Women and the creative process

71~ Arts in Ps~chorher~~p?, Vol. 8 pp. 43-48, Ankho International

Inc., 1981. Printed in the U.S.A.

WOMEN AND THE CREATIVE

PROCESS*

BARBARA E. SANG. PhDt

As they become more involved in the realm of work outside the domestic arena many women, stimulated by the feminist movement, will stretch their ambition to realize their unique potential. The difficulties inherent in this reactive journey will be intensified despite the new “freedom,” as a result of their socialization process. Whereas males have been encouraged from an early age to be actors, knowers, and philosophers, females are still being taught to be the “other” -audience and nurturer of male creativity. When women do create, they are expected to be dilettantes, or at best amateurs. Because they are not encouraged to take themselves seriously as creators, when they do choose to go beyond the limitations of their sex role many will experience a considerable number of inner and outer obstacles. In my work, both as a psychotherapist with female artists and as an artist myself, I have seen several recurring themes emerge among women striving for creative expression. One of the most common difficulties reported by talented women is that of translating the desire to create into actual creativity. The focus of this paper, therefore, is concentrated on that process. For ease of presentation, I have divided my observations into separate categories. There is considerable overlap and interaction between the areas that may make some of the foIlowing seem repetitive but I believe this necessary for understanding. WOMEN AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF A CREATIVE SENSE OF IDENTITY Self-doubt is an integral part of the creative struggle, but few women arrive at this point be-

cause to do so one has to take oneself seriously as a creator. Writer Tillie Olsen (1978) expressed it well: “Women lack the happy confidence, the exuberant sense of the value of their individual observations which enables young men to risk making fools of themselves for the sake of an idea” (p. 24). Bernard (1964), in discussing the subject of creativity in academic women, notes that creativity is far more than individual innovation; it is a social act. The creator has to have some of the qualities of an “exhibitionist,” or at least be willing to shout “look at me”. The creator has to be willing to proclaim her ideas. Thus, if women are not expected to have ideas, how can they learn to trust, develop and express them? Many women are immobilized in their work because at some level they continue to believe that they don’t have the “right” or privilege to create, because creativity is a male domain, and nurturing and practical daily survival are part of the female domain, As a consequence of this belief, women may expend their best energies debating with themselves whether they have anything of value to say, while the remainder of their energies are spent worrying that, if they do have something to say, whether they are capable of expressing it, and how it will be received. Fear of selfexpression is often manifested by not providing oneself with the necessary tools or workspace to create. The female socialization process does little to prepare women for original work. Whereas creativity involves the ability to go beyond the known-to take risks, to be autonomous and to seek adventure-most women have been trained to value security, conformity, mediocrity and

*An abbreviated version was presented to a meeting of the American Psychological Association, Montreal, 1980. Requests for reprints of this paper should be sent to Barbara E. Sang, 200 East 1’6th Street, New York, NY 10003. Please enclose stamped, self-addressed envelope. I’Barbara Sang is a psychotherapist in private practice in New York City. She specializes in women’s issues and alternative life styles. She is a staff member of the Artists Therapy Service. 0197-4556~811010043-~$02.~/0 Copyright 6; 1981 Ankho International

Inc.

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BARBARA

social approval (Maccoby, 1963; Homer, 1972; Singer & Rummo, 1973). Such qualities as competence, independence and mastery are threatening (Hoffman, 1972; Alper, 1974). Several studies show that women who are impulsive, rebellious and rejecting of outside influence are likely to show creative achievement (Bachtold & Werner, 1970, 1972; Helson, 1972). This means that for women to engage in creative endeavors, they must deviate from the social norm. The belief that women are innately inferior to men as creators pervades the majority of theories regarding personality development. Although virtually all theoreticians on creativity have been male, a number of prominent women writing on the subject have also perceived women’s creative potential as limited.’ Jungian analysts Emma Jung (1957) and Irene Castillejo (1973) see women as a guiding light and inspiration to male creativity, but not as serious artists in their own right. Another psychoanalyst, Phyllis Greenacre (1971), argues that even when women (who don’t have children) are free to devote as much time to their art as men do they still prove less creative than men, due to the anatomical differences between the sexes. Therapists with this bias can stifle the growth of female clients by their failure to acknowledge the social obstacles which interfere with women’s creative expression. Numerous reality factors make it difficult for women to take their work seriously. They are not recognized as important in the educational system (Chicago, 1975): they have limited opportunities to present their work, and they rarely have the contacts or connections which could provide them with stimulation, guidance and financial backing. The fact that they rarely have an opportunity to see one another in creative and innovative roles further serves to confirm their limited conception of their own capacities. The degree to which women have difficulty viewing themselves as persons who create became strikingly apparent to me while teaching a course in “feminist psychology” at a major university. The women attending the course were professional women in different fields, varying in both age and background. Whenever I presented a class on “women and creativity,” I found my-

