Praxis and Creativity

Ask a fisherman how to cast a net and he probably could not tell you in words. Ask a baker to explain the correct texture of the rising dough and she will tell you it is all in the feel. The knowledge that lives in the hands is crucial. Experience nurtures subtlety and practice is essential. The painter must learn to read brushstroke on the canvas; the writer words on paper; the photographer the capture of light on film or sensor.

Learning how we learn is a valuable accomplishment. Once we find the method which is best suited to our rhythm we can acquire skill more quickly. Some need aural repetition, others need the written word, but in art the simple demonstration of the teacher's hand on the paper or canvas translates quickly into knowledge. At the Center the one-on-one tutorials are frequent and personalized. Guiding the student's hand in collaborative interventions, the teacher can share years of experience without a word. Our classes are designed to establish this practice and our buildings are available at all times to facilitate this.

At the heart of the creative process is the idea of translation. We translate from one phenomenon to another; our senses into paint, our vision into line, refracting light captured in camera… words written. We discover what we do not know through rearranging what we do know and then see an image through our medium, be it paint, ink, photography, or a line of poetry. Nature viewed through your personality elicits a response which only you as a unique being can translate into art.

When we allow creativity to surface surprising juxtapositions occur. It is necessary to stay open and responsive to them when they appear. The creative artist is motivated by the ambiguities which arise. "The creation of something new is not accomplished by the intellect but by the play instinct acting from inner necessity. The creative mind plays with the objects it loves." Carl Jung

The development and nourishment of one's praxis and creativity is paramount to the Aegean Center’s pedagogy and teaching methods. For a more in-depth look at various Aegean Center projects please click on any of the images below. (note: you will be directed to "The Chronicle, the Aegean Center blog. Please click Previous on your browser to get back to the Aegean Center home site.)