The flight of the phoenix: using hermeneutics to interpret the role of the mentor in the creative cycle

Abstract

This paper is based on hermeneutic research into creativity and learning mentors, focusing on mental well being and the role of the mentor throughout the creative cycle. Participants relate their experiences of the role of the mentor within the creative cycle in their own words. The researcher/participant hermeneutic dialogue shows that the perceptions of mental health by creative people frequently differ from those held by the medical profession. It describes how low mood states can be understood as a normal and indeed necessary part of the creative process and, viewed thus, can be utilized in hopeful positive ways by those who experience them. The hermeneutic stance taken enabled a means of accessing the experience of participants by recalling, revisiting, reconstructing, revealing and reviewing the meaning of the event. The shared openness of inquirer and participants helped reconstruct the meaning of the existential crisis, providing a framework for understanding the nature of this event in the lives of those who work in the creative arts, and acknowledging the part that the mentor plays in maintaining the creative output.