience with Power of the Pen. It also would be interesting to see if other young

writers involved with Power of the Pen create with the same energy and dedication.

Further study of the instructional practices of teachers who year after year have

their students place in the Toledo Museum of Art’s Ekphrastic Poetry Contest. When

Joel Lipman, a long-time judge for the TMA’s contest, wrote comments regarding this

dissertation, he said “certain classroom teachers and schools produce a particular wealth

of winners (and runners-up), especially in the middle school and high school groups”

(personal communication, May, 2016). It would be interesting to interview these teachers

to discover how they guide their students to success in writing poetry. A study of this

nature would illuminate their instructional practices that contributed to their students

becoming skilled writers.

Further study of the work of Shel Silverstein and its impact on developing

creativity in young writers. This study revealed the reading of Where the Sidewalk Ends

243

by Shel Silverstein as a common early experience with poetry. It would be interesting to

see how this early introduction to Shel Silverstein’s poetry has influenced the young

creators’ relationship to poetry, art, and general creativity.

Further study of the types of thinking while creating. The use of the think-aloud

observation was informative in that it indicated that the creative process involves both

divergent and convergent thinking. Different creators use each at different times and for

different purposes. It also showed how the self is part of creative expression. Not only did

I collect data from a small sample size, but I also conducted only one think-aloud

observation. Even though I triangulated the findings from the observation with data

collected in the interview, I suspect there would be more to learn about this subject if I

conducted several observations with the same participant.

Further study of the impact of conversing about personal creativity. Several of

the participants commented that participating in this study made them more aware of

their own creative lives and creative processes and of the creativity of others. They found

that they approach their own creative endeavors with more thought. Some also became

inspired to approach creative endeavors differently after hearing how others approach the

process. Leah said that powerfully impacted by her participation in the study. She

realized how important creativity is to her general well-being. When she is without

creativity, as she was during her pre-med college years, she said that her mental health

suffered. Because of this study, Leah is determined to purchase a piano for her apartment

in Virginia where she will attend medical school (personal communication, March 30,

2016). It would be interesting to see if students reflecting on the value of creativity in

their lives brings about positive life changes.

244

Further study that explores possibilities of broadening opportunities for

creativity. There are many emotional benefits (peace, joy, relaxation, excitement, a retreat

from worries and stresses) to participating in creative endeavors. Are there other areas

(besides school and home) where creativity could be an addition to the environment as a

means of contributing to well-being? I am aware of music therapy and art therapy being

offered in places of healing or in places of suffering. Is there a place for art and poetry

(specifically ekphrastic poetry) in these places? I do not know how they would be

received, but results from my study of creativity and ekphrastic poetry may be of benefit

in these contexts. When I emailed Leah about sending me a copy of her award winning

poem, I told her about the ideas of having fine art in health care facilities and having

opportunities to write poetry in response to the art. Leah’s email response was, “That’s

really cool to hear about integrating art and creativity into healthcare facilities—I would

be so happy to work in a space like that!” (personal communication, February 25, 2016).

When I proposed the idea, I was originally thinking about the patients, but Leah’s

response tells me that there are possible benefits for the physicians and other employees

of the facility. For researchers in the health care field, exploring these possibilities would

make for an interesting study.

Conclusion

I am an educator, a mother, and a grandmother, and I am concerned that creativity

is not valued as an important part of life. The young participants of this study have shared

their stories, their perspectives, their feelings, the intricacies of their individual processes,

and, finally, their poetry. My favorite part of the data collection was seeing the art with

them. I enjoyed the company of looking at each piece that initially invited them to pause,

245

ponder aloud, and eventually point out parts that they liked, that surprised them, that

evoked stories or memories. It helped me see the art more broadly, more fully, and

appreciate the person, the self that became evident as the young creator shared. I want

that experience for all people, young and old. I am hoping this study inspires and evokes

excitement for creativity.

I am currently working in a wonderful public school district where teachers and

administrators care about and care for the young people who come to school to learn. I

see some teachers express their creativity in the physical environments of their

classrooms. This creativity extends even beyond their classrooms: it is an old building, so

teachers took it upon themselves to paint and decorate the students’ bathrooms, so they

would have a nice place to take care of their private needs. I see classes involved in

hands-on activities and engaged in lively discussions. I also see teachers who struggle

with this concept of bringing creativity to the classroom. In talking with an administrative

intern, I learned that the struggle is more widespread than I knew. One of the participants

attends the high school in this district, and he says all of his creativity is self-driven and

outside of school. I did not realize that the neglect of creativity was present in my own

working environment. This study did not give me all the answers on how to change this

situation, but the voices of the participants resound loudly in my mind: “Creativity is

necessary.”

I am grateful that the choir of their voices sang a song that I was familiar with:

That creativity is good. Creative contexts vary. Supporting roles are played by a variety

of people. Internal and external thoughts and obstacles are individual and recursive.

Perspectives on creativity are simple in the truth of youth and their limited experience

246

and complex and profound in those who have committed to studying and producing in a

creative field. The joy of having created and the experience of flow in their own hermetic

work space is something that all are invited to experience.

Though they sang a familiar song, the participants inspired new insights into

creativity. I learned that for the participants of this study, the expression of the self is an

important component of creativity. As a teacher, I am reminded to look beyond the

product and allow myself the opportunity to see the creator who produced the product.

This allows me to value the product, the process, and most importantly, the creator. I also

learned that creativity is awakened and nurtured in many ways, by many people, and at

any point in life. This gives me hope: creativity can be absent in the home and in many

educational settings, but that does not forever exclude a person from participating in

creativity later in life. I also learned that the most common element in the environment

necessary for creativity is comfort, though comfort means different things for different

creators: solitude vs. conversation with others; wide spaces vs. a cozy environment;

music vs. silence; grading vs. non-grading; clarity of direction vs. freedom to create. This

encourages me to know the young people I teach and to provide a flexible environment to

accommodate all creators and their preferences. I even learned two specific techniques

that I can suggest to a young creator who has encountered an obstacle: 1) thinking can be

switched from convergent to divergent or from divergent to convergent; or 2) putting the

work aside and engaging in “incubating” activities can eventually remove the obstacle.

Most importantly, I learned that creativity is valuable to the creator on many levels: it

provides excitement, joy, and a retreat from the toils and stress of everyday life.

Csíkszentmihályi (1996) says it best:

247

The excitement of the artist at the easel or the scientist in the lab comes close to

the ideal fulfillment we all hope to get from life, and so rarely do. Perhaps only

sex, sports, music, and religious ecstasy—though these experiences remain

fleeting and leave not a trace—provide as profound a sense of being part of an

entity greater than ourselves. But creativity also leaves an outcome that adds to

the richness and complexity of the future. (p.2)

248

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Appendix A

Post Card Invitation to Participate in Study

[Event Title Here] [Type a tagline for your event here.]

The University of Toledo [Address, City, ST ZIP Code]

[Date and Time Heading]

[Date] [Time]

[Contact Info Heading]

[Telephone]

[Email]

[Email]

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Appendix B

Invitation to Participate in Study Sent by Teacher

1 June 2015

Dear -------------,

Once a poet, always a poet – whether you're presently writing or not! This is your once-

upon-a-time CCHS English teacher (Ms. Dahlin), and I'm writing because you won an

award for your poetry in one of the past annual Ekphrastic Writing Contests sponsored by

the Toledo Museum of Art. I hope this letter finds you happy, healthy, and loving

whatever you're doing these days.

Please bear with a little background information on a project I hope might interest you.

When I attended the 2015 Ekphrastic Writing Contest Award ceremony in May (and

Central Catholic had two winners!) I met Martha Champa, currently a U of T adjunct

professor with an impressive resume of teaching and writing credentials. She is pursuing

her doctorate in Philosophy – Gifted Curriculum and Instruction. Her PhD dissertation is

study of poetry and art, and she would like to interview past contest winners about their

experience of writing and being an award winning poet. Because Central Catholic has

had so many (30) TMA Ekphrastic Writing Contest winners, she sought me out as a

contact person.

I promised her I'd get in touch with my past students about the opportunity to be part of

her dissertation study. If you are willing to participate and do your alma mater proud,

she'd love to hear from you:

Martha Champa

Doctoral Candidate and Adjunct Instructor

517-202-7552

Thanks for considering Professor Champa's project, and if you get a moment – I'd love to

hear from you too!

All the best, Ms. Dahlin

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Appendix C

Sample Consent Form

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Appendix D

Sample Letter of Interest

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Appendix E

Survey

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Appendix F

Interview Protocol

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Appendix G

Sixteen Poetic Elements

(…playful font and simplistic language utilized to build rapport during first meeting…)

The use of paradox: A statement that seems to be both self-

contradictory and truthful may. Example: Wise fool

Parallel structure: When parts of a sentence are structured the

same way (a form of repetition) so as to create a sense of rhythm and

balance. Examples: To err is human; to forgive divine; Like father,

like son.

Rhythm: The repeated use of rhythmical patterns of unaccented and accented

sounds to create an almost musical sense in the poem.

Visual imagery: Using words that help create a mental picture

Unusual melodic combinations: Using words or sounds with words that

create a sense of music.

Unusual figures of speech: Ways of using words to describe or

compare two un-alike ideas or objects which makes the readers think

and imagine: Examples: similes and metaphors.

Confidence with reverse structure: A line, word or idea

complements the line, word or idea that follows; read in reverse, it contradicts it with an opposing message.

Unusual adjectives and adverbs: Examples: dowdy feline

(adjective); absently gazing (adverb)

A feeling of movement: Using words and rhythm to create a sense of

motion.

Sophisticated syntax (hyphens, parentheses, appositives) Appositive: When a noun or word is followed by another noun or phrase that renames or identifies it. Example: My classroom, usually

a place of quiet learning, exploded in uproarious laughter.

Prose lyricism: When words are used in such a way that it creates a

melodious and emotional character to the poem.

A natural ear for language A sense of humor

A philosophical or moral bent Willingness to play with words

Uncanny wisdom

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Appendix H

Email for First Member Checking

Hello Joey, First of all, I want to thank you for your very generous gift of time and self. I thoroughly enjoyed the interview and looking at art through your eyes. You have such depth of thought and your way of putting things together is unique and exciting. I have taken the transcript and turned it into a profile. A profile is created when your words are (primarily) preserved, so the reader can hear your voice more clearly as it is written in first person. Usually, I take out my own words except to incorporate them into your answers for the sake of clarity. This is designated by the use of brackets. I did leave in some of the original transcription as the discussion was so interesting, and I thought you might want a more precise record of it for your own use. These sections are in blue font. The time stamps are in there to indicate where I can locate the quotes in the original transcript. If you could please read this through, and write any thoughts, clarifications, or corrections directly on it in a different color font, I would be most appreciative. Please email your version back to me, if possible, before Saturday. I have attached the questions for the second interview, which I would like to schedule for this Saturday at 12:30. It should only last an hour. I do still need to contact the two (or three) other participants to see if they are available. You seem to have the tightest schedule as you are going back to school soon. Please let me know if you are available. Also, please bring your completed poem and any other poems or notebooks you use for creating. Be ready to describe what these mean to you and how you use them. Thank you, again, Joey,

Martha Champa

Part-time Faculty, Literacy Instructor Judith Herb College of Education

Curriculum and Instruction [email protected]

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Appendix I

Email for Second Member Checking

Hello Cragi and Evan

I know it has been a long time since you have heard from me, but I wanted to contact you for two purposes: I want to share with you the completed profile of our interviews with you so you know how you will be represented in the study. The other purpose is to ask you to answer five more questions about your creativity.

I have sent your profile as an attachment to this email. You are welcome to clarify and make suggestions at any point in your reading. I just ask that you make you additions in another color, so I am able to quickly see the changes. Then just email the altered document as an attachment. If there are no changes needed, just indicate that on the reply email by highlighting these

words: No changes needed

The reasoning behind the five questions is I am wondering if you have any new thoughts about your creativity. Feel free to answer these questions on this email in a different color. Then when you reply, they will already be there. If you could respond within the week, I would be very grateful.

Question

1. What inspires you, drives you to create? And what does that feel like?

2. Describe any new insights or perspectives you have gained into your creativity since your participation in the study.

. 3. Have any of these new insights and perspectives had any impact on your creativity?

4. How does school impact your creativity?

5. Is there anything else you would like to tell me? (Such as any new memories of early

creative activities? What new creative activities are you engaged in?)

Thank you again, for participating in this study. Your generosity with your time and talent will bring new understanding to the topic of creativity.

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Appendix J

Stars’s Profile

The first interview with Stars (self-chosen pseudonym) took place on July 19,

2015 at the local art museum and the first focus group interview took place on August

17th at a local pub. Stars is a middle grades student who will enter eighth grade in the fall.

At the time of the study, he was attending a small private school in a community that is a

blend of rural and suburban life. He had been a student of mine four years ago and is the

poet of the poem that opened Chapter One. His creativity seemed to be changing as he

entered adolescence. He had become more focused on his physical activities and seemed

to be in transition concerning his preferred mode of creative expression: he explained that

he is not doing as much art as he did when he was younger. I did remind him of his peace

project that he did in fourth grade, but he did not appear to to see the significance of it. I

saw evidence of creative leadership, as did others with whom I have shared his work.

When I showed him a copy of his project during the focus group interview, he pushed it

aside and shook his head. I interpreted this action as his inability to see the evidence of

such a young expression of leadership.

Art museums and poetry. Stars’s parents took him to the art museum before he

started school. He recalled walking around the museum with his mother, looking at, and

talking about the art. He describe the museum as a “comfortable place to be” (personal


He was introduced to poetry through his school. His third grade had the students

write some poems using different structures (formulas) to fill in. As he progressed

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through the grades, teachers gave “the instruction on how to [write poetry], and then they

just let us go ahead and pick a topic” (personal communication, July 19, 2015).

Contests and competitions. Stars had played basketball and soccer. He also had

participated in a variety of writing contests: one sponsored by the local newspaper and

one sponsored by the art museum.

Earliest creative experiences. His earliest memory (from his preschool years) of

creating something was making hand turkeys. He recalled the surprise of “realizing that

your hand could be a turkey. It was interesting for it to be used differently” (personal


Art was also introduced to Stars at school. He remembered learning about the

color wheel and using finger paints, watercolors and pastels. He also recalled how his art

teachers showed famous paintings and shared stories of the artists’ lives. Art from other

students was also shown. In looking at others’ artwork, he began to wonder how he could

re-create it “maybe in my own way. I would spend time looking at it, studying it, trying

to figure out how to make and use their technique with a flow of my own” (personal


He recalled studying Egypt and making a pyramid out of mini Styrofoam blocks.

He went beyond the assignment and made a scene around the pyramid using sand and

other materials. He recalled the project being “pretty fun” (personal communication, July

19, 2015).

Current creative endeavors. Stars’s current creative endeavors involved music

and leadership. His explained that he plays guitar both in a group at school and as a

solitary activity. He said that he likes “practicing guitar in my room. I just like my room.

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It's just comfortable. I like just like making up my own tunes. I just kind of do like notes

off the top of my head” (personal communication, July 19, 2015).

Stars also said that he is a Boy Scout and, at the time of the interview, was

looking forward to going to camp: “I’m going to go on zip lines, and go rock climbing,

and hiking. There's like mountain biking. Like we are taking a kayaking tour down the

rivers” (personal communication, July 19, 2015). He also explained that he is working

toward becoming an Eagle Scout, which involves creating a project that serves the

community in some way. He has not chosen his project yet but is pondering many

choices.

Places to create. Stars made point of saying that “the classroom environment

does not really make me creative” (personal communication, July 19, 2015). The noise,

the distractions, and the time constraints interfere with his enjoyment. His favorite place

to create is outside. He explained this preference:

I just like being outside in a forest area. We live pretty close to a metro park, and

we go there pretty often. Just being out there just opens my mind. I just really like

outdoors. I just really like being outside. A lot. (personal communication, July 19,

2015)

He explained that the slower pace, the quiet, and the natural sounds are good for his

creative process, and that he is most creative when he is alone. Sometimes, when walking

in the woods, he takes a notebook with him, and he will sketch the landscapes. He did

comment that he is not doing that as much anymore.

Stars also liked the atmosphere in the art room at school. He said that it is a

comfortable place to be creative and “when I get in my zone, I'm really focused and I just

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really want to get it done. I just want to keep working” (personal communication, July 19,

2015).

Inspirations: people. Stars explained that he does not hang out with creative

people. He actually likes “to be alone and I kind of do my own thing” (personal

communication, July 19, 2015). However, the assignments given by the teachers

encourage creativity, but the environment in school sometimes works against his creative

process.

Inspirations: activities. As explained above, walking through nature or working

on music or other creative projects in solitude are his preferred activities. Yet he did

describe certain assignments in school that he enjoyed because they required a creative

approach.

Stars recalled an art project where he was asked to create a sculpture that would

represent his past, present, and future using pictures and objects brought from home. He

explained, “I made a car out of cardboard. I put my past on the hood, my present on the

cab of my car, and the future on the trunk area. That was a pretty cool project” (personal


Another project that Stars enjoyed was writing personal narratives. For one

assignment, he had to recall a certain event in his life and capture all aspects of it in his

writing. He described his reaction to this assignment: “I just liked that. I enjoyed

visualizing [events] in my memory and then writing them down” (personal


Stars also said he is inspired by seeing other people’s accomplishments. He

enjoys participating in the guitar group at school because the teacher inspires him to

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perfect his craft.

Obstacles. Other people, and the disruptions that they cause, are Stars’s biggest

obstacles. Stars attends a private school with multi-age classrooms. It is expected that the

older students in the classroom mentor the younger students. Stars explained his

frustration in this way: “Since we are older, more people are coming to you for help and

just want to talk. They interrupt my process. I mean sometimes it is frustrating. Other

times, if they want to talk, I can keep working” (personal communication, July 19, 2015).

He also said that he struggles with writer's block. His solution: “just start thinking.

Just getting into deep thought, and then it will come to me. I'll stop writing to think.

Usually I sit and think. That usually works” (personal communication, July 19, 2015).

Affective experience. When creating, Stars feels focus. He explained that this

focus feels different depending on the environment in which he is creating:

If I am outside, it is more like a peaceful focus. If I am inside, I would say it is not

too intense, because I'm trying to block out [distractions], so I can get things done.

When I am inside, and I am [succeeding] at blocking it out, I would say it feels

peaceful. (personal communication, July 19, 2015)

He said that he feels no emotion when he is in this state of focus. He also described how

he loses awareness of his surroundings: “I am not really [aware] that people are working

around me and what they are doing” (personal communication, July 19, 2015). The time

it takes to get to the peaceful feeling depends on the noise with which he has to contend.

He once again stated, “I really do need the quiet” (personal communication, July 19,

2015).

Thinking. Stars’s thinking varies throughout the creative process. If there is a

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time constraint, his thoughts are always about completing the work: “Like a class period,

or just like at home, like I have something to do, or I have to go to basketball practice, I

think about how much I can get done, but done well” (personal communication, July 19,

2015). He reminded me that his main goal is quality.

His decision-making can be described as trial and error. He is constantly checking

the quality of is work, so if something doesn't work or doesn't look right or doesn't sound

right, he tries a different way of saying it or a different color. He evaluates as he goes.

This is how he described his creative process: “I do it a little bit at a time and evaluate,

and a little bit more and evaluate. That's my pattern. If there's a rubric, I'll see if it

matches” (personal communication, July 19, 2015).

His standard for quality writing is dependent on the flow of the words. He

explained: “So the ideas have to flow. I would say like if you are really flowing, and you

were going from paragraph to paragraph and not being super choppy” (personal

communication, July 19, 2015). If the writing does not flow, he thinks about which

transitions will help solve that problem.