E. SANG self doing all the talking. Any attempt to encourage discussion was met with silence or such apologies as “I am not an artist” or “I don’t do anything creative so I don’t know . . .“. Even when I stressed the fact that creativity was involved in all types of work, and not just art, my female students reacted as if what was being discussed was totally alien from their realm of experience. TIME The need for time alone or for a room of one’s own are recurring themes for women artists. Solitude and the time for reflection are essential aspects of the creative process. Since women have been taught by their socialization process to put the needs of others before their own, they don’t create for themselves the necessary environment that allows for contact with their inner being. Women have learned to put intensity and involvement into their homes and relationships, but not into the expression of their ideas and concepts. Poet and writer May Sat-ton (1973) well describes the effort involved in pushing away the lives and needs of others before she can get to her own work with any freshness and zest. Similarly, artist Pat Adams (1974) writes “But there are too many off days in my new studio. The mother, teacher, lover has outrun the artist; my living life has outrun my marking of it” (p. 156). Many women are unable to take time for themselves because the female socialization process fosters the need for frequent social contact and togetherness. Some women can’t be by themselves for any significant amount of time without feeling bored or lonely. But, as Tillie Olsen says, “substantial creative work demands time and with rare exceptions only full-time workers have achieved it” (p. 13). If women are to create in any meaningful way, they need to learn how to set limits on the amount of energy that goes into meeting the demands imposed by the external environment. SOURCES

OF CREATIVE ENERGY INSPIRATION

AND

Many women today express a wish to make a contribution to their field of interest or are

‘In my own quest for information about the creative process I found that women writers and artists have provided some of the most lucid accounts of the creative act. Such heightened awareness of their process may in part be attributed to their struggles as women.

WOMEN AND THE CREATIVE searching for an area that could interest them. It is my impression that women often look outside themselves for a solution and therefore never obtain the satisfaction that comes from genuine personal expression. If one accepts the notion that creativity flows from one’s own center (Richards, 1962; Assagioli, 1965; Lippard, 1976; Maslow, 1977), women have not always availed themselves of their own inner resources. Not valuing their own lives, women have cut themselves off from their own voices-their own authenticity. Because they have been conditioned to believe they have nothing significant to say women devalue their own experience; they look to others for inspiration and direction. They feel safer imitating,, rather than asserting their own ideas or style. This partly accounts for the lack of originality that has been said to characterize women’s art. On the other hand, it is significant that a high degree of originality in composition and design has been rediscovered in women’s folk art, i.e., samplers and quilts.* In a new book entitled Artists in Aprons (Dewhurst, MacDowell & MacDowell, 1979), women are shown to be able to express themselves artistically by synthesizing their domestic and creative roles through the use of socially acceptable media. These women channeled their creative energies into the exploration of areas consistent with their interests and experiences. It is also significant that because women folk artists worked outside the constraints of the male art world they were able to produce work that went welI beyond the expectations of society in terms of quality, originality and artistic output. Successful and productive contemporary artists are aware that they are drawing on their personal lives for artistic inspiration. Painter Terry Gips (1979) says, “For me, art-making often merges with life-making, rendering the two indistinguishable. Creating art is intricately tied to creating oneself as a woman living within personal, social and political contexts” (p. 1). One contemporary female folk artist says, “I paint what I know”. Like many women, a young female photographer whom I see wants to take more pictures, but doesnot know what subjects *So-called women’s art was considered matter.

