Process

https://youtu.be/iNsCVG_edDo

The most interesting thing about my process project was the elimination. I thought of many ideas. Some were silly, or mundane, or private. I initially wanted to film the process of going down a set of stairs, or tying a shoe—this idea quickly bored me, even with all my ideas about filming gimmicks. Then I thought I could film the process of my fiancé packing up his things at midnight each night and walking back to his apartment—this idea only last a minute or two, because frankly that’s a pretty intimate part of my life and sharing it in front a university class is not necessarily something I’m comfortable with.

The project I ended up doing is a weird washi-tape creation on the living room wall of my apartment. I honestly should have just filmed the process of me trying to set up filming the process, because it was an ordeal. As I write this, there’s a chair atop a sofa in my living room, upside down, covered in spools of decorative tape. While I was putting up the tape, I had a moment of panic as I remembered Jan Yager’s search for authenticity—something I very much would like to emulate, especially as a teacher—because I felt pretty uncertain about the authenticity of what I was doing. I vocalized this, and one of my roommates pointed out that the authenticity of what they were watching me do was pretty dead-on. I have a habit of making things or printing things and taping them to the walls in our home (see the Dennis Quaid picture at the end of my process video), and I love to draw simplistic replications of the human face. I like color and bright things. I was still challenging myself by doing something I hadn’t exactly done before (in terms of method) but I was also dealing in artistic aspects that were familiar and dear to me—and, bonus points, supported by women I love and respect very much.

I think what I can draw from this as far as creative processes in the classroom goes is this: process is a) not easily replicated b) intrinsic as much as it is extrinsic and c) deeply, deeply personal. Structure is important when teaching creative process, as structure is important in just about everything I will ever teach. But part of the idea of process is about self-discovery and an intimate conversation with one’s self, in a new and potentially scary (via vulnerability) way.

When it comes to creative work, my students, much like me, may vacillate between over simplified interpretations of assignments and ideas that may expose their inner selves in a way that they aren’t quite ready for. I think the important thing is to meet them where they’re at. Show them mentor texts, personal examples, patience, all of it. But give the creative process its own authenticity and power in a student’s life. Give them a safe place to practice that process.