Describing and interpreting art. Stars looked at several pieces of art before he

was drawn to the art installation Harmonic Motion. He did not begin with seeing and

describing the piece of art. He began immediately with interpretation:

Um. It's different. I guess it's more, it kind of reminds me of like a spider web

except with kids. Yeah, yeah. Um, it is kind of like the fear of getting caught in a

spider web. I guess it is scary. I guess just a little bit, but it's also like

colorful...and like inviting (. . .) um (. . .) because, I guess, I don't know, it kind of

reminds me, it's kind of like a trap, but it seems like, it's also kind of scary

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because it is like a spider web, but it's also like colorful, and inviting, like you

could play with it. And like once you did, you would be like trapped. That's kind

of how I see it. (personal communication, July 19, 2015)

I reminded him that description might help him which is when he commented on the

colors being bright “kids’ colors” and the hanging objects “kind of like swings, they're

kind of like weighted but they almost look like…like…balloons. Like upside down

balloons, but they are just like hanging there” (personal communication, July 19, 2015).

He also said, “So it is like when the kids get out, it's like they’re being freed. Um…then

also…the…um…and like some kids are having trouble getting out. It's like they are

stuck” (personal communication, July 19, 2015). He then described that the “balloon

things, all kind of look like a caterpillar, a little bit. Yeah, I kind of see the circle. I don't

know, the circles kind of look like eyes, a little bit” (personal communication, July 19,

2015).

After this description, Stars returned to interpretation and to the budding of a

storyline: “Um, maybe like, the web is like tempting, but inviting. Even the other kids in

there look like they are having fun, and you want to join them, but once you are inside,

um, you realize that you can't get out” (personal communication, July 19, 2015).

Writing. Stars wrote very minimally as he talked (see Appendix DD). I asked

Stars if he would want to finish the poem later, but he felt he would have to be at the

museum, watching, to finish it.

Think-aloud poems. Stars then described Harmonic Motion to the other

members of the focus group (Raph and Paws). He described it as a “huge, almost like a

net…It was really colorful and like you could go inside of it. You can play around in it”

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(personal communication, August 17, 2014). He noted that “there was also these, little

upside down balloons hanging from it. It was all made of yarn. So when I saw this, I saw

kind of like a monster” (personal communication, August 17, 2014). After this

description, he recited his poem (see Appendix EE). Paws responded with, “I like it”


Definitions of creativity. Stars did not propose a definition. Instead, he described

how he engages in creativity. Stars explained how inspiration comes to him:

I like to be outside when I am being creative, so I could just like be taking a hike

in the woods or going for a bike ride and like see some bush or tree or small pond

or creek and then seeing it just opens my mind with thought about it. (personal


He also explained how his creative process incorporates contrasts. He stated,

“When I see something and I … think about it. I kind of give it contrast between two

ideas. With my poem, I put both safety and danger together” (personal communication,

August 17, 2014). Stars then shared that creativity “relates to your life and real world

problems. Creativity relates to the significant things in my life” (personal communication,

August 17, 2014).

Creativity in the school environment. Stars stated, “Creativity just comes with

the academics because you can be creative in any subject. I think it just comes naturally”

(personal communication, August 17, 2014). When discussing creativity in the

classroom, Stars connected creativity to passionate teachers:

I agree that all the teachers should be very passionate about what they do. It helps

students learn. It makes the environment probably a better place. The students are

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actually enjoying what they are learning not just like getting the assignment,

doing it, taking a test, and then repeat. There is more enjoyment there. More or

less, [teaching without creativity] is always boring. (personal communication,

August 17, 2014)

Convergent and divergent thinking in the creative process. Stars explained

that when he was writing his poem, he engaged divergent thinking. He recalled that when

I sent him a picture of his writing from the museum, he read the words that he had written

down, and they gave him the idea of his poem: “I kind of pulled from that just a little bit,

and my ideas came. I don't think I pulled from anything else. I know I did not think back

on those elements of a good poem” (personal communication, August 17, 2014).

Stars also described his experience of how he may skip dinner while he is in the

middle of creating something. He said that happens with divergent thinking. He explained

that suddenly he realizes that he worked through a meal: "Oh wait. I haven't eaten dinner

yet. That's kind of like how I am” (personal communication, August 17, 2014).

Think-aloud poems. The participants used the sketchbook in individual and

unique ways. Looking at Stars’s writing in the sketchbook, I see list of descriptions that

eventually move to similes (“like they are being freed,” “like they are stuck”) and

metaphors (“swings being feet;” “being a caterpillar;” circles being eyes”) (see Appendix

DD). I sent a picture of this document to Stars, and suggested he may want to finish the

poem. He did re-work his poem (see Appendix EE) before the focus group interview

where he shared it with participants.

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Appendix K

Michaela’s Profile

The first interview with Michaela (self-chosen pseudonym) took place on August

14, 2015, and the focus group interview took place on August 23. Both took place at the

local art museum. At the time of the interview, Michaela was a middle grades student

who will entered eighth grade the following autumn. She attended a private

elementary/middle school. She was a joyful person. She was quick to laugh and described

how she enjoyed family life, school, and creativity utilizing a variety of expressions.

Art museums and poetry. An annual field trip to the art museum was part of

Michaela’s school culture. She also visited the museum accompanied by her grandparents

(her caregivers when her parents are at work) and her parents. The visits were just “for

fun and we look around” (personal communication, August 14, 2015). Her family also

liked to attend some of the special exhibits.

Michaela said that she only reads poetry during the school months and only when

it is assigned because poetry is difficult to understand. She remembered reading Where

the Sidewalk Ends, and having no trouble with understanding those poems. She

explained:

As time went on, different kinds of poetry got harder to understand, I think. I

mean, I can still understand like Shel Silverstein, but different types of poetry are

much harder to understand for me. I need to be in a classroom and have other

people help me to understand and enjoy it. (personal communication, August 14,

2015)

Contests and competitions. Michaela participated in Power of the Pen (a writing

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competition). She was passionate about this type of writing as seen when she said,

If I could do that for the rest of my life, I would do it. I love it that much. I love

Power of the Pen. I love writing and the fact that you can just start writing a story

without knowing anything about it until the moment you get your prompt. It is so

cool to write a story in that short amount of time, and I love it. (personal


She then described how Power of the Pen includes three competitions. Every week in

school, the students have several practices. She explained that occasionally she writes

outside of school, but not very often. Michaela also competes in karate and in a yearly

national French exam. She is a brown belt in karate and a silver medalist in the National

French Exam.

Earliest creative experiences Coloring was Michaela’s first introduction to

producing art. She would always color pictures with her grandfather whenever she would

go over to her grandparents’ house. Playing with Play-Dough was also a favorite activity.

She recalled, “making blueberry pies out of Play-Dough with my grandfather. We would

take the blue [and make] little blueberries. We put them into the crust. It was so cool. I

don't remember why we made blueberry pies, but we did” (personal communication,

August 14, 2015).

Michaela described having an abundance of art supplies available for her creative

projects: crayons, markers, and a huge box of art supplies for school projects containing

colored paper, construction paper, and clay.

She also told me about her aunt who does a lot of scrapbooking and who

introduced this craft to her though she does not currently scrapbook very much. She

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wistfully summed up this section in this way: “Making mud pies, working with Play-

dough and coloring are my earliest memories of creating. I loved coloring. I loved it”


Current creative endeavors. Michaela loves to act. Her school does an annual

play or musical in which the entire school participates. She hopes to take acting and voice

lessons focusing on musical theatre. She hopes these will help her get a lead in a high

school play. She has previously taken ballet lessons with a local ballet studio, which she

believes will help her achieve her dream. She told me: “I like to sing. I mostly sing what

is on the radio. I do love Broadway” (personal communication, August 14, 2015).

Michaela also described helping her maternal grandmother with sewing projects.

She explained that her grandmother makes quilted purses. She helps her grandmother

with the machine sewing, though she added, “I do know how to hand sew” (personal

communication, August 14, 2015). Her maternal grandmother also draws and paints.

Michaela also loves cooking with the television show Rachel Ray. Every day she

would come home from school and Rachel Ray would be on the television. Michaela said

that,

She was just so cool to me. That's one of the big things I remember. I do cook. I

do cook dinner for the family. I can make, honestly anything. I can make pasta, or

chicken, or whatever. I do like to bake, too. I can bake cupcakes and cookies.


However, Michaela claimed that she is not the best at drawing. Though she does

not usually draw, her favorite art project at school was a recent drawing project. The

students were to copy a picture of an animal, but the picture and the paper they were

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drawing on had to be in an upside-down position. The exercise used the right side of

brain. It forced them to look at the shapes and shadows rather than the whole picture.

When they turned both the picture and the drawing paper right side up, the animal

appeared. Michaela described the experience:

I drew a hippo, so I focused more on the act of drawing than on making it look

like a hippo, at first. You didn't even pay attention to the fact that maybe it didn't

look like a hippo. Once you turned it around, it was exactly like a hippo. I don't

know how that works. It was crazy. (personal communication, August 14, 2015)

Michaela also attended local theatre productions. Wicked is her favorite musical,

and she knows all of the words to the song “Popular” and most of the words to the sound

track. She explained that, “Mostly, I just sing the songs and not act them out. We always

sing the songs” (personal communication, August 14, 2015).

Places to create. Michaela stated that her favorite place to write is wherever

Power of the Pen is happening. She described that practices in the classroom: “It’s really

nice. Everyone is writing. You are just sitting in silence. It's actually really peaceful”


Michaela described how she needs a lot of space when she creates at home. She

said that she needs space and cannot create in a small area. Her favorite place is to sprawl

out on her kitchen table. She explained her preference in this way:

Normally, people's kitchen tables gather items. Like at my grandparents’ house,

there is everything on it. But at my mom’s house, there is nothing on the table, so

it’s nice to just spread everything out, and I can just look at everything at once

and it’s really nice. Mom’s table is the best. (personal communication, August 14,

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2015)

Her classroom also has an area where a person can just sprawl out. She described

how the students move the desks aside, and they sit on the carpeted floor. There are also

larger, round tables and counters to work on if the work is messy and has the possibility

of damaging the carpet. She also enjoys doing projects in the science lab (which is

available for everyday use) as there is a lot of room and no carpet. She said that the art

room is also spacious, but it is not always available.

Inspirations: people. Her paternal grandmother quilts and Michaela credits this

grandmother for teaching her how to be creative:

I helped her with the first quilt that she made. I actually have it my room right

now. I helped with both the design and the piecework. It's kind of like a mash up

of everything that we love. We got to pick out colors and patterns together, and

then I helped a little bit with the sewing. (personal communication, August 14,

2015)

Michaela said that she comes from a strong background in creativity. Besides her

grandparents, both of her parents are creative people. She said that her dad does not draw

and paint, but he is good with computers and is a computer engineer who designs

programs to thwart computer hackers. Her mother is creative because she uses her

graphic design ability in her marketing work for a local travel agency.

Her friend Megan is another person who inspires creativity in her life. Megan

inspires Michaela by the way she puts her mind to things. If Megan wants to do

something, she will do it, and Michaela thinks that determination is inspiring. Her friend

plays seven instruments and competes in Power of the Pen, “where she made it to states

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and that is actually really hard” (personal communication, August 14, 2015). The two

girls do not compete directly in Power of the Pen, but they do playfully compete

sometimes. For example, they both play the ukulele, and they push each other to learn

new songs.

Michaela also has a cousin who is like her best friend in that her cousin also

makes her own dreams come true. She told me the story of how her cousin went to

college and then moved to France. Michaela nicely summed up this section with the

following quote: “The inspiring people in my life are the ones who decide to do

something and do it” (personal communication, August 14, 2015).

Inspirations: activities. Reading a variety of books inspires Michaela especially

in hopes of improving her writing for Power of the Pen competitions. She said that if she

is reading a really good book and likes how the author writes something, she may take

note and say, “‘I really like how the author writes that,’ and I will try to incorporate that

into the next thing I write for school or for Power of the Pen” (personal communication,

August 14, 2015). She said being in Power of the Pen has made her more aware of the

author’s craft, and that she is always looking for new ways to write.

Obstacles. Michaela explained that when she writes, she always ends up writing

too fast. She realized that she could not write what she is thinking because she is thinking

too fast. The other obstacle is when she starts writing a story that she loves, she gets the

first part of the story completely written, and realizes that she does not know how to end

it. Sometimes she comes up with perfect ending to a story, but has no idea how to start it.

This difficulty in piecing together parts of the story is a constant frustration.

Her writing coach helps her when she faces these obstacles. If the writers are

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stuck, the coach gives the writers ideas on how to finish and how to start their stories.

These ideas help them during the competitions.

Sometimes Michaela tries to overcome the obstacles on her own. She has tried

just sitting down and thinking about stories that she has written before or stories that she

has read. Halting the writing and thinking for a second sometimes provides a solution.

Sometimes, though, this does not help because then she almost thinks too hard. Her

solution then is to just stop thinking because she will end up not even thinking straight

and will completely forget what she was trying to solve! Her solution then is “to put it

away by setting it aside and have a snack or reading a book or something to get my mind

off what I was doing” (personal communication, August 14, 2015). Sometimes she goes

on bike ride when she is stuck. Other times, she swims. Sometimes she get ideas in the

pool, “but honestly I get more ideas in the shower more than anything. I also drink hot tea

a lot. I usually have a cup by my side” (personal communication, August 14, 2015).

Affective experience. Excited is the word Michaela used to describe how she

feels when she is creating. She explained: “As soon as I get an idea of what I am going to

write, I'm like, ‘Oh my gosh.’ If I really like it, I have to write about that. So I get

excited” (personal communication, August 14, 2015). This excitement mellows a little bit

after writing for about twenty minutes. Then she described being so absorbed in her

writing that she does not even think about her surroundings or what's going on around

her. She claimed,

If someone is talking behind me, and I'm so engrossed in with what I'm doing, I

won't even pay attention. Like if my mom is trying to talk to me, I'm not very

observant. Sometimes if we are running late for something, she has to bring me

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out of it. (personal communication, August 14, 2015)

She explained that when she is writing, time flies fast because she is not paying attention.

When writing a story, she can be focused for about 45 minutes to an hour. She reported:

That it is also very peaceful to be trapped, not so much trapped into it, but so

focused that you are not paying attention to the fact that maybe you have five

things going on tomorrow and maybe you are stressed out or something. It is so

peaceful to focus on just what you are doing. I don't even think about those five

things: they are non-existent. (personal communication, August 14, 2015)

Thinking. Michaela explains how her writing is intuitive:

I will write my story how I am thinking of it instantly. Then I'll go back and read

it and I'll see if it makes sense if I was actually knowing what I was writing as I

was writing it. Sometimes, I write things three times in a row that I didn't even

realize. It is after I have come out of my writing that the thinking begins.


She also explained that the thinking and the creating do not happen at the same time. The

thinking happens in the revision phase, yet, even then, she finds that “I get into the

peaceful, happy place” (personal communication, August 14, 2015). She feels that this

logical place is peaceful though not as peaceful as just writing intuitively:

It's nice to actually think about what I am writing and come up with different

ideas of what I could write. I would read it over and be like: “I don't like this but

this is better here” and pick out different parts and re-arrange it. (personal


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Describing and interpreting art

Michaela was very excited about looking at the art in the museum. She took note

of an unusual necklace and responded in this way: “I do like this, actually. I think it looks

like different parts of different things that might mean different things to someone. Like

... this is really cool. I don't know why I like it” (personal communication, August 14,

2015).

Instead of taking time to note the details of the necklace and to describe them, she

immediately began interpreting the art piece. She began with these words:

So, I see it as you are getting help from, like, everyone, and you are piecing things

together that you get from different people to make one thing. I like the idea of

someone not having much and taking help from other people, accepting offerings.

I do not think that is easy for people. I guess I am going to journal. (personal


Michaela then decided on the structure of the beginning: “I want the first part of it

to be about the person owning the necklace, so I guess I'll just brainstorm about the

owner first and then about how each piece means something different” (personal

communication, August 14, 2015). She tried to construct the symbolism of kindness, of

individuals being willing to help others in need.

I began to wonder where she was getting her ideas, so I pointed to different items

on the necklace and it became evident that she missed many of the details in this piece of

art. This is evident when she said: “That reminds me of a human heart, or a squid. The

fork? Oh my gosh! I didn't even see the fork…I don't know how I feel about that”

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(personal communication, August 14, 2015). Then she returned to her original idea of

kindness as seen when she followed the observation with these words:

It could also symbolize the heart, the kindness from everyone who is giving the

person stuff; who is creating the necklace. Yeah, it does look like a man. It's kind

of cool because it kind of looks like...in my way of looking at it, it looks like the

kindness of everyone giving the items for the necklace. It's like kindness is the

food for the heart, if that makes sense. Its kindnesses helping this person.


I, once again, tried to get her to look more closely at the details of the necklace and she

said,

It's taking in what looks like a pea pod. Those look like beans, almost, and that

looks like a hockey stick. That looks like a peanut up there. Checkers. Oh yeah,

yeah...I'm not really sure what that is supposed to be (...) I look at it as a heart.

That is weird putting human characteristics to your heart. Oh, yeah, that kind of

looks like a pipe. (personal communication, August 14, 2015)

Writing. She profusely told me how much she loves the piece and said that she

has written the beginning of the poem. She explained that: “I don't have the poem written,

but I have what I want to write and the different elements. I will take a picture of the

notebook and the art piece” (personal communication, August 14, 2015). She then agreed

to finish the poem at home.

Think-aloud poems. During the focus group interview, Michaela described the

piece of art that inspired her poem. She said that it was difficult to describe because it

was so unusual and the necklace made of random objects:

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There was half a foot, and on the bottom there was a heart eating a pea pod with a

fork. It was so weird. But it looks like a necklace with weird things on it that

shouldn't be on a necklace. It sounds creepy, but it was pretty cool. (personal


She then explained that she knew her poem had a lot of imperfections, that it was long,

and that she really didn’t like it, as it was “not the best thing I have written” (personal

communication, August 23, 2015). I encouraged her to keep working with it, and then

asked her to share it with us knowing we would listen to it as a work in progress. She

then recited her poem.

When she finished reading her poem, she commented: “It's a little long but…”

(personal communication, August 23, 2015). I acknowledged that it was long and

philosophical and a good start. Nevada made a suggestion and an observation: “Actually,

I would bring in my ideas from the necklace. It was more about philosophy than the

necklace” (Nevada, personal communication, August 23, 2015). Michaela replied,

“Yeah, it's not the best” (personal communication, August 23, 2015).

Because I did not want to leave her feeling discouraged, I made some suggestions

about adding descriptions of the heart and how it weighs down the necklace or anchors

the necklace and how she could start with that image. She said she had tried to fit it in

and she “took a completely wrong approach” (personal communication, August 23,

2015). I reminded her that Nevada did, too, and he never even finished his. I also told her

to:

Put it away and you can come back to it later. Just pull the good things out and

then throw away the other stuff or save it for another short story or a poem. There

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are some good things for a short story in there. (researcher, personal


She did agree and said that it would be a good addition to a short story.

Definitions of creativity. Michaela summarized it by saying creativity is

“expressing yourself in different ways” (personal communication, August 23, 2015). In

response to the other participants’ definitions, Michaela then added, “It's expressing

yourself in unique and original ways” (personal communication, August 23, 2015).

Convergent and divergent thinking. Michaela first said that following the

school schedule felt like convergent thinking. Michaela then moved the conversation to

the writing of her poem. She said that she began the poem with divergent thinking and

ended with convergent thinking:

When I was writing this poem specifically, I had no idea what to do, so I started

writing down ideas, and then I got completely carried away with myself. So I kind

of went back and wrote down exactly what I was going to do and then went back

and filled in my tangents. I came up with a structure. I wrote down everything that

I was thinking, and then I slipped things in because the divergent thinking wasn't

producing. It was not. (personal communication, August 23, 2015)

Thinking divergently was not working for her, so she switched to convergent thinking in

hopes of better results. Michaela explained her divergent thinking during the fiction

writing:

In Power of the Pen, you have to be really divergent or to think divergently. In the

beginning of writing your story for Power of the Pen, you have to be really, really

creative. You can't think logically at the beginning. You can't have the same story

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as everybody else. Thinking of a prompt, I am sure ten of those people in the

room would think of the same thing, but you can't just write about the first thing

that you think of because everybody is going to write about that...You really have

to think about it before you start writing. (personal communication, August 23,

2015)

Michaela continued with her reflection on divergent and convergent thinking:

When does my thinking switch to convergent? Honestly, I think I need to focus

more on that. At the end, I am thinking convergently, but it might help if I started

earlier. I start on a story, and then I don't know how to finish what I am writing,

and it doesn’t work out so well. So I think, toward the middle and the end is

where I begin to start thinking convergently. (personal communication, August

23, 2015)

Document description. Three sets of documents are included in the data set of

this study. The first document was a copy of the award winning poem (see Appendix V),

and the second document was a page in the sketchbook where the participant wrote

during the think-aloud observation. Michaela wrote very briefly in the sketchbook (see

Appendix FF). She began at the top of the page with what appeared to be three ideas to

include in the poem. She numbered these. A lightly penciled, slightly wavy line separated

this section from the second section. The second section is a list of images associated

with ideas each beginning with a dash. Within each line is another dash that separated the

ideas from the images. Michaela finished her poem after the interview and before the

focus group interview where she shared it with the other participants. Her finished poem

can be found in Appendix GG.

