Across a series of interviews, repsychl invited psychotherapists and contemporary artists to reflect on their personal histories, meanings, and philosophy, and how they are integrated within their creative process.
In these interview extracts, artists and therapists answer the question, “What are some of the greatest learning curves you have faced in your work?”
Michael Haight, Artist
“The biggest learning curve is figuring out which medium is best for what I do. I’ve spent lots of time and money over the years on materials that I thought would be of use in making art. I’ve settled on non toxic paints like watercolor, gouache, tempera, and ink.
Another important learning curve is the development of a personal, or signature, style. This takes accepting the way the body moves the brush and accepting the way the mind chooses to speak about worldly observations and contemporary knowledge. I’ve come to discover that I don’t need substances to inspire or motivate me in my work.”
Silva Neves, Sex Therapist
“My learning is ongoing. The field of sexology is exciting because there is new research happening all the time, and we have more and more great thinkers in the field. It is a fast-moving field and there is always more to learn. The psychology and mental health world has got sexual behaviours so wrong in the past. Homosexuality was pathologised until 1990! And there were some very dodgy ideas about masturbation, female sexuality and so on.
We’ve come a long way. But we need to keep learning and keep educating others. My other greatest learning curve is to never assume. Every sexual problem is very unique to the person because of the meaning they may make about their sex life.”
Noah Saterstrom, Artist
“Oh the whole thing is a learning curve. I have no idea how to make this work, and I suspect it will end up being “unresolvable” — whatever that may mean. The discoveries have been abundant. Everything about Dr. Smith’s life, his profession as an optometrist, his inventions, his schizophrenia, his alleged crime, his delusions, lunacy trial, escape from custody, incarceration, and on and on have all been discoveries.
The amount of narrative details about this family mystery that exist in public record and newspaper archives, has been eye-opening. There are also many intersections between Dr. Smith’s life and the history of mental health treatment in Mississippi, which has been a fascinating study.”
Oded Reitten, Psychotherapist
“To not immediately say everything I think. To always find a way to say how I feel, as it would touch the other, and when they are touched, I am touched, and then we are somewhat closer and the world is somewhat better.”
Wayne Horse, Artist
“I have spent many years as a commercially very unsuccessful artist. More than a decade. This time made me face and question my work in many ways. I have been working as an artist for many reasons. Not all of them noble. But somehow, the pressure from the outside world made me realise the most important thing about making art for me. And that is joy.
Of course, there are topics I would like to talk about, issues to deal with, but the most important is to learn, discover, build and enjoy. It sounds so flat, but there are many artists out there who do not enjoy their work. I am sometimes overworked, but as soon as I am done and get the chance to relax, the first thing I do is to start on a new drawing without pressure.”
Ali Ross, Psychotherapist
“First: Anxieties – mine and my clients – are the best teachers we have available in therapy. They teach us what we most care about, are most threatened by and are often avoiding the most.
Second: Being judgemental about a client is the best way to rupture therapeutic trust and only gets in the way of understanding my clients, unless I dedicate time, normally in supervision, to understand what generated my judgements at which point they become hugely informative.”
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