Creative Collaboration - Emotions Involved

Vera John-Steiner's "Creative Collaboration" is a fascinating book. It is a study of dyads and teams.

To my mind, creativity research has had difficulties in explaining  intellectual, aesthetic and emotional aspects of creativity.

"Our life is composed greatly from dreams, from the unconscious, and they must be brought into connection with action. They must be woven together."  - Anaïs Nin

This weaving process is not a simple one. It is hard to find people who share our dreams but can also challenge us and disagree with us.

According to Vera John-Steiner creative collaboration of dyads often contains following elements:

• Care - Conflict
• Fusion - Separation
• Trust
• Partners'  negotiations about the ownership of ideas.

These elements may get complicated and even tear us apart :-( Creativity is sometimes about living on the edge.

Or, we may just take things too seriously and selfishly ;-)

"Develop interest in life as you see it; in people, things, literature, music - the world is so rich, simply throbbing with rich treasures, beautiful souls and interesting people. Forget yourself." - Henry Miller

The 'Creative Collaboration' book ends in the following conclusion:

"There is a deep and interesting paradox in productive collaboration. Each participant's individual capacities are deepened at the same time that participants discover the benefits of reciprocity. But the achievement of productive collaborations requires sustained time and effort. It requires the shaping of a shared language, the pleasures and risks of honest dialogue, and the search for a common ground."

- Vera John-Steiner (204, 2000)