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Appendix L

Alex’s Profile

The first interview with Alex (self-chosen pseudonym) took place on July 21,

2015, and the first focus group interview took place on August 23. Both took place at the

local art museum. At the time of the study, Alex was about to enter his freshman year. He

had attended a private middle school/high school. He is a serious student yet enjoys the

company of others and responds to the kindness of the adults in his life (field notes, July

21, 2015).

Art museums and poetry. Alex’s earliest recollection of visiting the art museum

was when he was seven or eight years old. He and his parents came to see the mummy

exhibition. His mom and dad enjoyed it so much they took Alex several more times to

see it. The last time they went to see the exhibit; it was gone, so they walked around the

museum and looked at everything. Alex explained that he and his family usually go to the

museum for special events or new exhibits. They try to come at least once a year. He also

remembered taking an art class at the museum. Recently they went to the Art Pavilion to

make some glasswork.

Alex’s first memory of poetry was most likely at school. He remembered reading

Shel Silverstein in third grade. Alex claimed that he had not written a poem recently as he

generally writes stories for himself (during his free time); poetry is something that he

writes at school. He explained: “Poetry is like the music and the stories kind of

combined. You have to be very particular about your words and word choice, and I'm not

very good with that” (personal communication, July 21, 2015). This was somewhat

surprising, as he had written a first place poem for the museum.

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Contests and competitions. The only contest or competition that Alex spoke of

was the Ekphrastic Poetry Contest sponsored by the TMA. The detail in which he

recalled every step of the process revealed the importance of the experience in Alex’s

life.

Alex had a lot of support in writing his award winning poem (see Appendix W) as

it was a project for English class in sixth grade. The class took a field trip to the museum.

They were told the qualities of a picture that helped make a better poem: “Always look

for more detail, deeper meaning within it and different symbols you can recognize”


They were then sent off to explore the museum and choose a picture that inspired

them to write. They were also given a sheet to complete, which asked for different

information about the painting and details within the painting that made them take notice.

They were to write the descriptive details on the sheet of paper. After the sheet was

complete, they went back to school and had a week to complete their poems.

Alex remembered not knowing what to write. He remembered sitting somewhere,

just trying to do it with his homework for a couple of days, and then he had a draft. He

showed his draft to his English teacher who helped him with the grammar, word choice,

and structure. He remembered that the idea of the structure of the poem came from some

of the poems he had read in school. He wanted the poem to have the feel of a man writing

a letter to someone he loved (personal communication, July 21, 2015).

Earliest creative experiences. Painting was Alex’s earliest memory of a creative

activity. He remembered that he liked to paint on his Crayola® Easel. He guessed that he

was around five years old (personal communication, July 21, 2015). He also remembered

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having little books that he used for drawing. He also wrote in the books.

He remembered a project that he did when he was about nine years old. He got a

piece of canvas that was framed in wood. He took wine corks and dabbed one end of

them into paint. He then used that end to make dots on the canvas. He alternated red,

orange, and yellow. He gave one to his grandmother, and he remembered her loving it.

He was especially proud because he came up with the idea of using corks as stamps.

Alex also explained that he has musical experience. He used to play the

saxophone and took years of piano lessons. Occasionally, he stills play piano though he

no longer takes lessons.

Current creative endeavors. Every year Alex takes art at school just because he

likes it, and he feels “it's a good way to the end the day: that is with something creative

other than homework and school work” (personal communication, July 21, 2015). He has

also discovered a drawing app, which he enjoys using on his tablet:

There is an app on here that is really good to draw. I still sketch with a pencil, but

this one's kind of easier sometimes. It's easier to save and not make mistakes. You

can erase mistakes so you can try over again and then get better and better.

Actually, I think recently I got decent at it. I have some pictures on here that I

like. (personal communication, July 21, 2015)

He then showed me some of his drawings on his table.

Alex also spoke of enjoying musicals: “I was in one in fifth grade... It actually

was one of the high school musicals. It was the Wizard of Oz that year. It was fun”


Places to create. Alex’s favorite place to create is in his room. He said, “It’s

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quiet, and I'm used to doing homework and things in there. I have a desk where I do

things” (personal communication, July 21, 2015).

Alex described how he likes to be creative after school. On most days, he has to

stay after school because his parents work. Last year he went to his math teacher's room

after school: “It's nice. It's kind of loud, though, so I stopped doing homework in there.

[The teacher] has to leave at around 4:00, so I start doing homework at four. After

[homework], I play chess” (personal communication, July 21, 2015).

Alex also said that he likes to create in the campus ministry office though it is

small. There are couches and comfortable seating, so he normally does his homework in

there. He explained that a lot of homework has a creative element to it. He said that it is a

nice place to do those projects, and he actually prefers the math room and the campus

ministry office to the art room. He says,

I don't know. The art room just doesn't seem like the best place to be creative. The

campus ministry office is a more relaxing place. The other one, the math

classroom, is just a normal classroom, but the teacher, he was my favorite teacher.

He's really nice.


Inspirations: people. Alex comes from a home that supports creativity. His

mother is involved in arts and crafts and in scrapbooking. She is so serious about these

creative endeavors that she even has designated rooms in the house in which to pursue

her interests. His grandmother quilts and participates in (and wins) quilting competitions.

His parents have provided him with rich experiences such as traveling to Italy and

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providing piano lessons. There is even an article in the local newspaper3 (2006)

describing a science event that his father took him to:

Wearing a bright yellow hard hat, 5 year old Alex peeked his head out of the

bucket of an excavator just enough to see his dad. Then he smiled, jumped up, and

started to laugh. His father…chuckled as he watched his only son play with one of

the dozens of construction machines at yesterday’s “Science of GIB Machines at

COSI in downtown ….”He’s not a grumpy, grouchy kid,” said his father. “He

loves doing everything.” (local newspaper, 2006)

I saw this same support and delight in his son as I interacted with this devoted

father. He was my first contact with Alex, and he enthusiastically supported his son’s

participation in this study. He was always prompt in responding to communication and

always wanted to discuss the study and his son’s background and current activities (field

notes, July, 2016).

Alex said that his parents and grandparents inspire creativity:

Just when I was younger, showing me everything and stuff like that. Well, they

talked about it. Like at the art museum, like the mummies or whatever, they

would read most all of the descriptions on everything [chuckling]. I never thought

that it would be useful, but I guess was. They would just say, “Ooh, I wonder

what this is for?” read the description, and then move on. (personal


Alex is considering a career in architecture, which makes sense since he is so obviously

comfortable with the creative process.

3 Name of newspaper is omitted to protect the anonymity of the participant

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Inspirations: activities. Playing instruments helps Alex be creative. When he did

play piano, it was easier to be creative. Sometimes listening to music helps, but Alex

explained that the type of music determines how helpful it is: “If I listen to country, I

probably wouldn't be as inspired” (personal communication, July 21, 2015). He also

clarified:

I'm not really sure [what activities inspire my creativity] because most of the

things I've done to be creative have been either for school or just whenever I felt

like it. I never really connected it to any [particular] activity. (personal


Obstacles. Alex said that when he is stuck in the middle of something creative, he

tries to think of a way to make it better. He asks himself how he can change it so the

project meets his standards. He knows that there is probably a way to finish it, but he

avoids taking the easy way out:

I kind of go into a problem solving mode, or I kind of put it off for a day until I

have better knowledge of what I think. I think about it for a while, and I look at it

until the problem is solved. (personal communication, July 21, 2015)

Alex told me that exercise and movement do not help him overcome obstacles,

but sitting and thinking does. He said that sometimes having people around is helpful. He

recalled that when he was in seventh grade, he had a friend in eighth grade who sat next

to him and was nice. He explained that there would be drawing projects “where two

people could work together on them. That was not only a good way to do stuff and be

creative, but also to interact” (personal communication, July 21, 2015).

Affective Experience. Alex said he uses art as a way to relax and decompress

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from the day. He also said that it is not relaxing when he is unable to think of something

to draw or to write about; then he abandons the activity. He explained, “when things are

going well, it's a nice. I usually finish it” (personal communication, July 21, 2015).

He also described being very focused when creating. “It's relaxing. It's focused. If

someone is talking to me, I can do both okay, I guess” (personal communication, July 21,

2015).

Thinking. When the creating is going well, Alex will ask himself how to make it

better because he is never finished with a project. When he is creating, he is mainly

focused on what he is trying to create, and is always thinking: “Okay, what's going to

come next?” or “How will it be better?” (communication, July 21, 2015).

Describing and interpreting art. After looking at several pieces of student art

displayed in the gallery of the Center for the Visual Arts, Alex selected a water color

saying, “I like the sea” (personal communication, July 21, 2015). He considered two

criteria when choosing a piece of art. 1) How he can construct the poem —“Because of

the different animals, and I can compare it to a person” (personal communication, July

21, 2015). 2) If the art has robust possibilities for response —“I decide which one is

easier, or which one can be written more about” (personal communication, July 21,

2015).

After his decision was made, he began to describe what he saw:

So it's like a giant ocean with many creatures: whales, fish, jelly fish. There is a

boat with people falling off the side, and it looks like there's a person who is at the

center of it all, who is making it work or move. (personal communication, July 21,

2015)

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He then moved on to interpreting:

It could personify the ocean to be a person or a gentle person that's just slowly

moving and cares about everything in it. It could also be a human who loved the

ocean rather than one wanting to destroy it. There's people jumping out of that

boat. So maybe that person in the center is supposed to be like the ocean who

cares about all the animals. Then the people might be misusing it or not. (personal


He then returned to describing:

That’s an octopus, maybe. What else...different kinds of blue, dark blue for the

whale, maybe towards a light blue, and sky blue for the water. The green stain.

What else...the water is going in separate ways: curling up this way over there,

going that way, going up this way, just going wherever it needs to go to. (personal


Alex sighed and quietly began to write. When he looked at the painting again, he realized

that “I missed something very big, I guess: The braid of her hair goes into the water, so it

can be part of the water” (personal communication, July 21, 2015).

This prompted him to look more closely at the painting. He noticed that the whale

looked content as did the fish. He also noticed that everything seemed to be happy except

the people over in the boat. It also looked like the ocean figure had a second hand that

was hugging the entire ocean. It was then that Alex concluded he had seen enough and

could begin writing: “Okay. I think that's it for now. I think I can go off on some of the

details. I should have enough” (personal communication, July 21, 2015).

Writing. While Alex wrote, there were moments of silence and sighs and some

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thoughts spoken aloud. His thoughts involved adding more to the picture (such as wind)

and making decisions on the structure: “Okay, then probably one more stanza, four lines,

(...) writing” (personal communication, July 21, 2015).

When I asked him how he decided on four lines, he responded, “it just ended up

like that, so the other one could have the same rhythm. So this was just flowing, and that,

because of this flow, it helped me make the decision for the next one” (personal

communication, July 21, 2015). He announced that he had finished a draft. Alex then

said, with a chuckle, that he needed to “look it over and see if it makes any sense”


When asked to explain his process of creating a poetic response to what he was

seeing, he said: “I was trying to imagine the picture and mainly use some of the details to

make it more into a moving picture” (personal communication, July 21, 2015).

When asked to explain his revision process, he explained that he was checking to

be sure it made sense and that his word choices said what he wanted to say while keeping

the flow and the rhythm:

I guess I check to make sure everything makes sense again. Like, do I want to say

“it was like a silent metronome” or do I want to say something different. Does

anything sound not right with the rhythm? I am looking for both an auditory

rhythm and a visual. Maybe I [look for] better words to use. Security . . . I might

want to use a different word than that. When I think of security, I think more of

like a building being protected rather than something alive. I would try to think of

anything that is similar to security. Maybe I would, even for that other one, I

would look in the thesaurus and see which word is probably better. First security,

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maybe protection, because sea and security have a rhythm as well "EE" at the

end. (personal communication, July 21, 2015)

Alex continued quiet writing with moments of thinking aloud:

…(quiet writing) So threatens dark water and howling winds, maybe something

different like threatens dark water and howling gales. There is definitely

something I can use different for water (quiet writing) or dark water (quiet

writing) hmmm...dark water would be okay (quiet writing). I refer to the woman.

It's just the ocean, I put she. I didn't really fit that into the first one, so I tried to

put something for the second. (personal communication, July 21, 2015)

Alex finished his poem and read it to me before we parted.

Think-aloud poems. Alex then shared his poem. He explained that the painting

was of a woman whose hair was the sea and in her hair were various sea creatures “like

whales and different schools of fish. Then there was a ship that was in the midst of a

storm with people in it” (personal communication, August 23, 2015). He then recited his

poem. The listeners silently nodded (field notes, August 23, 2015).

Definitions of creativity. Alex defined creativity to be “a way to express yourself

that you can't normally express with words. Not everyone is as eloquent as other people

so sometimes they have to do it in different ways” (personal communication, August 23,

2015). I reminded him that he eloquently expressed himself through the words in his

poetry to which he responded, “Oh yeah…” (personal communication, August 23, 2015).

Alex then responded, “Being able to express yourself in different ways” (personal


Convergent and divergent thinking. Alex said that he sees convergent thinking

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in math class as there is usually one set of answers and one right way to solve a problem.

He then went on to say that when he is writing fiction, he is thinking divergently. Alex

described that the type of thinking he uses depends upon the situation and the purpose of

the creative activity. For him, if he is trying to draw a picture, he sees the thinking as

convergent because “because you are trying to make something that you already have in

your head” (personal communication, August 23, 2015). While he was trying to write his

award winning poem, Alex defined his thinking as divergent in the beginning and ended

with convergent thinking:

I wasn't really thinking about structure. I was just trying to think about getting all

of my ideas down. And the structure just came, kind of came, during that process.

During the re-write, I was thinking more convergently because everything would

have to be the same from stanza to stanza. (personal communication, August 23,

2015)

Document description. Looking at the writing in the sketch book (see Appendix

HH), I noticed that Alex used both pages of the open notebook. He began writing on the

left page and first created a list of what he saw in the painting ending with a line of

personification: hugging the ocean. On the right page, he wrote his completed poem:

There are two stanzas and one cross out: He crossed out winds and replaced it with gales.

He made no other changes to the poem (see Appendix II) that was shared during the

second focus group interview.

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Appendix M

Nevada’s Profile

The first interview with Nevada (self-chose pseudonym) took place on July 28,

2015 in his mother’s home, and the first focus group interview took place on August 23

at the local art museum. At the time of the interview, Nevada was about to enter his

sophomore year at a private high school. He previously had attended two other private

elementary and middle schools. He is a former student of mine. I had the privilege of

being his sixth grade teacher. Then and now, he impresses me with his delight in creating

and his joy of being with others.

Art museums and poetry. Nevada explained that school field trips were

primarily the reason for going to the art museum. He had also gone to the museum a

couple of times with a particular cousin who he said is “really, really artistic” (personal

communication, July 28, 2015). Every time Nevada goes to the TMA, he likes to explore

a different section and then end every visit with the American art section (his favorite).

He has also been to the Cleveland Museum of Art and the Art Institute of Chicago.

Nevada only reads poetry in school and normally not on his own. The teachers at

his school primarily use Ted Talk® 4 for listening to poetry.

His first main experience with poetry was in sixth grade. He had a teacher who

would read a book and the students sat and listened. He likes poetry being read aloud to

him. Working with a talented friend, he also made a poetry book, which was fun for him.

He explained the experience in this way: “I then made it into a scrapbook, which was

4 Ted Talks: Videos created with the purpose of presenting a great idea in eighteen minutes or less. The ideas originate from all over the world and pertain to the fields of education, business, science, technology, art, and design, and culture.

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cool. The art part and the poetry part coming together is what I liked about it” (personal


Contests and competitions. Nevada told me: “I like contests” (personal

communication, July 28, 2015). He also very much enjoyed writing his award winning

ekphrastic poem for the contest (see Appendix Z) sponsored by the art museum though

there was a mix-up in his home address: he never received the notification of his

honorable mention until after the reception. As far as sports competitions, he used to play

soccer, but now he is an avid tennis player. He has competed on several teams throughout

his young life.

Earliest creative experiences. Nevada’s earliest recollection of creating was a

painting picture in kindergarten. The assignment was to choose three emotions from a list

and then create facial expressions depicting those emotions. He said, “I chose the

emotions that looked funny. I like the way the letters looked and the way they sounded:

hysterical, ecstatic, and mad. One is a one-syllable word and the others are multi-syllable.

I still have it” (personal communication, July 28, 2015). The painting hangs above a desk

in his home.

He also recalled having a very good teacher from kindergarten through third

grade. He described her as being tall, with short hair and glasses and being enthusiastic.

He explained that he always liked art and one of the projects she had them do was to

“draw a house like other artists did. She would show us a book with all of his art in it. I

liked looking at the other art” (personal communication, July 28, 2015).

He also made props for the school plays. He described one particular play that

involved moving shadows behind a large screen: “I remember making all the background

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things for the screen. All the things that you put behind the screen that made a shadow.

The scene involved music and movement. I was pulling together ideas of both for the

props” (personal communication, July 28, 2015). This coming together of different

elements was similar to what he did when he made his poetry book. He said, “In my

poetry book I pulled together poetry, art, and music” (personal communication, July 28,

2015).

Another art project he enjoyed was when he was assigned to make giant food: “I

did a Tootsie Roll because, as a kid, I was always obsessed with Tootsie Rolls. I would

even eat them with my braces” (personal communication, July 28, 2015). He also told

me:

I like choosing what I get to do. We got to choose the food for the giant food (I

made a giant Tootsie Roll) and an animal for the screen (I did a turtle because I

liked turtles at the time). (personal communication, July 28, 2015)

As far as other creative interests, he likes to attend musicals though he is not

interested in being in being in them. He also said, “I do like to make music. I don't play

any instruments. I should, but I don't. It was just never a thing for our family to play an

instrument” (personal communication, July 28, 2015).

Current creative endeavors. Nevada told me that in college, he wants to take

medicine, and take art on the side. As a sophomore, he will be put on the art track:

I am taking art for sure this year. I am switching my schedule because I want to

get into AP art. I kind of want to be an artist and a doctor. I don't want to lose art.

I want to keep it around, but eventually I would like to be a doctor. (personal


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Nevada then explained his desire to create more often as he has many projects in

His mind, but he realizes that he has so little time between homework and sports. He

wants to get good grades, as he plans to attend medical school someday.

Places to create. Nevada’s favorite place to create is school. He explained his

preference:

Home or my bedroom are not where I am creative. All my creative stuff has been

at school. I like being around people, and it is too solitary, kind of, at home. I

don't like being by myself and thinking by myself. It is both the people my age

and the teachers that make school a good place to create. It really has nothing to

do with space. It is the people: teachers, friends, and kind of my cousin. (personal


He did talk about an exception to this preference. Over the summer last year, he drew a

picture on his own. He explained: “I did draw that at home, but that's about it” (personal

communication, July 28, 2015). He also elaborated on how much he likes the outside but

not for doing creative things.

Inspirations: people. Nevada first spoke of his “almost step-sister. She is super

artistic. We do create stuff together. She has canvas and stuff. For Father's Day, she's

like, ‘How about if you paint something?’” (personal communication, July 28, 2015). He

was so proud of it that he showed me a picture of it on his cellphone.

