For a long time, the various parts of me have felt separate: I’m both an academic and a creative. I am passionate about teaching and learning, as well as creativity and the arts. As I’ve journeyed on my path, I’ve realized that it’s my mission to bridge the academic and creative. Since images lie at the heart of the creative process, images also lie at the heart of learning.
I believe that my academic courses provide a strong foundation for the “legitimacy” of the arts–offering substantial evidence of their centrality in learning and cultural change. Some of these courses include Psychology of Metaphor, Psychology of Creativity, Psychology of Transformative Learning, The Purpose and Power of Image and Imaginal Ways of Knowing. (For course descriptions, go to the Events & Classes page.)
I often think of image and imagination as the “language of the heart,” and this language needs our support. While images are at the center of any kind of creative transformation, they have a very quiet voice. Images need to be welcomed and given space, else they will not be heard.