inconsequential

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to “shoot”. She spends a considerable amount of time trying to “figure out” what to photograph. Meanwhile she is taking no pictures at all, thereby depriving herself of the opportunity to maintain the technical skill she acquired in the darkroom. As a therapist, I can only ask women like her, “What excites you? What do you like to do? Can you photograph that?” Photographer Berenice Abbott (1966) said, with respect to selection of subject matter, that it has to have such impact on the imagination that you areforced to take the picture. Most writers on creativity describe some form of passion or excitement as a fundamental part of the creative process (Assagioli, 1965; Kubie, 1967; Maslow, 1971; May, 1975; Arieti, 1976). Many women often do not know how to get in touch with this inner vitality or drive. To create, one must feel that one has something important to express and communicate. Sometimes the need to create is so strong that it impels the individual into action. Rollo May (1975) has written of the courage it takes to make leaps into the unknown; the artist must risk rejection and aloneness. Since women have been taught to gain satisfaction from the approval of others, it takes even more courage for them to produce work that defies the norm. Sculptor Eva Hesse confesses (Lippard, 1976) in her notebook that “the need for recognition, praise, acceptance is so excessive a need it causes an impossible pressure to live with . . .” (p. 25). Women must learn to give themselves the support and validation not forthcoming from the environment. Women sometimes tend to take criticism that is necessary for creative development as a personal affront, they are hurt and discouraged, or cease to create. In an effort to gain full self-expression, some women have tried to work outside the traditional system. Such women, however, risk economic insecurity in forging their own direction. Other women, who have already experienced a certain degree of “success” or recognition, experience loneliness, as there are few women with whom to share and validate their struggles, and men may find their achievements threatening. Although women are clearly socialized to value social approval, there is a relationship be-

because it was not consistent

with traditional artistic media and subject

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tween their insecurity and their invisibility as artists. Male creators usually don’t have to seek feedback on their work. Such feedback is inherent in the fact that they are male; they are taken more seriously and their productions are more visible. They have easy access to one another in groups and can much more easily energize and stimulate one another. Female creators have traditionally been isolated from other artists, and have therefore not had the benefit of sharing ideas in a reciprocal way. Only recently have women begun to work with one another and take one another seriously as creators. This interchange has generated a large body of more exciting and innovative work. WORK RHYTHMS Many female creators tend to experience difficulty getting to know, develop and depend on their own intuition when working creatively; they have not learned how they create best; they are not in touch with their own “work process”. For example, how does one energize oneself to get started? Some artists report using a type of physical ritual (pacing the floor or doing vigorous exercise) before working at their art. To facilitate their creative process women must learn more about themselves-to discover the time of day they perform best, the length of time they can give to this work, and how to pace themselves. They must also learn to take shortcuts in dealing with the details of their domestic lives in order to have more time for their art. Knowing one’s best working. methods involves a high degree of self-awareness and a knowledge of one’s uniqueness as a human being. Women have been socialized to assist male creativity, but rarely their own. Despite the fact that women who provide men with support and guidance often show evidence of creativity and originality, they don’t value their skills as independent parts of themselves. One of the reasons many women don’t understand their own work processes may be due to their lack of opportunity for an intimate working relationship with a significant othero3 I like to make a distinction between a role model and a “process model”. A process model arises from a

E. SANG kind of apprenticeship in which the learner has an opportunity to see, step by step, how another person deals with the nitty gritty, everyday aspects of her profession. Male creators have usually had access to a mentor to help gain a feeling for their work process; it is traditionally built into the way they learn. DISCIPLINE

AND SELF-DIRECTION

Women have reported that they cannot produce because they cannot “discipline” themselves. Why do women experience difficulty in this area and what exactly does this mean? In part, what it means is giving oneself assignments and setting one’s goals. Women who are accustomed to being told by others what to do and how to do it must now assume this function for themselves. The young photographer mentioned above has no difficulty producing work when she takes classes, but does no work when away from them. She also stops “shooting” because nothing she sees measures up to that “prize picture” for which she is searching. On another level, self-discipline is related to the knowledge of one’s work process. Creativity is a paradox; it requires long preparation and hard work, but also the ability to “let go,” not force it. As May Sat-ton (1973) has aptly stated, “It is never a waste of time to lie down and rest even for a couple of hours. It is then that images float up and then I plan my work” (p. 26). Many women force themselves to work in a rigid, determined manner. They need to learn how to use “free spaces” as a way of permitting knowledge to recombine and emerge in a new way. This process is generally pre-verbal and requires a different kind of effort (Bennett, 1964). In her excellent paper on the creative process, Betty Kronsky (1979) also stresses how efforts to force or manipulate one’s awareness can lead to alienation from process. She provides a particularly sensitive analysis of the pain artists experience while undergoing stylistic change. Here, too, for successful integration to occur, “the artist may need to give over deliberate effort and become receptive to break-throughs of new thoughts and images” (p. 235). There is a giving of oneself over to process rather than dictating the out-

3However, some well known women painters have had fathers who were also painters (See Harris & Nochlin, Women Artists: I55f.L1950). A partial list of such women artists would include Lavinia Fontana (1552), Artemisia Gentileschi (1593), Elisabetta Sirani (1638), Angelica Kauffman (1741), Marie Vigee-Lebrun (1755). Sarah Peale (1800), and Rosa Bonheur (1822).