He pointed out that neither his mom nor his step-mom is creative. He explained,

“My mom tries to make me come out with being artistic and stuff, but it doesn't really

work” (personal communication, July 28, 2015). His father’s new family all love music,

so he becomes part of that experience when he is with them.

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The internet is also a source for inspiration for him. He explained, “I just go on

Google for ideas. I looked up canvas painting ideas for teens. So I guess I copied it. It's

not like I traced it though” (personal communication, July 28, 2015).

Inspirations: activities. Nevada is inspired to be creative at school with the

different assignments:

There was a math assignment where we had to go around and find certain

geometric ideas like a right angle, and so you would have to take a picture of it.

Then you would have to color on it and show it. She made you look into stuff. I

thought that was pretty fun. (personal communication, July 28, 2015)

Obstacles. When asked about obstacles to his creative process, the first thing

Nevada mentioned was finger rubbing.

When I am in the process of making something or writing something, one

obstacle I encounter is my finger rubbing. I use the eraser to fix that, or I try to

pick my arm up, though I like to hold it down when I draw. I need the steadiness.

I sometimes have to start over. (personal communication, July 28, 2015)

He also described another example of an obstacle: When he does not understand

an assignment, and he is not sure what to do. He remembered the limerick he wrote about

a dog:

I didn't know what to write about. That was the one poem structure I didn't

understand. Was that like five lines? I don't know why I didn't understand it

because I liked music, too, and it was kind of like a beat thing. That was the

hardest one for me, but my friend got it and once again, helped me. Getting

started, technical things like smearing which happens while I write, too, which is

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not good. (personal communication, July 28, 2015)

Another obstacle he described is teachers who request that the students not use

simple words which makes finding right words an obstacle. He solves this problem by

using the thesaurus (personal communication, July 28, 2015).

Affective experience. When the creating is going well, Nevada feels excited and

happy: “‘I got this.’ It lasts the whole time unless I stumble upon something that needs

help. Then I re-read it and fix it” (personal communication, July 28, 2015).

Thinking. When Nevada is creating, he thinks about the subject and anything that

goes along with it. For example, when writing the dog limerick, he kept thinking of his

own dogs. He always tries to think about his own experiences and bring them into the

words or into a painting. He explained the process in this way:

I am pulling on memories. First I have a memory and sometimes it just flows in

the head’ and away it goes! Haikus always used to come easy to me. Like the

grandma flower one. That was about my grandma, obviously. And I wrote about

daisies and her. So that was easy. So it is memories. (personal communication,

July 28, 2015)

Nevada explained that he likes “everything to be perfect, so I don't normally go

too far into my writing before I fix it. I never really finish, finish things, until they are

almost perfect” (personal communication, July 28, 2015). He fixes things as he notices

them. Then when he finishes, he goes back, looks at the whole thing, and fixes it again.

He also always has the teachers read it and ask questions. He described his creative

process in this way: “When I create something, I just do it. It just flows. I don't make a

conscious decision about it while I am creating” (personal communication, July 28,

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2015).

Describing and interpreting art. Because this interview took place in this

participant’s home rather than the art museum, I brought several pieces of art from my

own collection. Nevada looked at each but decided on a piece of art in his own home. He

chose the piece of art that he did in kindergarten: the watercolor of the three faces

depicting three emotions. He felt since he knew it so well, he would be most comfortable

with that choice. He immediately made a writing decision: “Definitely the emotions part

is what I would write about right away” (personal communication, July 28, 2015). Then

he began with a vivid description of the piece:

Things that pop out at me are their eyes. They are undefined, kind of discolored,

and not quite realistic. He was angry. Then I see these squiggles. I always have

liked blue and mad goes with red, and I always think of happy as yellow. Ecstatic

is kind of like an extreme happy. I always liked the mix of colors in his mouth. I

always try to make mouths correctly, and it never happens except for in this

painting. Like drawing a two-pieced mouth. Then the crooked teeth; I used to

have crooked teeth. They always say I have a big smile. That was always me.


After the description, he began structuring the poem. He again said that he would

write first about the eyes because the eyes show a lot of emotion. Then he would write

about the smiles. He explained that he always plans a structure in his head before he

begins writing. Finally, he decided to use the Haiku structure because he felt free verse is

too unstructured, and he likes structures. Interestingly enough, he immediately noticed

challenges with this structure: “I would probably use an emotion for each line. It has too

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many syllables. I just don't know how to put this all together” (personal communication,

July 28, 2015).

Writing. Nevada said he would finish this poem before the second focus group

interview. He never did, and I do not have the paper he was working on to do a document

analysis, as he did not bring it to the focus group interview (field notes and personal


Think-aloud poems. Since Nevada did not have a poem from the first interview,

I gave him a copy of the award winning poem and asked him to explain the piece of art

that inspired it: “I made it in sixth grade for the ekphrastic poetry thing. It is titled, “Hand

Mirror.” It is about a hand mirror in the American section, I think. It's lying face down as

if it were on a dresser” (personal communication, August 23, 2015). He then read his

poem (See Appendix Z). At the conclusion, the other participants nodded (field notes,

August 23, 2015).

Definitions of creativity. Nevada began by saying, “Creativity is using your

imagination, your own ideas, and putting it down on paper through your own skills such

as like drawing, poems, or writing” (Nevada, personal communication, August 23, 2015).

Convergent and divergent thinking. Nevada said he experienced convergent

thinking when he follows school rules. Nevada then explained how he switches back and

forth when he is reflecting on his writing that has been graded by the teacher:

Depending on what the grade is will determine if I improve it. If the grade is bad,

I am going to go to the teacher and see what the teacher actually thinks because

they have written all over it (the corrected piece of writing). So I go into a little bit

of both convergent and divergent thinking. My process is to start with the

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introductions, then I read through the whole thing, and then I brainstorm by going

through what the teacher actually thought and their opinions and where I kind of

want to disagree or agree. It is convergent thinking as I always go through the

same order while I am reading. The brainstorming about why the teacher

disagrees is divergent thinking. If it is about mechanics…. (personal


Another participant completed this sentence: “…it is convergent” (Alex, personal


Nevada then went on to say that when he is writing fiction, he is thinking

divergently. Nevada responded with his experience of trying to write his new poem by

using the haiku structure: “When tried to put it all into a haiku I started going 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

and 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7. It's the convergent, linear thinking” (personal communication,

August 23, 2015). After many attempts, he put the work away and never finished the

poem.

Document description. Though two sets of documents are usually included in the

data set, this was not the case for Nevada’s case profile. Nevada used his own paper

during the think-aloud observation and wanted to keep it and work on the poem. He never

finished the poem nor did he bring the paper with his work on it. Therefore, there is no

document of his think-aloud work to be included in this data set.

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Appendix N

Dr. J’s Profile

The first interview with Dr. J (self-chose pseudonym) was on August 1, 2015, and

the first focus group interview was on August 23. Both took place at the TMA. At the

time of the interview, Dr. J was about to enter his senior year in the fall. He was a student

at a local public high school and had been in the district since second grade. He had a

diagnosis of autism, but his brilliance, drive to create, thoughtfulness of others, and

interesting perspectives and approaches to creativity were the most notable

characteristics.

Art museums and poetry. Dr. J spoke of enjoying both museums and learning.

He has visited the TMA many times, and his parents have taken him to the Royal Ontario

Museum.

Dr. J said that he reads poetry about once a week. He explained, “Usually I find

stuff on-line. I go to Wikipedia and various other spots. I like to read poetry because it is

something that makes me think. I like to find the meaning behind it” (personal


Dr. J said that he has few memories of school as it was so boring compared to his

own thoughts. His first word was “mitochondria” so one can imagine typical elementary

school curriculum to be mundane and uninspiring. He did say he was familiar with Shel

Silverstein. He explained that a neighbor introduced Silverstein’s poetry to him when he

was around five years of age: “Well, she loaned me the book, and I read it, and I found it

just plain weird. I did not like the art work in it. I'm not a fan of gothic artwork. I thought

it was gothic, pencil-ly” (personal communication, August 1, 2015).

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Contests and competitions. Dr. J is the captain of his high school Quiz Bowl

team. His drive to learn makes him successful in this capacity:

I just like learning. When I am at home, I'm always watching Top Ten Fact Lists

on YouTube. I just like getting new information. I just store the information in my

head and hope that they ask a question about it at Quiz Bowl. So I really do like to

gather information. (personal communication, August 1, 2015)

He has done so well that he was awarded both the Coaches’ Award and a gold medal.

Dr. J is also on his high school swim team. He explained that his performance is

adequate and primarily it is a good form of exercise. He also is in several Advanced

Placement classes, which, he explained, are only open to students with high achievement

and high task commitment.

Earliest creative experiences. Dr. J recalled enjoying the watercolors in Eric

Carle’s picture books and the artwork in Lois Ehlert’s picture books. He remembered

being in pre-school and asking for a copy of the Lois Ehlert book, Eating the Alphabet.

He explained: “That was my first book. I was attracted to the art in the book. I liked the

abstract and the hidden patterns and meanings” (personal communication, August 1,

2015). This same enjoyment of intellectual puzzles drove his choice of art for his award

winning poem (see Appendix AA):

That's why I chose the painting for my poem. I asked myself: “What is the hardest

possible thing to write something on in here?” I saw that [the painting] looked like

a curtain so, I said, “I can just think of trying to find out what's behind the

curtain.” (personal communication, August 1, 2015)

He also recalled a kindergarten experience in computer class. The teacher was

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introducing Microsoft Paint® to the students, and Dr. J immersed himself in this new

medium:

When the guy’s saying, "Okay, take out the line and draw a straight line,” I was

drawing all sorts of things on there. I wasn't following directions. I was just

scribbling around stuff. I was building cityscapes on Microsoft Paint®. I would

draw little characters in there. Then I would use the select tool and move them

around, and I would play it like a video game. I was six years old when I was

doing this. That was my first video game. That's my earliest memory of creating

something. (personal communication, August 1, 2015)

He also recalled a particular art project that he enjoyed. The students were given a

pinecone, a little ceramic pot, a blank CD and were told to make a Christmas tree out of

it. He said, “We glued the flower pot to the C.D to act as a base. We put the pinecone in

there and then we decorated it. I liked it because it was abstract and three-D. I like 3-D

stuff” (personal communication, August 1, 2015).

Current creative endeavors. Dr. J said that he is both an avid reader and a

writer; he writes poems and narratives. His favorite genre is science fiction or anything

that is complicated as he enjoys intellectual puzzles. He explained: “I actually wrote a

science fiction novella: one hundred and forty seven handwritten pages” (personal

communication, August 1, 2015). He also has written a 300-page novel.

Besides writing, Dr. J loves to create in other mediums. He draws Pokémon® and

Anime® as he is interested in the art and stories of Anime®. These drawings also have

gained him admiration from his friends. Japanese pop music is his favorite music genre,

and he knows a lot about it. He also programs video games using drag and drop

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programs.

Places to create. Dr. J designated his favorite place to create as his dining room.

The dining room is the center of activity in his house and he prefers people and activity to

being isolated. The setting also provides for all his needs:

I have this chair that is right next to a couple of outlets, so I can make sure my

IPod is always charged or my laptop. There is plenty of light. I need light to

create. It doesn't need to be natural light, but it has to have bright lights. (personal


Dr. J’s designated his favorite place to create at school as the band room, which

he sees as the center of creativity. He had been taking band every single day for the past

three years, so he spends a lot of time in the band room: “Because of the music, it is the

center of creativity. A lot of other band kids hang out there, too” (personal


Inspirations: people. Dr. J said that no one in his family is creative. There is a

family friend who is a former art director for Disney, but he has not seen this man in five

years. He said, “He wasn't really influential in my creative life because [he works with

traditional], western animation” (personal communication, August 1, 2015).

His art classes do not inspire Dr. J because he feels, “You can't tell someone what

to do when it comes to art. [I am] not [speaking of] technique but of subject matter

because art is just a way of expressing one's self using a variety of mediums” (personal

communication, August 1, 2015). He also believes that a good poet or artist ignores

social bias. He gave this example: “If someone is in the Deep South, and they want to

create something that is about gun control, which would be countercultural, he should put

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it in his art” (personal communication, August 1, 2015).

He said that his mom supports his creativity even though she has no idea and has

no interest in the subject matter. He also said that there really are not people around him

that inspire him to create. His band teachers have 140 students in band, so they do not

have time for individuals. He did say that all of his friends are in band, and the Friday

night games are one of his favorite things. He said that even these friends do not inspire

creativity: they are just fun to be with.

At the time of the interview, Dr. J was working on an internship at a nearby

university and he claimed that even the internship doctors could not be described as

“inspiring.” He explained that the university “is a logical place. It's not much of a forum.

It's all business there. I am working with an encouraging, nurturing doctor right now. She

inspires me for studying medicine” (personal communication, August 1, 2015) but not for

growing in creativity.

Inspirations: activities. Dr. J explained that he prefers to listen to music when

writing because it helps him create moods and emotions in his story:

Depending on the mood of the setting that I am trying to create, if I am writing an

action scene, I'll listen to something fast paced. I'll listen to something sad if it is a

dramatic scene or something. [Music] helps me visualize better. It's not the words

but the music that stimulates me. (personal communication, August 1, 2015)

Dr. J described the organization called the SCP (Secure, Contain, Protect) Foundation of

which he is a member; it's a community of amateur science fiction writers who pretend to

be a fictitious government organization that researches anomalies. The writers are all

anonymous and there are rules of civility and intellectualism that guide the work

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exchanged on the website. He explained how this website helps writers:

They design a creature or they take a completely normal object and just give it

properties that just make no sense and defy logic. Then they make test cases and

everything on it. I took a lot of those objects and put them in my book. I got

permission because it is under a license that says they want to encourage

creativity. (personal communication, August 1, 2015)

Dr. J also discovered that heavy metal music makes him feel better just because it is dark

and edgy. He said it is so exaggerated that he cannot take it seriously. He is always

listening to heavy metal music while he is working (personal communication, August 1,

2015).

Obstacles. Dr. J described how he encounters and resolves a variety of obstacles.

One of the obstacles is his mind, which is easily distracted. He responds to distraction by

multi-tasking. For example, if he is playing a video game on his hand-held, he always has

the television on. If he is doing homework, he is always listening to music “because it

drowns out the extra stimuli, and it forces me to think on less topics because it's creating

extra noise. It drowns out any topic that doesn't relate to homework” (personal


Writer's block is another obstacle of his. To resolve this, Dr. J goes back to his

previous writings for inspiration. He may also go to the SPC Foundation to look up

related and unrelated articles and read them for inspiration.

Sometimes Dr. J has problems staying on track. If he gets a new idea, he has to

figure out “a genius way to incorporate it in my work, so it doesn't come out completely

unrelated. Or if not, I just go on a hiatus. I just put it in a drawer and [wait] until I feel

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inspired again” (personal communication, August 1, 2015). He may also go and have a

cup of tea or watch some Anime®, or maybe he will go on a bike ride. He usually has to

get up and do something.

Another obstacle is he encounters is difficulty writing about a character’s

emotions. Because he claims not to feel many emotions, Dr. J struggles with creating

them in writing, so he does this:

I play music that depicts the emotion, so I can write or create the emotion because

I can't dig into my own self; like portraying anger in a character because I don't

get angry. I struggle to think, “Okay, what would this character do or feel, if I

were in this situation? What would this character be thinking right now?” I try to

think as hard as I can about that, but it is difficult for me. (personal


When drawing, scaling can be an obstacle for Dr. J. He explained that when

something

in his drawing is not working, he will “get a new piece of paper and start over. I don't

throw it away, though. I keep it. I store it in a folder, so I can look back at it and learn

from it” (personal communication, August 1, 2015).

The last obstacle that Dr. J described was “the limit of [his] thought processes and

being able to connect the plot points” (personal communication, August 1, 2015). He

explained that when he goes off on a tangent, the plot points do not connect. When this

happens, he finishes the tangent so he can use it at a later point. Then he goes back to the

original topic and searches for a way to incorporate the new tangent that emerged

(personal communication, August 1, 2015). Dr. J is acutely aware of his many obstacles

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and has a variety of methods to resolve them.

Affective Experiences. Dr. J explained that when he is drawing, he feels

excitement. Even though he claimed not to be an emotional person, he did say:

When I am just going, going, and going, and I get excited, when I create the

concept with the main villain and stuff, and when all is moving along, I feel joy. I

probably feel anxiety, though, when I am getting to those un-connecting plot

points. (personal communication, August 1, 2015)

He does create horror elements in his books, (like monsters and collapsing

laboratories) but he explained,

I can't fear them because I have a part in creating them, and I know they are fake;

so I don't fear them. Occasionally, I create gruesome characters, but I try to add

more psychological horror, like the threat of something happening. If I create

gruesomeness, it is not for shock value. It is for plot significance. I never get

emotionally involved in the scary parts of my story. (personal communication,

August 1, 2015)

He later contradicts himself when he explained that he likes to create in the

presence of his parents:

I make sure I am always aware of my surroundings. If my parents need me for

something, I need to make sure that I am there to help them. This is my natural

awareness. I do not force myself to pay attention to my parents. I am always

hyper-aware of my parents' needs. But if they are not [present], then I can get in

that tunnel. So if there is nobody around, I get into the tunnel. But I don't ever

seek that place. It just happens. I never isolate myself to get in the tunnel, though I

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produce better in the tunnel. That's because I feel I am actually there sometimes. I

don't seek it out because sometimes it is more enjoyable if I am aware of my

surroundings. I can't really describe this: knowing that I am still at my house

rather than in a collapsing laboratory. I feel like I am

being more productive, but I produce less. (personal communication, August 1,

2015)

Then Dr. J ended this discussion on the affective experience during creating by telling me

that he feels a lot of peace and contentment in his real life. He does not often put that

feeling in his writing, but he does feel it when he is writing. He explained in this way:

It's just me realizing that I am doing something intellectual. I am creating

something. I am creating new ideas or improving existing ideas, that I am being

productive and that gives me a peaceful feeling. When I am creating, I feel both

energized and relaxed. When I am creating, I am not that aware. (personal


Thinking while creating. Dr. J’s thoughts while creating were deep and complex.

They reflect a tension between the desire to create something that is abstract, different,

and surreal while at the same time keeping it familiar. He explained: “I am trying to think

of the real sciences that can be practical, but still different enough, so that they can be

original and interesting” (personal communication, August 1, 2015). He also said that

though he may plan a structure ahead of time, the writing afterwards is intuitive as he fills

in the details: “There are lots of surprises because of my tangents. So when I am writing

those tangents, I am not thinking: they are more intuitive” (personal communication,

August 1, 2015). When he finishes that step, he takes a break. When he comes back to the

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writing, he re-reads and reflects on it. He processes it and works out the details in his

mind then “I write them out. As far as the writing goes, it takes its own control” (personal


Describing and interpreting art. As mentioned earlier, Dr. J has been a fan of

abstract art since he was a young child, so it did not surprise me that he wanted to find a

piece of art in the modern art section (personal communication, August 1, 2015). He

chose a piece of art and began describing the details of the painting and emotions:

I like this one. It is surreal. I like the contrast between the background and the

foreground. I either see fear or excitement in that figure. I see anger in that figure.

And that guy just reminds me of an observer because I can't tell a definite emotion

from its face. I can tell by the way that one's eyes are looking: I see anger in that

one. (personal communication, August 1, 2015)

After reading the title of the work of art (Woman Haunted by the Passage of the Bird

Dragonfly Omen of Bad News), he saw more:

Oh yeah, that's the last thing I would associate it with. I think that one is the

dragon fly. The one flying. The woman is that one. The dragon fly has the

antenna. When you are haunted by something, I see it that way. I see it as so as I

see the antennae, and the fact that my interpretation is that the dragonfly and the

omen are the bad guys and since the anger is in that one, that one looks like it is

haunted, and bad news because that one appears to be the most grotesque. This

maybe suggests a dress or a tail because it is flying out of there. (personal


Writing. After he described what he saw, he began the interpretation and the

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writing. These are the words he used:

Flying, fear, aggression, confusion, speed, (...) but repetition because she is

haunted which means that it happens as a constant cycle. Observations, ah ha, it's

a cycle, but, hmmm, still I am thinking that maybe it's a misunderstanding

because now that I look at that figure more, it doesn't appear to be angry. Or

maybe it's the dragonfly who is protecting her. [quietly writing] Dragonflies are

majestic. [quietly writing] Protecting the order: I see protection, disorder, fear,

Axis Powers, Allies, the world before WWII. I can finish this. I have almost

finished right now. From the tale of bad news, again, screams the dark again,

seeing the dragonfly again. (personal communication, August 1, 2015)

To my surprise, Dr. J finished his poem and read it to me before we parted.

