music, poetry or nathematics. The indulgence or emersion
of self into any medium I necessarily call ‘exposure".

In the creative process it is through exposure to a
medium that sparks the confidence to reveal those

very personal touches. In time, as competence develops
and increases, a level may be reached in which the work
becomes a complete statement, or signature of character.

This brings us to an aspect of creating that is most
often overlooked. It is the question "why do we
create"? Before answering that question, I think
another closely aligned question should be asked: for
whom? Too frequently the audience is either neglected
or misconstrued.

For the highly creative artist, awareness of the audience
can be a prime motivating factor; whether that audience
be real or imaginary (idea), whether they respond or

not. It seems to me that the mirror of the audience
provides the feedback whereby inner reflection and
contemplation are possible. The artist can then move
from the inside to the outside of his involvement. In
other words, he can stand back and look with some
objective honesty at his work. This makes the individual
artist or craftsman a participant in a dynamic creative
process. Images arise beyond control and are realized in
the work. In effect, the creator becomes both actor and
audience: dramatic doer and observer.

For the artist/cra*tsman it is a kind of individual
technique or signature well developed which enables

him to feel emersed in his work while maintaining a
knowledge of outsice standards both in the contemporary
world and in the history of the discipline. To go
beyond what has been said and done should be a creative
objective. Our responsibility goes beyond mere survival
in a contemporary world. Individuals involved in
creative pursuits are responsible for setting standards
and establishing new values. These standards and values
are directly tied in to a greater continuum, an
evolutionary one. The evolution of our consciousness

is in a large sense dependent on the dynamics of
creative expression and the nature of this evolution

is a spiritual one.

44