WOMEN AND THE CREATIVE come. Kronsky goes on to add that “at the point of break-through, it is especially important that the conscious mind abdicate its role of censor and adopt a positive regard towards the contributions of the creative self’ (pp. 235-236). Only later will the true import of the changes become manifest. In my own work with women artists, I frequently find that women experience their work as an unpleasant, external demand, rather than an experience that can be both fun and rewarding, In connection with this, the work of Nina Lieberman (1977) is highly relevant. Her research shows that the playfulness and spontaneity that lead to creativity are more readily found in males. Describing her own creative course, she says, “I had to give myself the opportunity of lying ‘fallow’ before any true creative process could begin. It was only after I felt less constrained about deadlines and allowed the task to take over that the joy of creating emerged” (p. 147). Another recurring theme for women is the focus on a “perfect” end product-often forgetting the pursuit involved. In her letter to a young female artist, sculptor and writer Ursula Meyer (1974) says, “This, 1 think, has left us with a legacy of paralysis starting at the end ‘success’ and working backwards towards the real beginnings: ourselves” (p. 108). Other letters of advice from well known artists to younger female artists (Schapiro, 1974) also stress the need for patience to let the idea develop over time. Some women often want to be “something” without having to go through the drudgery and hard work that mastery of a technique requires. They also experience difficulty in making long range commitments to their work, possibly because they were not raised to see other than domestic work as an important part of their lives. Some become discouraged when they encounter the difficulties of creation and give up the fight. Others associate this kind of hard work with “loss of self”; that is, they envision themselves as being so totally absorbed that no other life will exist for them. (Many men in fact have involved themselves in work to the exclusion of all else.) This fear of being swallowed up by work may be related to the awe and mystery which has surrounded male creativity. When is a piece finished? How much is enough? Since women have been traditionally

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expected to do considerably better than men to be treated as equals, it is often hard for women to put their accomplishments into perspective. Another area of concern for the contemporary woman artist has to do with the issue of focusing in on one area (i.e., specialization) as opposed to several areas. How do we distinguish between the fragmented use of time and the vitality and stimulation that may come from working in many areas? In Art and Sexual Politics (19711, Nochlin points out how women were warned against the snare of trying too hard to excel in any one thing. Women were supposed to dabble in the arts. Dilettante status was encouraged in order to free women for expected social roles. Women artists today who do express themselves in several media may have to ask themselves whether they fear commitment, to take themselves seriously in one area. There are artists, however, who know that when they are blocked in one medium they can revitalize themselves by working in another. This weaving back and forth between several different art forms is not indicative of a lack of discipline or a scattering of energies, but rather is a deliberate work strategy. Since male artists have traditionally focused on one area, and since they have achieved “success” and recognition, it is generally assumed that the only legitimate way to develop fully as a creator is to follow one path. Whether specialization is the only effective way to reach one’s creative potential is debatable. Knowledge and experience obtained through working in several media may be integrated and re-combined in such a way as to produce original ideas. Although a female creator may be able to produce serious work over a sustained period of time, a problem of immobilization may arise at the point at which she is ready to display her work. This final phase of the process, which Terry Gips (1979) calls “risking and worldencountering,” forces the artist to make herself vulnerable. Many women artists avoid dealing with criticism and potential rejection by failing to follow through on how and where to present their creations. Knowing how to make contacts and obtain notation is another part of the art-work process that requires acting, searching, discipline and patience. Journalist Vicki Goldberg (1980) gives a moving account of painter Carole Clark Stein’s persistent search for a gallery that would

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carry her work. At this point in her career, a woman may not only have to deal with her fear of exposure, but may also require very practical help and support in learning how to present herself. CONCLUDING REMARKS It has been said by one well-known female artist that there are no obstacles in the way of a woman’s becoming a painter or a sculptor, other than the usual obstacles that any artist has to face. This paper is an attempt to point out that there are many forces, some of them subtle and some of them fairly obvious, which make it more difficult for women to use their creative potential. Many women, unaware of these forces, tend to blame themselves for their failures, and in so doing they preclude the possibility of making the changes necessary for their own growth and development. REFERENCES ABBOTT, BERENICE (1966) Photography at the crossroads. In Photographers on Phorography. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice Hall. ADAMS, PAT (1974) Dear one: Artist, woman, young. In Schapiro, Miriam (Ed.), Anonymous Was a Woman. Valencia: Feminist Art Program, California Institute of the Arts. ALPER, THELMA (1974) Achievement motivation in college women. A now-you-don’t phenomenon. American Psyrhologisr,