Think-aloud poems. Dr. J began this discussion with a description of his art

piece. He described a long painting with dragonfly. He said it was a picture with a lot of

“surreal stuff going on” (personal communication, August 23, 2015). There were three

figures. The piece had blues and black and an alien feel to it. It was located in the modern

art section. He recited his poem. At the conclusion, Dr. J clarified that his poem had

nothing to do with history because he has no use for history. He explained that he wrote

about a woman who was having uncommon ideas. The bad news was:

The media and the government and society were trying to censor and stop the

ideas which could potentially disrupt the system or cause cultural shift or a whole

manner of stuff. The dragonfly represents the woman’s interests and her personal

beliefs, and they are trying to cancel each other out to maintain the status quo.

(personal communication, August 23,2015)

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Michaela nodded saying, “Yeah. Powerful” (personal communication, August 23, 2015).

Definitions of Creativity. Dr. J defined creativity:

Creativity is taking the world and making it, altering it. It's taking things from the

world or new and original ideas and combining them in different forms and

different mediums to produce something that is new and original or a

modification of something that already exists. (personal communication, August

23, 2015)

Convergent and divergent thinking. . Dr. J said that convergent thinking

happens “when teachers give you information, and then you just throw it back on tests”

(Focus Group 2, August 23, 2015). He contrasted that idea with a description of his own

convergent thinking:

I am very convergent when I am drawing since I exclusively draw Anime®. So I


same set: I'll add the body and the hair, and it is the same process every single

time. I have a certain linear method, step by step, one way of drawing. (personal

communication, August 23,2015)

Dr. J then described two types of writing that he has engaged in: poetry and

fiction writing. When he wrote his poem during the first interview, he said he

experienced a mixture of convergent and divergent in his thinking, “because I was very

formulaic with the rhyme scheme, but I [worked divergently when I] was sort of

throwing together descriptive adjectives that could be connected to the painting. Then it

became convergent [again] because it had to be structured and orderly” (personal

communication, August 23, 2015). However, when he is writing fiction, Dr. J uses music

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to inspire the divergent thinking:

The music helps me think. It helps me picture myself being there. I am divergent

when I am thinking of the way the plot goes in new environments, but I am very

formulaic with my drawings. When listening to the music and working on the

plot, I am using divergent thinking. (personal communication, August 23, 2015)

Document description. Two sets of documents are included in the data set of this

study. The first document was a copy of the award winning poem and the second

document was a page in the sketchbook where the participant wrote during the think-

aloud observation. Looking at the writing in the sketch book (see Appendix JJ), I noticed

that Dr. J began his writing at the top of the paper and worked his way down in a linear

fashion which ended at the bottom. There were no cross-outs though perhaps there were

two possible erasures: it is difficult to tell, as they could be unintentional pencil smears.

Almost every line has the solitary word “again” beneath it. The exceptions to this pattern

occur in line 16 (he added a comma after the word “again” and added, “to keep the

balance.”). Line 18 has the solitary word “again” however; it is not used again until line

22. Lines 19, 20, and 21 are lines of multiple words. Line 23 ends the poem and is in the

form of a question. He shared his poem (see Appendix KK) during the second focus

group interview.

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Appendix O

Raph’s Profile

The first interview with Raph (self-chosen pseudonym) took place on August 11,

2015 at the local art museum, and the first focus group interview took place on August 18

at a local pub. He currently is a college sophomore studying English. He is a thoughtful,

introspective young man who participated in this study as a means of becoming aware of

his own creative process and that of others (personal communication, August 18, 2015).

Art museums and poetry. Raph’s earliest visits to the museum were school field

trips. He said, “I've gone a couple of times for school. My parents may have brought me

to the museum, but again, I might have forgotten it. My earliest memory of being here is

with a class” (personal communication, August 11, 2015). Later, the museum sponsored

an exhibit called The Art of the Louvre’s Tuileries Garden, which featured one hundred

works related to the famous garden that is located in the capitol of France. Because

Raph’s French class was going to France, the students visited the exhibit for conducting

research in preparation for the trip. Currently, he visits the art museum to view the

temporary exhibits. He especially liked the The Art of Video Games, which he attended

with friends. He has also been to the Louvre and the Musée d'Orsay.

Raph recalled his earliest memories of poetry:

The first time I got into poetry was in fourth grade. My teacher had us do a very

intensive unit on it. He had us make a booklet of poetry using all these different

forms. That's when I started seeing how vast poetry was, and that it wasn't just

ABAB everything. (personal communication, August 11, 2015)

This experience opened up his eyes to the broad choices of structure with which he was

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able to experiment.

As a high school student, he wrote an abundance of poetry as he was in love. He

poignantly recalled this experience and his need to write poetry:

Love, is probably [what motivated me to write poetry in high school]. That was

my first love. I met her in fifth grade and then we kind of didn't see each other for

a long time. Then we met up again in high school. So there was a lot of nostalgic

overlap. It was very potent, so there is a lot to write about. (personal


Today, he is writing love poems for his current girlfriend though not with the same

frequency as he did as a teenager.

Raph only listens to poetry if poetry is part of an event in which he is interested.

For example, he attended an event at his college that featured the African American

Experience, its related poetry, and hip-hop music and dance.

Contests and competitions. Raph competed and placed in Power of the Pen

while in junior high and participated in cross country and track. There were also concert

band competitions at the end of the year. He claimed that they “…did okay. Our high

school had three concert bands, and I was in the middle concert, so we never went very

far” (personal communication, August 11, 2015). He also placed in the Ekphrastic Poetry

Contest sponsored by the Toledo Museum of Art (see Appendix DD). He entered this

contest on his own volition.

Earliest creative experiences. His earliest memory of creating was with Legos.

He had an extensive collection that included both generic Lego blocks and specific sets

such as the Pirates and the Police. Because of the encouragement of his sister, he rarely

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put them together according to directions. He claimed that he “just made [his] own stuff”


He also recalled a class assignment from fourth grade: he was to first imagine an

invention and then actually make it. He noticed that his sister and her friends, all track

athletes, faced a problem when wearing their spikes away from the track; the spikes could

potentially damage the walking surface. Therefore, he decided to create spike savers,

“little sandal, foam-like soles. You would make little indents where your spikes would go

and you would just strap those on over your spikes, and you could just walk around

anywhere” (personal communication, August 11, 2015).

He never dabbled in visual arts, as he never felt competent in that medium. He did

take dance classes in elementary school and early middle school. There he learned tap,

jazz, and hip-hop. He recalled, “It was fun. I do miss it” (personal communication,

August 11, 2015).

He also played trumpet in high school band. He performed and competed as a

member of the band though the experience did not allow for or encourage creativity. He

said that music class taught the basics, but he never wrote any of his own music in the

early music or later in band. He said, “The band program I was in was very oriented

towards tradition, but then there is not a whole lot of room for change. So college was

like a breath of fresh air” (personal communication, August 11, 2015).

Current creative endeavors. Today Raph writes and makes hip-hop music.

Formerly, he would post his music on YouTube®, but now he uses music sites such as

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Sound Cloud®5. He uses numerous computer programs to create the music digitally (i.e.

Ableton®6, Mixcraft®7). He has also designed a multi-player computer game. At the time

of this study, it had been in development for the last half of the year. His friends did the

programming while he did all of the design, music, and graphics for the game. He said

that they were getting a buyer for it by using crowd sourcing8 for funding rather than

trying to find a few, specific investors. The promotion was scheduled for October 1 of

2015 on the site Kickstarter®9. He was excited about the prospect, but he sensed a

detachment from his parents: “I think my parents are excited for me. They haven't shown

much excitement” (personal communication, August 11, 2015).

Places to create. Raph’s favorite place to create is in the shower. The isolation

and lack of distraction jumpstarts his creativity, and his “mind just goes” (personal

communication, August 11, 2015). He creates is hip-hop music in a particular room in his

parents’ house:

There is a window that looks right out over our driveway, and so I would always

want to record when my parents weren't home because it is rap. So I would

always be there, looking out the window. I always kind of associate that view

with hip-hop lyrics and delivery. It was interesting. I was looking out the window,

checking to see when my parents were coming home. (personal communication,

5 Sound Cloud®: An audio platform that enables sound creators to upload, record, promote and share

their originally-created sounds. 6 Ableton®: A Berlin-based music software company that makes Push and Live, hardware and software for music production, creation and performance. 7 Mixcraft®: Music recording software for musicians, not engineers. 8 Crowd source: to obtain (information or input into a particular task or project) by enlisting the services of a number of people, either paid or unpaid, typically via the Internet. 9 Kickstarter®: A crowd-funding website where individuals give money to a company, artist, filmmaker,

game developer, etc. to fund a creative project. A project could be anything, like a game, product, album, film, etc.

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August 11, 2015)

Other than that particular room in his parent’s house, he does not have a special

place to create. He feels that when he is writing or creating in the same place, it actually

stagnates his creativity. He said the he particularly loved living and working at a local

amusement park during the summer:

It was an entirely new environment, and there is the knowledge that what I am

feeling at this time will be associated with this place and these surroundings. So

that memory is going to be very strong, and the writing about that will be very

strong. If I am in the same place every time, I don't always get that. (personal


Inspiration: people. Raph says that his sister is the person who had the most

influence on his creativity. She was the first person to give him strong feedback on what

he did, and, in general, developed his creativity and his desire to create things. For

example, when they were growing up, his sister loved animals and she urged him to

partake in this passion. He remembered the two of them creating an animal conservation

club at their church when he was eight or nine. He recalled that it “…was actually kind of

fun because we were just little kids trying to do that. We also always made little

magazines that we would give to our parents saying, ‘Here's our next edition.’” (personal

communication, August 11, 2015). He remembered that the activities were his sister's

ideas, but they collaborated to “make those ideas come to life” (personal communication,

August 11, 2015).

Raph’s cousins were also influential in his creativity. One of them resides in New

York and two others reside in South Carolina. Two are studying theater and acting and

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another is in a band that recently recorded an album. One was actually in a movie. Both

their work and studies have inspired Raph as well as their interest and support of his own

creative endeavors. One of the cousins is the reason he started writing:

It was back in elementary school for me when she was telling us how great it was

to be a writer because that is what she was really into at the time. She was also

doing acting a little bit then, too, but she was also really into writing. She kind of

inspired me into that, so I credit her for being the first one to push me in that

direction. (personal communication, August 11, 2015)

Raph also had a very creative and energetic teacher in fourth grade (personal

communication, August 11, 2015). The teacher approached the curriculum through

competitive games and projects requiring innovation. Raph said that the actual work was

difficult and that, at times, “it was easy to kind of hate him. But looking back, I can see

that he was a really good teacher. He did push me” (personal communication, August 11,

2015).

Raph feels that his parents have not expressed that they are creative people and

that they have had very little influence on his creativity. He described them as being very

down to earth. He claimed that they had never really expressed any great love for music

or for other forms of art. He expressed that “[his] creativity came from friends, cousins,

sister, and teachers” (personal communication, August 11, 2015).

Inspiration: activities. Movement, natural settings, and college writing classes

inspire Raph’s creativity. Water also stimulates his creativity. Not only does inspiration

come to Raph during his showers, but it also comes when he swims (whether he is

swimming to exercise or to inspire creativity). He and his family are also runners. His

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sister claims that she is most creative when she run, but he said, “I don't feel that as

much, but I think just in general, being able to clear my head can help and running helps

with that” (personal communication, August 11, 2015).

The most productive activity for creativity for Raph is to walk around. During

these walks, he synthesizes ideas from various experiences and applies them to a

particular creative activity. He provided an example:

I took a game theory class this past semester and that's what inspired me to make

this multiplayer game. I was walking back from class, and I thought, “Hey, I can

use the concepts from the scheme theory class and use previous economic theory

(because I am also doing economics) and work that in.” I am pulling in the things

that I am learning from class, and creating something new. I am pulling it from a

bunch of different areas. The walking around from place to place clears my head

and lets me think. There are different memory associations with it. If I think of an

idea, and I am at a certain location on campus, if I walk by that place on campus

again, I am going to think about that idea again. At that point, I am going to have

new ideas, so it helps. Surroundings and memory associations help me create.


Natural light also helps the creative process for Raph though working in the dark

when on his computer does not hinder it. He said that the computer as it has enough light


Raph said that his professors stimulate his creativity through instruction and

writing assignments. The feedback provided by his professors also guides and nurtures

the development of his craft and by giving and enforcing deadlines, his professors help

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him get the work done:

And that's the great thing about school: I'm forced to write. I am a deadline

person. I am very big on ideas and getting ideas down and started. I'll get a certain

amount of headway into an idea, and then I'll get bored with it a lot of times. It's

hard to finish because I want things to resolve very nicely and resolution is very

hard to find unless you are forced to do it. (personal communication, August 11,

2015)

Obstacles. Because Raph always has a few projects going at once (projects that

require different type of thinking or work), he just moves from one project to another

when he meets an obstacle. When he returns to the original project, the obstacle has

disappeared. If he has a deadline, he will take a shower or go for a run and then look for a

detour around the obstacle. He explained that “if you find a different way around the

problem, that generally works out pretty well, as it is sometimes better than the original

course of action” (personal communication, August 11, 2015).

The biggest obstacle he described is when he gets a great idea, and he is not able

to finish it because of boredom or lack of confidence in the idea after he has written it

down. Also, if he has not experienced a new environment for any length of time, it is

difficult to even find the inspiration to create.

He then differentiated between obstacles that are either an emotional response or a

logical response. Raph said that an emotional block is easier to deal with than a logical

one. He described an emotional block as one that takes the form of emotional energy that

diminishes as he progresses in the creative project. He then explained how he addresses

an emotional block: “I start out, and I am cruising through it. Then, even if I lose [the

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energy], I can come back and put myself into the shoes that I was [originally] wearing

and finish it” (personal communication, August 11, 2015).

He explained that a logical block is more difficult. A logical block comes when he

has to choose a particular aspect of writing to create a story or a poem. It can be at the

structural level or even at the word level. He says, “While I am still feeling it, if I need to

go back and re-work things, it takes a lot of time and effort to get out of it” (personal


He then differentiated between a challenge and an obstacle:

It's not difficult to take an idea and stylize it if you have some sort of

philosophical revelation. Taking the revelation and making it artistic isn't always

difficult, as it's kind of taking it and stretching it out into a fully-fleshed piece of

work rather than just a searching for the perfect phrase. I consider the former

more of a challenge because it stretches me, and the latter to be an obstacle

because it stops the work. (personal communication, August 11, 2015)

Affective experiences. When Raph is creating, he feels a multitude of feelings.

The first feeling described is a love for his work. He described it as:

…a very strong physical and emotional sense of passion. There will be an idea,

some sort of a revelation that causes that passion. It often comes in the form of a

melancholy feeling that comes along with this revelation. It is potent, though. It's

subdued but very potent. (personal communication, August 11, 2015)

Sometimes there is a feeling of excitement especially if it is something that he is

very proud of doing: “There is excitement to write it and there's excitement to read back

over it, to re-experience it, and then there is the excitement to show it to people”

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(personal communication, August 11, 2015). There is also another different type of

energy described as a subdued, melancholy energy that inspires motivation and demands

that something be written: “It is more of an obligation, than a passion” (personal


Thinking. Raph says that he is not thinking about form when he begins to write.

Sometimes he begins with a free form and puts structure to it. Other times he tries to start

with an encompassing idea but intentionally begins writing about something completely

different. He then ties that work to the overall idea. He described it as an

. . . improvisation with metaphors, in a way, and it usually works out. When

writing with a theme, I can choose a location or an idea that seems irrelevant, and

then see how the theme works its way into the environment. Once again, I am

pulling things in from different places. I take two things that are opposing, and I

throw them in together. (personal communication, August 11, 2015)

Describing and interpreting art. Raph delighted in the prospect of the think-

aloud part of the first interview: “Describing my creative process sounds fun and like a

challenge, but I'm up for it” (personal communication, August 11, 2015). He chose a

piece of art that he had seen before. He immediately noticed, described, and connected it

to his background knowledge of the fleur de leis “The sampling is definitely a big

element. The fleur de leis has been sampled throughout time. It has been reused here. The

sampling is definitely significant” (personal communication, August 11, 2015). He then

proceeded to describe the paining in detail: “The pants almost look as if they were

photographed. It looks like a picture, they cropped it, and then it was painted on. The

perspective is looking down, but he is looking up” (personal communication, August 11,

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2015). He then moved to interpretation when identifying squiggly lines throughout the

painting as sperm. He pondered what this might mean:

Maybe it’s the idea of the image of self that has been bastardized (a possible

disassociation with roots? Generational communication seems especially

important in African-American culture), and someone came all over the canvas.

That is similar to the stamps being kind of off in places and this is maybe an

image he didn't want. If you see, some of these are behind him and other ones are

in front and on him. So he is behind this place, and it has sort of been put onto

him and maybe he didn't want it. He seems very separate from it. It is definitely

speaking out against stereotyping. (personal communication, August 11, 2015)

Raph then explained how the clothing is significant because people may look

down on the man portrayed in the piece of art because of his clothes. He recalled a story

told by one of his professors about a police officer stereotyping a man driving a taxi. He

connected his story back to the interpretation of the clothing: “So I think the clothes are

significant because there is an immediate stereotype associated with it. And it is not

necessarily true” (personal communication, August 11, 2015).

Raph then moved away from interpreting and returned to seeing the artwork; he

noticed the main figure standing with his hand over his heart. Raph then moved back to

interpretation:

I just realized how he is standing with his hands. So if he is pledging allegiance to

the American flag, but he is doing it with the hope that it will change. It could be

sort of an acknowledgement of the American condition for African Americans

that still hope for the nation. That the nation changes because I believe in this

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country. (personal communication, August 11, 2015)

Raph then recited the Pledge of Allegiance and said, “Yeah. The last line is probably the

most significant there” (personal communication, August 11, 2015). He then noticed that

the young man was wearing a sweatband and interpreted that to mean that he had some

money “because the watch looks pretty nice, and it looks like those are new shoes”


He determined that “this guy is up against a lot” (personal communication,

August 11, 2015) and made his decision to write about this picture.

Writing. While writing, Raph considered incorporating the sampling element of

the work by using lots of repetition similar to that of a record skipping. He wanted to

repeat the many significant words. They would be repeated in succession and then mixed

in with the other words; this is similar to what Raph does when he is mixing music.

As he thought aloud, he pondered possible hypocrisy of respect and disrespect in

the images of the sampling and wondered how he could incorporate the Pledge of

Allegiance. He decided not to start with it. Rather, he would mix it into the middle of the

poem and perhaps return to it at the end. He did consider breaking the Pledge of

Allegiance up into ideas, and even introducing it in the first line.

He then quieted himself. When I asked him what he was thinking, he explained

that he was “kind of absorbing. I'm taking in all of the information and kind of converting

it into poetry” (personal communication, August 11, 2015).

Raph then reverted back to seeing the painting as he noticed that the background

was lighter as it approached the base of the painting (as if there was light shining from

above). He also noticed the cross around the young man’s neck. Raph then made

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comments about the strong Christian background in African American culture

specifically, as found in Christian Rap. He said that these images might represent some

kind of contradiction where white Christianity may look down on Black Christianity

because it is part of the image. He countered this thought by saying: “When in actuality,

it is a contradiction to look down on it by the very nature of Christianity itself” (personal


He then explained the double-consciousness of being of African descent, and

living in America while having to make it your home and your identity. He also

connected his knowledge of the hip-hop culture:

The incorporation and the development of music throughout time is significant

with the hip-hop image. There are actually a lot of similarities between very early

gospel songs and modern hip-hop. The use of repetition and call-and-response are

direct links between hip-hop and old gospel, which is pretty amazing, considering

all the African-American musical movements that came chronologically between

them, including jazz, funk, soul, etc. There are still elements that are borrowed

and have evolved. (personal communication, August 11, 2015)

He determined that there was a spiritual element to the painting not only because

of the cross, but also because the main figure is looking upwards and towards the light.

He also noticed the word “saint” and a halo around the figure’s head.

Think-aloud poems. Raph explained his poem was inspired by a painting entitled

“Saint Francis of Paola” by Kehinde Wiley: a full portrait of a young, African American

man. It has “a pink background fading to white at the bottom” (Raph, personal

communication, August 17, 2014), and a young man with “his hand over his heart and his

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other hand in his back pocket. He is looking upwards. It also has these fleur di leis all

over” (personal communication, August 17, 2014).

He then explained that his poem used “… iambic tetrameter and alternating with

iambic pentameter” (personal communication, August 17, 2014). Paws asked if she “had

to label [her poem] with that? I just ran with mine” (Paws, personal communication,

August 17, 2014). Raph chuckled, and said it was just an easier way to explain his

structure. He then recited his poem. At the conclusion, Paws said, “That was really good”

(Paws, personal communication, August 17, 2014), and Stars nodded in agreement (field

notes, August 17, 2014).

Raph then discussed his decision-making during his writing process. Raph

explained how he thought about the poem for “a couple of days” (personal

communication, August 17, 2014). Originally, he was not going to start with the Pledge

of Allegiance but after several attempts to begin his poem in other ways, he thought he

would change his direction:

My original idea was to not start with the Pledge of Allegiance and to try to work

it in later. But when I started with that, I found it was a really good starting point.

It gave a lot of structure automatically, so I just went with that. Every other line is

a segment based off of the segment of the Pledge of Allegiance. The structure is

what helped me fill it in. (personal communication, August 17, 2014)

Definitions of creativity. Raph spoke of creativity as being “kind of like

randomness…being able to take things from different areas whether or not they are

relevant and then making them relevant… in ways that are not typical but are still

applicable and relatable” (personal communication, August 17, 2014).

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Raph began this discussion with his perspective of creativity related to ideas. He

explained, “I try to take something that typically follows a certain path, and I just put it in

a different path whether or not the path is initially relevant to the idea itself” (personal

communication, August 17, 2014). He shared his belief that a creative person likely

senses that the ideas are:

…relevant in the first place. So it’s like shining light in different areas and being

able to pull them in because there is the initial idea which has the dark corners

that haven't been uncovered yet, which can be explored through creativity. (Raph,

personal communication, August 17, 2014)

After Raph heard Paws’ perspective on creativity, he said that it gave him a

different way of thinking about the creative process:

I like that because I guess the stance I have been taking on creativity is the idea

centric stance, where you have an idea and this is how you want to express the

idea creatively. But I think your stance is more like perceiving. You don't have an

idea yet, and then you are seeing what ideas come of that, and I really like that.

I've never thought of it that way. (personal communication, August 17, 2014)

Creativity in the school environment. Raph opened the discussion with his view

that creativity in an academic setting comes about naturally by introducing different

perspectives through activities such as class discussions. He stated that,

If you are in a purely lecture situation where there is one person speaking, one

opinion about an area of study then, yeah, I do think that that will cut off

creativity. But if you are introducing an idea, taking different stances on it, I think

that in itself is creativity in a way. (personal communication, August 17, 2014)

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Raph added another dimension about creativity in school with this story:

I remember in chemistry, in high school, we had to memorize our polyatomic

ions. So there is not a whole lot you can do as an instructor. Here is the sheet of

all these ions, go and memorize them. It's in your hands. So it's kind of making

you in charge of your creativity. I had to make word associations that I would

recognize that not necessarily other people would remember. You were almost

creating inside jokes with yourself, in a way. So you kind of have to do that, and I

think that if you leave it to the students to be creative when there is no other

option, that [exercise] can almost foster creativity in itself. (personal


Convergent and divergent thinking in the creative process. Raph began with a

description of how he made poetic decisions in writing his poem. He said his initial

decision on the structure of his poem was based on the information card next to the

painting as it “specifically referenced hip-hop sampling” (personal communication,

August 17, 2014). He wanted to incorporate the hip-hop feel and the sampling. He

identified that as convergent thinking and began writing from that perspective. He found

the product to be unsatisfactory:

I went through what I had written logically, and I then said that is not going to

work. I tried different ways of going with it. Then it either ended up not working

in the first place, or if I was able to get a few lines down, it just was way too

cheesy, frankly. I didn't like the way that it sounded…So that was an intuitive

response. That made me try a different structure. (personal communication,

August 17, 2014)

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When he began with the new structure, the writing flowed, and it was at this time that he

identified his thinking as divergent. He also added that he did not think back on the

literary devices during this process though he did say that he believed his learning as an

English major had trained him to start thinking convergently. He said he had been taught

that before a writer begins to write something, “the first step is to research it, to find out

all about it” (personal communication, August 17, 2014).

When the other two members of the focus group began to discuss how they forget

to eat when they are in the midst of creating, Raph said that he skips meals too, but “I

think I do it consciously, so I don't think that it is too divergent. I say, ‘I really want to

work on this.’ So even though I know I should eat, I'm not going to” (personal


Think-aloud poems. The participants used the sketchbook in individual and

unique ways. Raph’s work in the sketchbook (see Appendix LL) began with two opposite

words (imperfection and perfection) which were both crossed out. Below that are two

words (elevation, Sainthood) and the “hood” is underlined. Two full lines of a poem are

written with the syllables marked as accented and unaccented. Raph finished his poem

after the interview but before the focus group interview where he shared it with the other

participants. His finished poem is found in Appendix MM.

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Appendix P

Paws’s Profile

Paws

Paws (self-chosen pseudonym) is a graduate student at a college of art and design.

She is studying the art of animation and is hoping to someday to create animation for

movies. She was unable to attend a face-to-face interview, as she was mid-semester in her

program. Instead, we held the interview over Skype®. She Skyped® from inside of the

college’s art museum.

Art museums and poetry. Going to the Toledo Museum of Art (TMA) has been

a common activity throughout Paws’s life. Her parents introduced her to the museum.

She also attended school field trips to the museum, and even had a week of art lessons at

the museum after winning a drawing contest sponsored by a local park. She has also been

to the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Art Institute of Chicago, and the Art

Gallery of Ontario. .

Paws remembered having fun at the art museum. She enjoyed looking at the

artwork. She thought, “it was very pretty, and it was fun hearing and reading about it. I

liked all the different works” (personal communication, July 24, 2015). As she got older

and studied more art, she began to appreciate the different time periods, different art

periods, different artists and it began to influence her own art: she would to say to herself,

“Wow, I hope I can get that good someday” (personal communication, July 24, 2015).

Her earliest memory of poetry was her grandmother buying the family a copy of

Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein. Her parents would read the poetry from the

book to both her sister and her. The book was also read to Paws in kindergarten.

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Paws began writing serious poetry in high school. Before that, the poems that she

wrote were mini-versions of various poems that were being studied in school. The

assignments were to write a similar poem but in their own words. In fourth grade, there

was a week where the students had to read poetry that was related to the narratives that

they were reading in Language Arts. She remembered reading haikus, though she did not

recall writing a haiku, as “they are very hard to write” (personal communication, July 24,

2015).

Contests and competitions. Paws competed and won a drawing contest as an

elementary student, and the prize was drawing lessons at the TMA. She also mentioned

that in high school she was on the swim team. She even auditioned for parts in high

school plays, which led her to performing in both minor roles and leads. It was also in

high school that she entered a poem in the Ekphrastic Poetry Contest (see Appendix GG).

Earliest creative experiences. Paws has been creating art ever since she was a

little girl. Her earliest memory is coloring in a Lion King coloring book. Her parents have

taken her to see Disney movies in theatres since she was a baby. They have always

encouraged her to draw, and, to this day, she enjoys drawing.

For Paws, drawing as a child was more about

…having fun than thinking this is what I want to do for the rest of my life. I drew

just what I loved which was cartoons. I also drew my pets. I drew my family.

They weren't very good, but I enjoyed it. (personal communication, July 24,

2015)

Her parents provided her with paper, markers, pencils, sketchbooks, and Prismacolor®

colored pencils. Paws shared these with her sister, which she thought was also fun.

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Another early experience with creativity occurred in second grade. She recalled

an aquarium assignment where she first had to draw herself as a fish and then write about

the character traits of the fish that made it likable. She said,

I was a parrotfish because I didn't understand that parrot fish weren't actual

parrots in the water [laugh]. That's a fun thing, I thought. I am going to call

myself a parrotfish. I think it was just a fish-parrot hybrid. It was kind of scary

looking. [giggle] I think I was just excited because the teacher said to draw

yourself as a fish and write about it. And I thought, “I like that!” (personal


Another early experience in creativity was also in school (first or second grade).

The class was expected to keep a writing journal. Paws had just seen A Bug's Life, so she

started writing stories about three ants going on adventures. She wrote about those

adventures over several days. She also had to draw illustrations. She remembered that her

teacher really enjoyed it and was “excited about the three ants” (personal communication,

July 24, 2015).

Art became more complex for Paws in high school. She began with Art

Fundamentals her freshman year. “Art Fundamentals has you dabbling in everything, so

one lesson would be in pottery, one lesson would be in painting, pastels” (personal

communication, July 24, 2015). During her freshman year, Paws began posting her art

work on-line. During junior year, she decided that she wanted to go into animation. This

led her to take additional intensive courses such as graphic design and senior studio. It

was during this class when she really started pushing herself to learn how to draw basic

human anatomy. Paws explained that in “graphic design I did a rotoscoping project which

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is an animation project. That was fun! Everyone said, ‘This is taking forever.’ And I'm

just sitting at the computer like, “I'm doing ANIMATION!” (personal communication,

July 24, 2015). It wasn't until she was in high school, after she took four years of art

electives, that it occurred to her, “Hey, I can make a living off of this” (personal


Current creative endeavors. Paws did not go into explicit detail of her current

projects in graduate school, but she did send me a link to her on-line portfolio. In it she

has short films and an abundance of characters that she has created. She also shared her

sketchbook with me when we met at the art museum during her fall break.

Places to create. Paws’s favorite place to create is at home. There she curls up on

the sofa and surrounds herself with her pets. Doing so helps her relax, and she can start

sketching or writing. She also likes to work in her studio in her parents’ home. This is her

older sister’s room, which was converted for her to pursue her creative work. “It has a

giant window and a drawing desk. That's where I store all my art books” (personal


Once she entered graduate school, she began to enjoy “going out into the parks

and the public squares and just walking around and getting inspired. And the library. Our

library at my college is awesome” (personal communication, July 24, 2015). She also

creates “curled up either in my bed or at my computer desk” (personal communication,

July 24, 2015). She explained,

Most of the time it is a comfort thing. I feel more relaxed especially here, at my

apartment. I have all my books with me, all my biggest inspirations. So I have all

of my Disney Art Books, and I am surrounded by the things I enjoy, the things I

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love, so that gets me inspired. (personal communication, July 24, 2015)

Inspirations: people. Paws explained that she has an abundance of support from

the people around her. She said that her parents, siblings, friends, and other adults

provide constructive critique and inspiration when she is feeling down, or when she is

going through a period where she is having trouble creating. She explained that animation

is a very competitive and intimidating field because at “the same time while you are

being inspired, you're also being very intimidated by people who are younger than you

and are at a higher place than you are” (personal communication, July 24, 2015). She

said that this can either cause you to do nothing and complain about how unmotivated

you are, or you can strive to get better. She explained,

I try not to do the former because everyone goes through periods of ups and

downs in art, but I try not to stay in that dark space too long because if I do, it

starts affecting me physically. Like I get super stressed out. So whenever I feel

down, I just get on Skype®, and I call my sister and I am just like, ‘Tell me what

to draw.’ Sometimes she gets annoyed. She's like, “You know I love you, but

whenever you ask me, ‘Does this look good? Does that arm look right?’ I don't

know [what to say], it looks fine to me. I can't draw. (personal communication,

July 24, 2015)

Her classes and the college environment also have also inspired her. She gets

inspired when she is around people who enjoy animation and want to pursue a career in

animation. Talking with her professors who have experience working in the industry also

inspires her. The college also enabled Paws to meet one of her biggest idols: Glen Keane.

She described the meeting in this way:

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He did a bunch of animation for Disney. He animated The Beast; he animated The

Little Mermaid; Tarzan… He came to [my college] and gave a talk. He shook my

hand! And I was sitting there in just awe. All my friends were jealous. They were

like “What?!” Then I go, “That's why I went to grad school.” (personal


Inspirations: activities. Paws has found that being active in a lot of on-line art

communities offers her opportunity to share her art with people who like what she likes

and enjoy doing the things she enjoys doing. She also attends Anime® Conventions

because Anime® is one of her biggest inspirations. At these conventions, she sells her

artwork in the artists’ alleys. She said that it is “not only good for revenue, but it's also

good to connect with other artists” (personal communication, July 24, 2015).

She also said that her experiences in school have nurtured her creativity. She said,

“That's one thing I loved about my elementary schools: my sister and I were always

encouraged to be creative in the classroom and at the art shows” (personal

communication, July 24, 2015). This creative environment continued through high school

where she had opportunities to participate in art shows, poetry contests, marching band,

Glee Club, and school musicals. She explained, “I was a random character in Oklahoma

… a chorus member in Hello Dolly, and then I was Mother Abbess in the Sound of

Music” (personal communication, July 24, 2015). In college, she joined a Japanese

drumming group. She still sings for fun. At one time she considered singing

professionally, but then decided that singing is “more of a passion thing, and I didn't

think I could make a career out of it and enjoy it as much as I enjoy doing art and

animation. So that's more like my side thing” (personal communication, July 24, 2015).

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Obstacles. Paws listed lack of motivation, intimidation, and deciding which

technique is the best to use as her biggest obstacles to her creativity. To deal with

obstacles, she takes a break and then later, returns to her creative work. Her breaks

consist of going on the computer, texting her friends, or reading a book. She needs to

“distance [herself] from the art a little bit and then get back into it. Sometimes you just

gotta take a step away” (personal communication, July 24, 2015). If time permitted, when

she was still living at home, she would sometimes drive to the local YMCA and swim.

Swimming also helps her get through her obstacles. Even driving the car somewhere can

help her get through her block. “Listening to music helps, too, with the creative block”


Affective experience. Paws feels both excitement and pride when she is creating.

She explained, “I would have to definitely say excitement, pride, inspiration, because this

turned out really good, I can't wait to see what I do next” (personal communication, July

24, 2015). She also becomes hyper-aware at times, so she will use a Disney movie when

she is drawing just to have background noise. However, sometimes she loses a sense of

her surroundings. She explained, “If I am super in the zone, and sometimes mom will be

like, ‘Hi, Hi. What are you doing?’ and I'm like, ‘Ahhh! When did you get here?’”


Paws enjoys the feeling of being in “the zone:”

It feels kind of cool. I don't know how to describe it. You are just so focused on

what you are doing that everything around you just kind of fades away. When you

come out of the zone, you kind of come back to the real world. You kind of

realize, “Wow, I wasted like, or I spent three hours drawing or something like

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that.” I shouldn't say wasted because if you love what you are doing, you are not

wasting anytime at all. But I would say, kind of tired because drawing is like any

other form of exercise: you are exercising your hand and you are exercising your

brain. So I would say, tired but satisfied. (personal communication, July 24, 2015)

Thinking. Paws explained that her thoughts while creating are different from her

feelings. When creating art, she begins with thoughts of how she wants the piece of art to

look. From there, she does the rough sketching or the rough outlines. Then she goes back

and does the more solid outlines. This applies to both writing and drawing. In the heat of

the moment (when she comes up with an idea), she wants to first get her thoughts down,

and then she starts building the idea from there. The “heat of the moment” (personal

communication, July 24, 2015) also happens sometimes between the initial sketch and the

finalizing. If she feels something is not working, then she goes back and gets rid of it the

offending element. If she feels like it doesn't sound right in her head, or if she dislikes

what is on paper or on the computer, then, she thinks, “Ah, let's go back and fix it”


She tries to avoid going back too often. She really tries to finishing something

before judging it. If she is motivated and wants something to look good or sound good,

then she allows herself a couple more revisions. This helps her feel satisfied at the

completion of the project. If she feels like her drawing didn't turn out quite the way she

wanted it to, she will re-draw it until she feels satisfied. Sometimes, if it is really just not

working, then she gets frustrated whenever she looks at it. That is when she crumbles it

up and says, “Movin' on” (personal communication, July 24, 2015). She tries not to throw

her work away too often because she does not like to waste the paper. She also believes,

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“You learn more from your failures than from your successes, but sometimes your

failures are just so bad, you look at them and say: ‘Uh, uh. You go in the file demon’”


During the revision stage of her creative process, Paws intuitively responds to

using the artistic elements that she has studied. She also asks for feedback from friends

and family. This feedback is very important to her. She realizes the feedback helps her go

back and revise. She says, “It's nice because you get a fresh pair of eyes looking at your

work. Which is important with animation. With animation, you have to get that group

feedback” (personal communication, July 24, 2015).

Describing and interpreting art. Paws was drawn to a series of paintings based

on Chinese opera. She delighted in the variety of her choices but eventually chose one

painting. She described the subject as “very intense and almost predatory” (personal

communication, July 24, 2015). She also noticed the painting as having a “nice, bright

red composition. Everything is out of focus except her eyes, which are directly focused at

you. But she is super pretty and super dangerous at the same time, which I think is

interesting” (personal communication, July 24, 2015).

She opened her sketchbook and began to sketch. While doing so, she recalled

what Glen Keane told her about drawing eyes: you can make a mistake anywhere else in

your composition, but never make a mistake on the eyes “because the eyes are the

windows to the soul and all that jazz” (personal communication, July 24, 2015). She

thought it was interesting that the subject had both a soft face and dangerous eyes. She

drew a series of thumbnails which she used as a basis to planning her composition. She

explained, “If I have a good image in my mind, I can figure out the flow of the poetry and

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relate it to the flow of the drawing” (personal communication, July 24, 2015).

Paws then drew intently and quietly forgot that she was doing a think-aloud.

When I asked her what she was thinking, she apologized and explained:

Sometimes when sketch, or I thumbnail, I get super in the mood. I'm thinking if I

want to do her full body or maybe I want to do a super, up close shot of her face.

Kind of what we have here, but I feel kind of like that's already been done before

with the original work, so maybe I won't go with that. (Paws, personal


As Paws continued to draw, she talked of comedies, tragedies, and the dark undertones of

opera. She considered tragedies more interesting “because they challenge human

emotions and the depths of how far people will go for the people they love. But at the

same time, they leave you super depressed, and you ask, ‘Why would anyone tell that

story?’” (personal communication, July 24, 2015).

Her thoughts then moved to interpretation of the painting. She wondered if the

subject was a dancer or an assassin in disguise. Paws began asking questions to help her

come to a storyline:

She kind of looks like a dancer, but maybe she's not a dancer. Maybe she's an

assassin in disguise. Then I'm thinking what kind of story would, like why is she

in disguise as a dancer? Why is she like that, and what is she doing? What's her

game? So maybe it would be cool if she is like looking at the person that like

maybe caused her suffering in the past or something and she's like, “You're about

to get it. I've got you in the palm of my hand, and you're about to get it. (personal


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Writing. By then, Paws has completed the thumbnails and has begun writing

down ideas for the story. Paws contemplated the movie Kill Bill. She then began looking

at the painting again and noticed that the woman had a sultry look that made her even

more menacing. She then surprised herself with the idea that the woman could be a

goddess. She imagined:

If she's a goddess, she's been challenged by a mortal man and she's like, “Oh,

you're going down.” I can definitely see that. So she's a goddess, and I can

definitely see her being like, “You tampered with the wrong god, you mortal, and

you are going down.” (personal communication, July 24, 2015)

Paws moved from the interpretation and returned to seeing the painting. She noticed that

the eyes were smoky and that, in fact, the whole picture had a smoky quality to it because

everything is unfocused except for her face. Paws then wandered back to interpretation

and wondered if the subject was a dragon lady or a dragon who turns into a woman,

appearing through the smoke.