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SILVANO (1976) Creativiry-The Magic Synrhesis. New York: Basic Books. ASSAGIOLI, ROBERTO (1975) Psychosynthesis. New York: Penguin Books. BACHTOLD, LOUISE & WERNER, EMMY (1970) Personality profiles of gifted women psychologists. American Psychologist,

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BACHTOLD, LOUISE & WERNER, EMMY (1972) Personality characteristics of women scientists. Psychological Reports,

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BENNETT, JOHN (1964) Creative Thinking. Sherbome, England: Coombs Springs Press. BERNARD, JESSIE (1964) Academic Women. University Park: Pennsylvania State University Press. CASTILLEJO, IRENE (1973) Knor?ng Woman: A Feminine Psychology. New York: Harper & Row, CHICAGO, JUDY (1975) Through the Flower-My Struggle as a Woman Artist. New York: Doubleday. DEWHURST, C. KURT, MACDOWELL, B. & MACDOWELL, MARSHA (1979) Artists in Aprons. New York: E.P. Dutton. GIPS, TERRY (1979) Women and creativity: The intet-twining of art-making and life making. Unpublished paper, Goddard College, Plainfield, Vt., 1979.

E. SANG GOLDBERG, VICKI (1980) The artist in search of a gallery. Savry, September. GREENACRE, PHYLLIS (1971) Emotional Growth, Vol. II. New York: International Universities Press. HARRIS, ANN & NOCHLIN, LINDA (1977) Women Arfists: 1550-1950. New York: Knopf. HELSON, RAVENNA (1972) Women mathematicians and the creative personality. Journal ofCounseling and Clinical Psychology,

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HOFFMAN, L. (1972) Early childhood experiences and women’s achievement motives. Journal of Social Issues, 28, 12s155. HORNER, MATINA (1972) Toward an understanding of achievement-related conflicts in women. Journal ofSocial Issues,

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JUNG, EMMA (1957) Animus and anima. New York: The Analytical Psychology Club of New York, Inc. KRONSKY, BETTY (1979) Freeing the creative process: The relevance of gestalt. Art Psychotherapy, 6, 233-240. KUBIE, LAWRENCE (1967) Neurotic Disrortion of rhe Creative Process. Kansas: University of Kansas Press. LIEBERMAN, J. NINA (1977) Playfulness: Its Relationship to imagination and Creativity. New York: Academic Press. LIPPARD, LUCY (1976) Eva Hesse. New York: New York University Press. LIPPARD, LUCY (1976) From rhe Center. New York: Dutton. MACCOBY, ELEANOR (1963) Women’s intellect. In Farber, S. M. & Wilson, R. (Eds.), The Potential of Women. New York: McGraw-Hill. MASLOW, ABRAHAM (1971) The Farther Reaches of Human Nature. New York: Penguin Books. MASLOW, ABRAHAM (1977) The creative attitude. In Anderson, W. (Ed.), Therapy and the Arfs. New York: Harper Colophon Books. MAY, ROLL0 (1975) The Courage ro Create. New York: Norton. MEYER, URSULA (1974) Letter to a young woman. In Schapiro, Miriam (Ed.), Anonymous Was a Woman. Valencia: Feminist Art Program, California Institute of the Arts. NOCHLIN, LINDA (1971) Why have there been no great women artists? In Hess, Thomas B. & Baker, Elizabeth C. (Eds.), Art and Sexual Poktics. New York: Macmillan. OLSEN, TILLY (1978) Silences. New York: Delacorte Press. RICHARDS, M. C. (1962) Centering. Connecticut: Wesleyan University Press. SARTON, MAY (1973) Journal of a Solitude. New York: Norton. SCHAPIRO, MIRIAM (Ed.) (1974) Anonymous Was a Woman. Valencia: Feminist Art Program, California Institute of the Arts. SINGER, D. L. & RUMMO, J. (1973) Ideational creativity and behavioral style in kindergarten children. Developmental

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TREMBLY. D. (1964) Aee and sex differences in creating thinking ‘potential. ‘Paper presented at the American Psychological Association.