Paws imagined the woman saying, “I'm a dragon, and I'm going to get you. I may

look gentle, and I'm beautiful, but I'm also deadly. Beautiful, but deadly” (personal


At this point, Paws said she had enough to drawn and written and would be able

to write a poem. She wanted to include illustrations because the story had caught her

imagination.

Think-aloud poems. Paws explained the piece of art that she wrote about was a

“portrait of a woman in traditional opera make-up for Chinese opera. The painting had

interesting lighting: just her face was in focus and she wore really stark, sharp make-up.

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She looked kind of predatory” (Paws, personal communication, August 17, 2014). She

spoke of how the woman appeared to be looking down on the viewer as if she were a

goddess who was unhappy with “a human who trifled in the wrong business” (Paws,

personal communication, August 17, 2014). This brought about chuckles from the other

two participants. After she recited her poem, Raph responded with several affirmative

nods and the complimentary, “Nice” (Raph, personal communication, August 17, 2014).

Paws asked for input about the possibility of going back and revising. She

wondered if the goddess seemed too angry: “Gods can be pretty angry, but I also like

interpretations of god who are just kind of like not neutral, but not entirely vengeful. Do

you guys think that was okay?” (Paws, personal communication, August 17, 2014). Stars

and Raph assured her that it was the character was not too angry.

Paws then discussed her decision-making during her writing process:

I was kind of going for a god-like feel to it. I didn't really stick with one structure

because I figured a god-like character would be about structure. So it kind of has a

little rhythm to it, but I mostly just wrote what I felt like what the character would

be saying to the audience. (Paws, personal communication, August 17, 2014)

Definitions of creativity. Paws said that creativity “doesn’t really have a

definition” (personal communication, August 17, 2014). She then elaborated that

creativity is “the art of doing something; the art of giving voice or form to something that

moves you on a physical, spiritual, or otherwise level and having it expressed in any

way” (personal communication, August 17, 2014). She spoke of how passion moves a

person to channel “it into a specific medium or not a specific medium” (personal


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Paws spoke of the nature and freedom of creative people. She said that “…people

Who are more into the creative arts are more willing to look in the spaces that normally

other people wouldn't look at” (personal communication, August 17, 2014). She also

stated that their inspirations from their looking do not always end up in a creative work.

She believes that “whether or not they decide to channel that into their work is up to

them” (personal communication, August 17, 2014). She also believes that “anyone has

the potential to create whatever kind of work they want to create. It is just a matter of

them wanting to do it” (personal communication, August 17, 2014). She explained that

the “seeing” of a creative person is “kind of like when you are looking at the clouds and

you think, ‘Oh that cloud looks like something or another.’ Like you are not necessarily

looking for a specific shape in the cloud, it just happens to look that way” (personal


Paws explained that her thinking about the creative process was nurtured in

graduate school. She said that inspiration can come when you are looking for it and when

you are not looking for it: “You could be in an aquarium, and you look at a fish, and you

think, ‘Oh, I just came up with Finding Nemo’ or something like that” (personal

communication, August 17, 2014). Paws explored her use of contrast in her poem when

she said, “I guess the contrast was just generated in the words that I arranged, like what is

the opposite of what defines a human, and what is the opposite of what defines a god?”


Paws then shared her belief that the purpose of creativity is “to make you think”

(personal communication, August 17, 2014). She referenced a professor who helped her

see that, “if it makes you uncomfortable, it’s making you think about something. So

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sometimes creativity has to cross that border between the comfort zone and the un-

comfort zone to get people to think and to discuss and to have discourse” (personal

communication, August 17, 2014). Paws then stated that what an artist creates “not only

says a lot about the artist, but it says a lot of what we want to convey to other people”


Creativity in the school environment. Paws talked about how creativity should

be in the school environment. She believes that “a part of anyone's basic education should

be the encouragement of using creative outlets” (personal communication, August 17,

2014). She then moved to the discussion that logic and creativity are not exclusive of

each other:

We are talking about logic and creativity and those things are often polarized

from each other but ever since being in art school, I've met people who find

creativity through logistics. “So you have people who create animations that are

entirely numbers. The codes interact and create generated images on the screen

only existing because someone just created a code to perform a specific function.

That's creativity. It's not just confined to one realm of possibility. So I think they

(logic and creativity) both help each other, and I think that education should

encourage that. (personal communication, August 17, 2014)

Paws then expressed her perception of her teachers who did not encourage creativity:

They have never been much help to me because if they are not passionate about

what they are doing, than why should the students be passionate about it? It just

sucks the life out of it. It makes the atmosphere really oppressive, and empty, and

boring. (Paws, personal communication, August 17, 2014)

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She stated, “Just make it enjoyable for yourself and make it enjoyable for the people you

are sharing stuff with. Personally, that is how I always enjoyed learning” (personal


Convergent and divergent thinking in the creative process. Paws identified her

thinking while writing her think-aloud poem as “definitely divergent because I was

approaching it not from the perspective of a poet but from the perspective of an animator,

a character designer, and a story artist” (personal communication, August 17, 2014).

Once her ideas were on the paper, her process became a flow of ideas:

Instead of approaching it using typical conventions, I approached it from a non-

typical convention. Then once I had all my ideas, then I started thinking and

choosing what would flow best. I asked myself, “How do I make this flow?”


She had previously read a post about the flow of natural language and how when people

speak, there is a flow to it. She was trying to approach it in terms of that, but since she

read the article a while ago, she believed that she was influenced subconsciously. She

stated, “I would probably say I was being more divergent in terms of creation. Mostly

because I haven't written poetry forever” (personal communication, August 17, 2014).

Paws responded to the question about the intentional use of poetic devises while

writing her poem by saying that she might have used them “a little bit, but it wasn't in the

forefront” (personal communication, August 17, 2014). However, when she was finished

drawing and writing, she did look back and say to herself: “Hey, I used that. So it was

definitely divergent. I was pulling from a lot of different sources, and then I created

something” (personal communication, August 17, 2014). She also clarified that she thinks

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convergently in the editing:

I am the type of person who likes to get all my ideas out there. Whether or not

they are good or bad, I do not always discern that right away. So then the

convergent thinking comes into play where I start thinking: “Okay, that was a

good idea” but you gotta be willing to let go of it in favor of the poem, in favor of

the flavor of the poem. Word: logic. Sometimes when you are creating, you have

an idea, and you are really attached to it, but no matter how much you try, it just

doesn't work. So you have to be the better person and think, okay: I have to kill

the baby. (personal communication, August 17, 2014)

Paws then described the experience of losing track of time while creating:

I lose track of time, and then when I realize what time it is, I think, “Okay, I'll just

keep going.” Then, when I become aware again, I realize that I forgot to eat, and

it starts gnawing at your brain and at your insides. Something inside says: “You

forgot me! How could you!” (personal communication, August 17, 2014)

Document description. Two sets of documents are included in the data set of this

study. The first document was a copy of the award winning poem and the second

documents consists of pages in her sketchbook that shows her thinking during the think-

aloud observation (see Appendix R).

Paws met me for lunch at the art museum on September 12, 2015. She shared her

sketchbook with me. I was particularly interested in the two pages that showed her

process of creating her poem. On the first page, she began in the upper left hand corner

with five thumbnail sketches approximately one inch by one inch. They are organized as

rows of two and the fifth is single. She then labeled her work as “Story-Dragon Lady.”

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This is followed by six short lines of description of the woman in the artwork, which is

then mixed with two lines of dialogue. Each line begins with a curved arrow. On the

second page and third pages, she wrote rough drafts of her poem. She used definite line

breaks and stanzas. She crossed out very few words, most of which are found in the

ending on both drafts. She showed me final version of her poem that she read during the

focus group interview (see Appendix NN).

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Appendix Q

Leah’s Profile

The first interview with Leah (self-chosen pseudonym) took place on July 28,

2015 at the local art museum. She was unable to attend either of the focus group

interviews; however, she still wanted to be part of the study. At the time of the study, she

had already graduated from a Midwest university in pre-med, had been a nanny for a

year, and was applying to medical schools. She is a disciplined, intelligent young woman

who delights in and finds refuge in her creativity (personal communication, July 28,

2015).

Art museums and poetry. The first time Leah came to the TMA was with her

high school on a field trip. She has no recollection of visiting the museum before that

time. She had been back a few times since then to see exhibits that sounded interesting to

her. For example, she visited the Civil War exhibit. She had also been to Smithsonian as

well as the portrait gallery in Washington, D.C.

Leah clearly stated, “I do not read poetry, ever. If I'm going to read, I would

rather read fiction, and I just don't read poetry” (personal communication, July 28, 2015).

Although she does not prefer reading poetry in her free time, she did explain her

perception of what a poet does: “A good poet turns words into feelings. I feel like that is

the purpose of all art: to make you feel something, right? I mean music, poetry, I mean

really anything that you create” (personal communication, July 28, 2015). She also said

that she has only written two poems in her entire life (both of which happen to be the two

award winning poems in the Ekphrastic Poetry Contest). An example of her award

winning poem can be seen in Appendix HH.

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Poetry was introduced to Leah when she was in grade school, possibly in third or

fourth grade. However, she did have an earlier, vague memory of nursery rhymes and

reading Shel Silverstein’s, Where the Sidewalk Ends.

Her most poignant memory of poetry was almost a horror story for her. She

recalled it in this way:

I remember when we were in third or fourth grade; we started having this poetry-

reciting recital. They stopped it eventually. Thank God: I hated it. We had to

memorize a poem and get up in front of the whole school and say it. It was just

terrible for me. I don't like public speaking. I don't remember what I memorized. I

just remember that those assemblies were like three hours long, and it was rough

because people would get halfway through their poem, and they would forget.

That was awful! Third graders are too young to be memorizing long, long poems.

They had to be a certain length. You couldn’t just have just a little paragraph.


Because of this experience, Leah says, “Well, I haven't done anything with poetry since”


Contests and competitions. Leah also expressed emphatic feelings about

competition and contests: “I do not like competitions and the Ekphrastic Poetry Contest

the only competition that I have ever been in” (personal communication, July 28, 2015).

This is interesting because she does enjoy making YouTube videos but does not see that

medium as competitive. She understands that an individual wants to get more followers,

but feels other people are not judging her. When I asked her about comments made by

her viewers, she explained:

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No one has said anything mean to me, yet. I would just delete it if they did. I

mean, you're just kind of putting yourself out there, but you're not really. I mean

you are getting comments from people but not like judgment. Maybe I will

eventually, but I'll just delete them. I can control what comes back to me. I don't

expect to get huge. (personal communication, July 28, 2015)

Earliest creative experiences. Leah’s earliest memory of creating involved

making “something with crayons and making a little scribble and putting it on the fridge.

That sort of thing. My mom put my stuff up. She would keep the good ones and throw the

rest away” (personal communication, July 28, 2015). Her mother also kept a box of her

artwork from art classes in high school. The artwork was kept “because I actually thought

some of that stuff was

pretty good. So I was like, ‘You can't throw this away.’ But yeah there is a box

somewhere” (personal communication, July 28, 2015).

Leah also loved what she referred to as crafts. She explained:

I always loved beads, making necklaces, making anything. My mom would buy

art supplies, and we would keep them in huge bins: markers, feathers, and just

whatever. It helped that we had two girls, so we would just sit and do whatever.

My mom wouldn't sit and do it with me, not really. Sometimes she would, but she

would always take us shopping, and we could buy craft supplies. (personal


Leah also explained that she loves doing anything hands-on. She has sewn and knitted.

The sewing is used primarily for mending, and she makes knitted scarves.

Leah described art class in elementary school as fun. She said that it was always

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one of her favorite classes as it was “a place to chill and have fun” (personal

communication, July 28, 2015). In those classes, she did a lot simplistic art like painting

and drawing. She really enjoyed the freedom in the classroom:

They didn't show you art pictures or famous paintings and then have you imitate

any of those. It would be like, today we are making geometric art and then we

would do just whatever we wanted. There were no samples to inspire you, not

even student samples. The teacher would maybe have an example on the board

and say, “Do something along these lines,” and we would do it. (personal


Current creative endeavors. Leah expressed her love of music and playing

piano. She plays whatever she can find. She explained that she had never had any lessons

though she does use both hands. She taught herself in high school by using her

rudimentary skills of reading music (she counts the lines on the staff to figure out the

notes) and by listening to and watching YouTube® videos. She described how she uses

her left hand the same way she uses her right hand. She also explained her process: “I do

whatever the music says or whatever sounds right. It's a very eclectic approach” (personal


Leah also described how she spends a lot of time on Pinterest® because “It's so

much fun” (personal communication, July 28, 2015). She especially likes trying out new

recipes and different craft ideas that are featured on Pinterest®.

Leah also expressed her love of painting walls:

I've painted my bedroom. I striped it different colors. I didn't have any equipment

to, like, measure. People say to get lasers. So I just used a ruler to measure to

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make sure it was the same all the way around. Which took forever, but it was fun.


She said that people in her family always call on her if they are moving or re-doing their

homes because she really enjoys making interior design decisions. Her voice softened

when she explained: “I love arranging furniture and explaining why you need these

colors. I'm always doing that sort of stuff” (personal communication, July 28, 2015).

Leah also makes YouTube® videos about health related topics. She explained:

“It's kind of science-y, but I like the filming and editing and the creative parts of it, too. I

just started a few months ago, so it's not huge yet, but I am working on it” (personal

communication, July 28, 2015). Her most recent topic is a personal health issue:

polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) (personal communication, July 28, 2015).

Leah also shared her love of dance even though she claimed to be a terrible

dancer. She compared herself to her thirteen-year-old cousin who has been dancing her

entire life: “She's amazing and I'm like, ‘Oh, my gosh, I would like to be a dancer.’ I've

taken some classes but I'm, I feel like, I've started so late that I'm very inflexible and

awkward. But I do love it” (Leah, personal communication, July 28, 2015).

Places to create. Leah described her preference to create at home and nowhere

else. She explained that she needs a place where it is quiet, peaceful, and comfortable:

“Just home. I can be comfortable; I don't really have to care what I look like. I'm usually

in pajamas, like just very comfortable” (personal communication, July 28, 2015). She

also made a point of saying that home does not include her bedroom, which does not even

have a desk as it is only used for sleeping. She needs the same environment for studying:

“I just want to be home, by myself. I do not go to libraries. I do not like public places. I

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do most of my stuff and prefer to do most of my stuff by myself” (personal

communication, July 28, 2015). This includes exercise with the exception yoga classes:

I do not like going to gyms where everyone is on a treadmill. To me, that's like,

“ugh.” If I would ever have to use a treadmill, I would want to have my own

treadmill at home. I don't like looking over and like, "Oh, this person is going

fast.” It's not fun. (personal communication, July 28, 2015)

She especially detests working outside, “It's too distracting for me. I hate when papers are

blowing away and it's like, ‘No, everything just needs to just stop’” (personal


As far as a need for a particular amount of space, her preference varies:

Sometimes I need a lot of uncluttered space. It depends on what I'm doing. If it's

something small, like jewelry, I don't mind having a tiny desk. I'll lay it out on the

floor if [the project] needs more space. (personal communication, July 28, 2015)

Inspirations: people. Leah explained that her parents, siblings, and friends offer

support and, in turn, inspire her creativity: “They'll say, ‘Play piano, or do this!’ (personal

communication, July 28, 2015). She also explained that her art teachers inspired

creativity in her in that they proposed art activities and then left her to her own

interpretation.

However, this love of projects was not well received by Leah in they were

assigned in her content area classes. She said that putting a grade on her creations took all

of the fun out of creating. She explained her thinking behind this strong emotional

reaction to this particular teaching method:

In math or social studies, religion, science, we would always have like projects,

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like make a poster board, or make a power point or make a . . . I always hated

them. To me, it ruins the fun of art. Like me having to make a book or a poster

board about some topic in history. I would rather memorize the history stuff, take

a test about it, be done with it, and then make art for fun. To me putting art and

like, it just ruins it. So many teachers did it, and assigned projects thinking that it

was fun. But for me it was just (shakes her head). No, to me the thing I didn't like

was being assigned something and told what to do. I would rather write a report.

If that was an option, I always did that in school. But I think just being told to do

this and turn it in to me just, I've always hated grades. I freak out about grades and

turning things in. Grades have always stressed me out. So having to make

something and then get a grade for it, just… (shakes her head, again)…. (field

notes and personal communication, July 28, 2015)

Leah explained that she rarely finds inspiration in the work of her classmates as

often time their work is of poor quality for which she has no patience:

It depends. It depends if they were good. If they are just like garbage . . . people

just get so sloppy, and I always hate it when we had group projects and you know

some people's contribution is so terrible and it's like, can we just throw your part a

way, and I'll make something better? You know, that sounds terrible, that really

does sound terrible, but it's like . . . If it's worth looking at, it just has to be good.


Inspirations: activities. Leah explained, “I never really put deliberate effort into

my creativity to get better at it. To me, it's like my stress relief after I'm done with

science. It's my way to relax” (Leah, personal communication, July 28, 2015). Looking at

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Pinterest® or seeing some a piano piece played on YouTube® are some activities that get

her inspired to create. She likes seeing what other people have created and “it's like, ‘I

want to make that, too.’ Or like music, if I hear a song I like, I'll try to teach it to myself

on the piano” (Leah, personal communication, July 28, 2015). She explained that her

inspirations are modality-specific: “When I hear music I like, I try to imitate it on the

piano; when I see crafts I like, I try to recreate them. I can't think of a time when there has

been a crossover” (personal communication, July 28, 2015).

Obstacles. Leah’s most common obstacle in creating occurs at the beginning of

the process: It is the starting of a creative project that challenges her:

I have such a hard time just starting and that applies to even writing papers,

anything. I will freak out about it. I will spend forever obsessing over what it is

going to be like, and what am I going to do, and what is it going to look like, and

once I start, it just flows and it is totally fine, but I do obsess before then.


She explained that this is probably so difficult for her because the start is all about mental

preparation. Everything must be planned in minute detail before she can begin her

creative project:

All that mental preparation that I do ahead of time is the starting. Okay, well, it

feels just like I am stressing out, and then once I finally start, I can just chill, and

it comes. The process that comes before the starting is just unpleasant. It's all

mental. That really applies to any schoolwork. (personal communication, July 28,

2015)

Leah explained that she does usually encounter obstacles while creating because the

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obstacles are encountered in the planning phase: “It’s all up here, ahead of time, so the

obstacles are up here” (personal communication, July 28, 2015).

Lead did acknowledge that the stress, itself, is an obstacle:

The mental work can be an obstacle. Thinking about how I am going to plan it.

Then if there is some material I want that is not available, or if there is some piece

of information I can't find, or if there is something that doesn't fit perfectly into

the plan, then that's like, then I have to make a different plan. (Leah, personal


The joy of creating comes while she is creating because the obstacles have been

anticipated and solved before the creating begins. I describe this process further in the

next section.

Affective experience. For Leah, stress and joy describe her affective experience

while creating, “When I am doing that thinking, I stress” (personal communication, July

28, 2015). She explained that she always stresses and it has become a form of anxiety for

her. She worries that her work will not be “good enough because I hate if I have a vision

for something, and I make it, and it is not as good. Oh, I hate it, and then I just throw it

away. To me, that is just terrible” (personal communication, July 28, 2015). She also

said,

[I am] very, very picky and very particular, and if it doesn't come out perfectly the

way I want it to, it's not even worth having. But to me, I just throw it away and

forget about it. Like, I sometimes, won't try it again. (personal communication,

July 28, 2015)

Even when she is making something like food and if, for instance, she needed to add

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more flour, she would probably just throw it away and move on to a different recipe. She

explained, “I'm all about the fresh start and moving on. But if it was like some craft

project, and I didn't like how it looked, I would probably just try something different, like

a completely different thing” (personal communication, July 28, 2015).

When her creation is going well, she feels great joy:

It is kind of like a Zen state, and I forget everything, and I am just doing. I prefer

to just do because when I think, I just obsess. The making process is just fun, so I

can just zone out, and then if it's made, and it's the way I wanted it to look or be or

whatever, then that's when, ahhhh, happy moment. (personal communication, July

28, 2015)

She also explained that she is not aware of her surroundings during that time:

People will talk to me and, two hours later, I'll finally like come out, and they'll be

like, “I was asking you all these questions.” I don't even hear it. I don't hear a

thing. I don't see anything. Nothing is there. It is total focus. That's why it is so

nice. That's why it is such relaxation. You forget about everything. I think all of

the things I like to do for pleasure give me this state where I can completely zone

out: playing piano, leisure reading, singing, dancing, yoga, cooking, etc. I

completely lose myself when doing any of these and don't come back into focus

until I'm done. (personal communication, July 28, 2015)

Leah described the actual creating as an intuitive process because the colors are

already chosen and everything is already planned. She has an exact plan of it in her head,

and then she can “just do” and there is no thinking. However, if she does run into a

problem, she stops, goes back to the thinking, and begins the planning phase again. She

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summed up this recursive process in this way: “I don't really do thinking while I'm

creating. I totally stop. I come out of my zone, leave, think, come back. So there is no

thinking while I am in that zone” (personal communication, July 28, 2015).

Thinking. Leah explained the details of this mental process of planning. She said

that the time involved depends on how complicated the task is. If it's just a craft project, it

might last for two hours as she needs to decide on what colors she wants, what materials

she needs, where she is going to get them, and how she is going to put them together. She

makes all of these decisions before she can begin creating. If the project is a research

paper, she may need a week or two because it has to be perfectly planned before she sits

down to write. Therefore, when she is doing the actual hands-on part or the writing, there

are no surprises. She explained that the creating is “pretty much just me translating what's

in my brain. So the surprises probably happen inside my brain, beforehand” (personal


Describing and interpreting art. Leah chose a piece of art when we were

looking at the student artwork in the Center for Visual Arts. She explained the decision to

choose a piece of art: “I always pick something that I have a background in and know

about because then I just have a lot more to draw on when I am writing” (personal

communication, July 28, 2015). After this explanation, Leah began her response to the

picture with description:

This looks like a brain to me, but it's made of people, which is very cool. With my

neuroscience background, I would probably pick something like that. Yeah. Yeah,

people curled up. It's like little people, yeah, that's very cool because they always

talk about the homunculus in the brain and that it is like a mini-man in the brain,

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and so that's what the drawing reminds me of. I could start with this. I like that, a

lot. (personal communication, July 28, 2015)

Leah explained that her process to write her poem would begin with looking at the

piece of art and thinking of all the things that she sees that she could tie into the poem.

Then Leah blended her description of the art with her interpretation of the art:

Okay, lots of little people, all curled up but bunched together. But it still is

representing the brain. You can see that there's two hemispheres, and they're all

connected, which is kind of like representing neurons, but they are obviously

much bigger than neurons. Um, I mean, it's very metaphorical, I guess. It's like

because the brain is the person, but then you have these little people in the brain.

Um, I like the coloring on it, too, how it's like shaded between yellow and red. It's

just pretty. It gives it like a depth perception. (personal communication, July 28,

2015)

She then filed through her background knowledge of science words that can be

used in the poem such cerebrum, hemisphere, and lobes. She did take time to look at the

background of the main image and determined that it was not important to art piece: “I

mean it's a nice background, but I don't think it really would matter to the art if it was

there or not. So I probably would focus on just the center part of it” (personal


Writing. As Leah wrote, she intermixed moments of silence with thoughts

spoken aloud. Her thoughts included observations (“they are all like connected, working

together”), delight in seeing (“I like how their feet are touching...that is cool”), her

decision to use medical terms (“across the corpus callosum”), and decisions about writing

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(“um, yeah then I would probably just start writing things down”) (personal

communication, July 28, 2015). Her poem began to take form as evidenced by her spoken

thoughts: “So human shaped neurons (silent writing), huddled together (silent writing),

firing synergistically (silent writing), representing a (silent writing), representing many

(silent writing) homunculi” (personal communication, July 28, 2015). Here, Leah paused

to consider the plural form of “homunculus” and then explained its definition to me:

When you talk about vision, or hearing, or tactile, or any of the sensory

modalities, it is represented by the homunculus. [For example], it is the part of the

brain that determines where you are touching your finger when you touch right

next to your wrist. It is like a map out of the brain for every sense. So there are six

or seven of them where it is called homunculus. (personal communication, July

28, 2015)

For the remainder of the think-aloud observation, Leah wrote, chuckled, and even

laughed aloud as she made poetic decisions. It becomes evident that she has moved from

the stressful planning stage to the joyful creating stage. It was an interesting

transformation to observe:

I wrote a line down, but I want to use it later on but not there. (chuckle) I have a

structure in mind. Yeah, when I wrote that down I'm like, “No that will be better

at the end.” So I'm saving that. [laugh]. I do not see any meaning in that

[background]. Not really. To me that's just the background which is very pretty. I

like the way that it is very squiggly and whatever. I wouldn't mention it. (personal


Leah finished her poem even though she considered it to be short. She laughed

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when she explained to me about the last line of the poem:

Um, this is a short poem, but that's probably where I would stop because I like the

last line, and I think that it should be the last line of the poem, so (laugh). Um, it's

short. If I had more time, I may try to think of things to make it longer but, no, I

think it's fine like that (laugh). (personal communication, July 28, 2015)

When I emailed Leah the original transcript for member checking, I commented on how

much she laughed and giggled while constructing her poem. She responded to my

observation:

I just read through the transcript (what did I tell you about having to do things the

second I receive them?). Thanks for sending it to me--I actually really enjoyed

reading it, and it makes me realize how much fun I have when doing artsy things.

My mom used to always say she couldn't believe how happy I was during the

summers when I would spend all of my time creating and not stressing about

school (probably still applicable now). (email communication, August 13. 2015)

Document description. Leah did not attend any of the focus group interviews

because of the demands of the application process for medical school. However, she was

able to complete her poem during the think-aloud. Her writing in the sketchbook (see

Appendix OO) is located in the top, left hand side of the page. She used no capital letters

to begin any of the eight lines of her poem though line 3, and line 7 looked ever so

slightly indented. The letters are slightly slanted to the left with a height of approximately

¼ of an inch or less. Her final poem is on her sketchbook as she never edited or revised

her work.

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Appendix R

Paws’s Sketch Book

Random page to show thinking. Step 1 in writing Think-aloud poem.

First draft of Think-aloud poem. Second draft of Think-aloud poem.

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Appendix S

Permission to Publish Award Winning Poems

Hello Joey,

It has been a long time since I have communicated with you. I hope you are well and are

continuing to create. Once again, I want to thank you for your very generous gift of time and self.

Your generosity has contributed to new insights into creativity, which has the potential to impact

the awakening and nurturing of creativity in others.

I defended my dissertation in May, and one of the recommendations was to include your award

winning poem in the appendix. Originally, I made the decision not to include these poems

because some the award winning poets’ work can be found on the Toledo Museum of Art’s

website and your anonymity may be compromised (your name, not your pseudonym, is on the

website).

It is unlikely that a reader will take the time to look at the website and connect the poetry to your

real name, but I do want to give you the opportunity to consider permitting your award winning

poem to be published in this dissertation or to decline your permission.

To communicate your decision, please check the appropriate box below:

I give my permission to have my award winning poem published in the dissertation titled:

Awakening: The Lived Experience of Creativity as Told by Eight Young Creators.

I would prefer that my award winning poem NOT be published in the

dissertation titled: Awakening: The Lived Experience of Creativity as Told by Eight Young

Creators.

Please respond to this email by September 1st. If I do not receive a response, I interpret

the lack of response as permission to publish.

Thank you, again, Joey,

Martha Champa

Part-time Faculty, Literacy Instructor

Judith Herb College of Education

Curriculum and Instruction

[email protected]

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Appendix T

Sample Transcript

#00:02:48-0# Person 1: Today is July 17th. I am with Toledo Stars and we are going to begin

our interview. Do you agree that I am able to record this three ways. #00:01:35-6# #00:02:48-0# Person 2: Yes. #00:01:35-6# #00:02:48-0# Person 1: We will begin with our first interview question. You were the winner, the honorable mention winner, of the Ekphrastic Poetry Contest. #00:01:57-8# #00:02:48-0# Person 2: Yes. #00:01:57-8# #00:02:48-0# Person 1: So how is it that you were introduced to poetry? #00:02:03-2# #00:02:48-0# Person 2: I think it was through Lial and I think it was Mrs. Miller, my third grade teacher. #00:02:16-7# #00:02:48-0# Person 1: Okay #00:02:16-7# #00:02:48-0# Person 2: And we just did some like introductory kind of. I remember writing a couple of poems. I think maybe a haiku #00:02:28-3# #00:02:48-0# Person 1: Okay #00:02:28-3#

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Appendix U

Coding with Sticky Notes

379

Appendix V

Award Winning Poem: Michaela

Nirvana (art piece: The Campo Santo, Venice)

A blue expanse Sea and shy embrace like old friends. Uniting in the center;

where life and death meet: untouched and unafraid.

Whisping, whirling, wishing Tufts of pristine white clouds, like angels, deliberately dance across the sky. Brush strokes;

twirling and pirouetting across the vault of heaven.

Faithfully fading and fluttering Winged sails: angelic and entrancing Protruding upward, piercing clouds overhead;

joining old friends with the touch of a wing.

An intertwining of harsh reality within lucid dreams. A poverty stricken society cries out. Escaping into an endless sea of prayers;

squalid lands of forgotten destiny left behind.

The living row towards an Island of despair.

The dead float hopeful of reaching nirvana.

380

Appendix W

Award Winning Poem: Alex

To My Beloved (art piece: Entrance to Honfleur Harbor)

Beloved

I wake; the majestic gong of the cathedral ringing aimlessly in my ear.

The warm aroma of the pastries, and the hustling of the town.

The smoke ruffling out of the chimneys of many.

The sky is a fresh tint of blue, big puffy clouds like pillows you can reach out and touch.

The trees moving in motion like an elaborate dance that soothes the soul.

I set forth to see you . . .

Beloved

I feel the cool air blasting my face,

The smell of salt water runs through my veins.

I step up to the ship, see the mighty French flag waving proudly above me.

I can see the distant sea, and the beautiful clear waters,

The reflection of the sun on the graceful ocean.

Panic sets in for these ships are not always reliable,

Yet I feel soothed by the water rocking me back to sleep.

I will see you soon . . .

Beloved

We have been at sea more than a week.

I long to remember your face, your smile.

I miss the way you laughed,

How you looked when you are frustrated.

I look up to the sky . . . it is black with many sparkling stars that remind me of you.

I will be there soon, we will be together.

Beloved

Things have not been going well

For the rations are low, mutiny may be afoot.

Captain has spotted a storm coming from the west,

We must enter or we will not get to the Americas.

It is either take our chances, or die of starvation.

Times are tough, but I will see you no matter what.

Pray for me for I shall see you one last time.

381

Beloved

This pains me to write, we might not get there.

The ship is overflowing with frigid scummy waters,

Lower decks flooded up to our waists,

People running in terror

As wave after wave of pure destruction splashes on top of us.

I am struggling to keep the ropes tied to the ship.

Yet I am still determined to make it to you.

I will make it to you.

Beloved

The winds have died down.

The rain has ceased, the sun is shining.

A beautiful hue of colors splash the sky

We are heading towards the new land.

It was yet another miracle from God the father.

Next time you shall hear from me,

I will be seeing your lovely face, looking at your beautiful smile,

Hearing your laugh in my head.

All is well, I shall see you soon my beloved.

I shall see you soon . . . Joanna . . . my beloved.

382

Appendix X

Award Winning Poem: Nevada

(art piece: Hand Mirror)

Face down on the dresser

Pearls and silver glistening

Her hand picks it up in hope of an elegant girl

But she sees a tattered girl

Will the reflection change her personality?

Or will she keep her disturbing ways?

383

Appendix Y

Award Winning Poem: Dr. J

The Enigma (art piece: Dalet Tet)

A smoggy cloud in a geometric frame

Covers up a colored mane

Much unknown the intent

To paint to that extent

Never again shall the surface be judged

The truth and identity lay smudged

Fruitlessly it hangs on the wall

Defined as a bleak waterfall

Layers of color fell that day

Much unknown, they faded away

Strands of light, one by one

Disappearing from the everlasting sun

There should not be fear

The colors they are near

Looking from a distance is naught

An eyesore is the thought

Dalet Tet is an enigma

Wrapped in its own charisma

A unique design

That is siren to the mind

A puzzle, a statement

A riddle, an embellishment

A futuristic stigma

An enigma

384

Appendix Z

Award Winning Poem: Raph

Stamp (art piece: Man with Bull Head)

Eyes imbued with a red fluorescence

His closet blinks open and stares

He yearns for the star of morning

The ring of the trumpeting blare

The ivory flannel, he blindly grasps

Pants scarlet of rage belated

Mirrored by snickering decadence

Girded by shades he once hated

His suitcase created of Brother’s flesh

Carried with spite-laden snorts

Shuffling down avenue’s granite

To stamp every rancid report

The labyrinth walls, a darkened dream

A maze replaced grey cubic cages

Yet he’s lost now more than ever before

His hooves scarcely turn all the pages

Sour subservience settles his tongue

Rage emaciated leaves the dregs’ haze

For the furnace of guardian’s duty

Stagnated for years without blaze

The cuffs of his sleeves are his shackles

The daily commute now his chain

The bull roars it’s head in defiance

For the normalcy made him insane

385

Appendix AA

Award Winning Poem: Paws

Willy

(art piece: Executive)

386

Appendix BB

Award Winning Poem: Leah

Lyrical Disconnection (art piece: New York, No. 1)

Fragmented American spirit

Patriotic bomb, frenzied battle

Metal-bellied pelicans rescue to no avail

Highway to heaven, highway to hell

Sad, regretted peace

Pillar of freedom, torch of justice

Muffled suspiration

Life’s liquid drained, bullet parade

Heavy weight compression

Towering structures of steel

Our damaged nation

Dreams upturned, hopes abolished

Un-American terrain

Overloaded hustle-bustle

Synesthetic feeling

Tested pride prevails at home

Relationship montage

Dismal scrapbook reminiscent of

Fragmented American spirit

387

Appendix CC

Abigail Housen’s Stages of Aesthetic Development (2016)

Stage Descriptions

Stage 1 – Accountive

Accountive viewers are storytellers. Using their senses, memories, and personal associations,

they make concrete observations about a work of art that are woven into a narrative. Here,

judgments are based on what is known and what is liked. Emotions color viewers' comments,

as they seem to enter the work of art and become part of its unfolding narrative.

Stage 2 – Constructive

Constructive viewers set about building a framework for looking at works of art, using the

most logical and accessible tools: their own perceptions, their knowledge of the natural world,

and the values of their social, moral and conventional world. If the work does not look the way

it is supposed to, if craft, skill, technique, hard work, utility, and function are not evident, or if

the subject seems inappropriate, then these viewers judge the work to be weird, lacking, or of

no value. Their sense of what is realistic is the standard often applied to determine value. As

emotions begin to go underground, these viewers begin to distance themselves from the work

of art.

Stage 3 – Classifying

Classifying viewers adopt the analytical and critical stance of the art historian. They want to

identify the work as to place, school, style, time and provenance. They decode the work using

their library of facts and figures which they are ready and eager to expand. This viewer

believes that properly categorized, the work of art's meaning and message can be explained

and rationalized.

Stage 4 – Interpretive

Interpretive viewers seek a personal encounter with a work of art. Exploring the work, letting

its meaning slowly unfold, they appreciate subtleties of line and shape and color. Now critical

skills are put in the service of feelings and intuitions as these viewers let underlying meanings

of the work what it symbolizes emerge. Each new encounter with a work of art presents a

chance for new comparisons, insights, and experiences. Knowing that the work of art's identity

and value are subject to reinterpretation, these viewers see their own processes subject to

chance and change.

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Stage 5 – Re-Creative

Re-creative viewers, having a long history of viewing and reflecting about works of art, now

willingly suspend disbelief. A familiar painting is like an old friend who is known intimately, yet

full of surprise, deserving attention on a daily level but also existing on an elevated plane. As

in all important friendships, time is a key ingredient, allowing Stage 5 viewers to know the

ecology of a work — its time, its history, its questions, its travels, its intricacies. Drawing on

their own history with one work in particular, and with viewing in general, these viewers

combine personal contemplation with views that broadly encompass universal concerns. Here,

memory infuses the landscape of the painting, intricately combining the personal and the

universal.

Visual Thinking Strategies (2016). Aesthetic development. Retrieved from:


389

Appendix DD

Sketchbook Stars

390

Appendix EE

Think-aloud Poem: Stars

No Title

(art piece: Harmonic Motion)

The monster is feared in every town and city

The children are taught not to go near the monster

But when the monster walks, the earth shakes

When the monster speaks, the children run

But is the monster just trying to have fun?

The monster, a colorful being with arms and legs sprouting from just about everywhere

Is the monster just feared for his size and loud deep voice.

Is the monster just misunderstood?

391

Appendix FF

Sketchbook Michaela

392

Appendix GG

Think-aloud Poem: Michaela

No Title (inspired by: Wood Necklace #12)

The kindness of those who added to our story

Keep us going, keeps us happy

And like the heart of the necklace,

Their kindness is food for the soul.

In the end the broken parts are what gives the necklace its beauty

And makes us who we are

We are all unique

Every item has a purpose and a story

Without the bad, there is no good.

Without the imperfections in the road, our lives would be incomplete.

Without the imperfections in the necklace it just simply wouldn't be the same.

The necklace is outlandish and unique

And we are drawn to it.

Why?

For that very reason, the necklace is one of a kind

It reminds us of our lives, our stories, our paths, our missing pieces, our imperfections,

Ourselves

And we love ourselves,

Imperfections and all

393

Appendix HH

Sketchbook Alex

394

Appendix II

Think-aloud Poem: Alex

No Title

(title unknown as it was part of the student art collection and neither of us recorded

title)

Gentle winds move the ocean

Back and forth, and back again.

Home to many creatures dependent on it to live.

It moves like a silent metronome.

She cares for the creatures of the sea.

Give life and security.

Threatens dark water and howling gales

To those who disturb the peace.

395

Appendix JJ

Sketchbook Dr. J

396

Appendix KK

Think-aloud Poem: Dr. J

No Title

(inspired by: Woman Haunted by the Passage of the Bird-Dragonfly Omen of Bad News)

From the tail of bad news

Again

Screams in the dark

Again

Seeing the dragon fly

Again

Glaring in a manner most un-quaint

Again

It rushes toward the pact of a new thought.

Again

Trapped!

Again

Being scared from the real

Again

The dragon fly believes in a new idea

Again, to keep the balance

Stop the spread of the new ideas

Again

Fleeing from the nightmare

She is safe.

Dragon fly protects her.

Again?

397

Appendix LL

Sketchbook Raph

398

Appendix MM

Think-aloud Poem: Raph

No Title (inspired by: Saint Francis of Paola)

I pledge allegiance to the flag

Flown high in distant clouds

But still my cap stands firmly on my head

Of states united, great divided nation witness now

Where written laws recited, never read

Republic stands in public hands

Afraid to clench and rise

My palm stays open, only in my pocket.

One nation under God of love selected death to cries

And those who follow blindly merely mock it.

Divisible in times when worldly rights are state decisions

This black face stains the pores beneath the paint

With liberty and justice for all dominant divisions

The same can make a hoodlum from a saint.

399

Appendix NN

Think-aloud Poem: Paws

No Title , (title of artwork unknown)

You.

Mortal, I am ageless.

You who are flawed, I am flawless

You who are bound to flesh and bone and blood,

I am free.

You who are bound by law, by love, and by creed,

of these things, I need not heed

You dare to tread to my domain?

You, who sin, who lie, who cheat

Who scorned the great gifts we gods bestow

then have the gall to pray for more?

You have no power here.

You, who once hunted are now the prey.

You who once ruled will be cowed down.

You who prayed for my blessing

will be left unanswered.

You, mortal meddled.

I, immortal will decide

your fate.

You, mortal,

shall face me.

400

Appendix OO

Sketchbook and Think-aloud Poem: Leah

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