Integrating Creativity with Rock Art Workshops

For those of you who have been following this blog, you know that in 2014, a reconnection with a friend I had not seen for fifty years provided new opportunities for integrating creativity. Independent archaeologist William D. Hyder (retired from University of California Santa Cruz administration) has expertise in Native American rock art; those ancient petroglyphs and pictographs upon the rocks. Together, we began exploring new perspectives for engaging rock art through photography and at onsite visits. Being a poet and artist due to my understanding in how artistic modalities offer opportunities to expand communication, I began pairing integrative thinking with rock art by writing with a poetic cadence of voice. We wrote one book together and then two research papers, which we presented at the Utah Rock Art Research Association (URARA) in 2016 and American Rock Art Research Association (ARARA) in June 2017.  If you are interested in reading the paper presented in Utah, the link is

 http://www.utahrockart2.org/pubs/proceedings/papers/36-11-Hyder_and_Bohntinsky_Basketmaker_Ceremonies_B.pdf.

What I discovered is that integrative thinking need not be limited to making decisions after loss or disappointment. Beautiful antiquities, such as rock art, also trigger emotions that inspire innovative and productive ideas that can enhance decision-making. With this in mind, I published the process in Sustenance: Integrating Creativity with Rock Art.  Then in October 2017, I presented a paper at the URARA Symposium entitled Labyrinths in Rock Art: When a Maze is Not a Maze. It is the recent personal letter from the president of URARA that motivated me to begin offering workshops for teens and young adults that teaches how to pair strategies for creative thinking with rock art images. “Your enthusiasm about your topic was evident in your presentation and made it all more memorable.  Your descriptions examining labyrinths, circles, and mazes fed our curiosity and answered many questions. . . . We invite you to continue to visit the website, join in and add to the forums, and share your expertise and leadership as URARA continues as an organization dedicated to the visitation, education, and protection of petroglyphs and pictographs.”  Click on the link that follows if you are interested in reading the paper on labyrinths in rock art.http://www.utahrockart2.org/pubs/proceedings/papers/2017-Bohntinsky-Labyrinths_in_Rock_Art.pdf.

The approach that I use for integrating creativity is based on my 2006 doctorate of ministry dissertation that I published in 2016: Transformational Healing through the Integration of Self. My motivation to share the approach in relationship to rock art comes from several realizations. I have three young grandchildren from preschool to second grade who inspire my work.  It is my experience that children and adults can expand insight for decision-making through creative writing and other arts when they understand how to identify feelings and integrate emotions with critical reasoning. Generating positive resolutions from personal insight promotes self-confidence. Also, exploring creatively with rock art offers an enriching way to engage antiquities through photography and at sites while continuing to honor these artifacts and the ancient artists that created them. An additional benefit is that interest in learning about the cultures that created this art can be ignited. In this way, individuals are better prepared to gather information in order to make the best decision for resolving a problem when something happens.  They will also have something they can do the next time they see petroglyphs or pictographs upon the rocks. Education regarding rock art that enhances confidence in personal creativity through optimum preparation can promote the desire to protect artifacts in natural settings for future generations.

An important factor for developing and maintaining interest in topics that inspire creativity is that they must have personal relevance. Preparation that develops personal creativity for responding to emotional circumstances (positive and negative) helps to develop such relevance.  Neurological research and learning theories have shown that preparation strategies enhance critical thinking skills as well as serve as protective practices that can counteract neurological and cognitive decline. What many rock art professionals and enthusiasts can attest to is that the artwork created by the prehistoric inhabitants has a unique way of activating the brain and stimulating creativity. It is for these reasons that I believe mental training that pairs the use of rock art by these ancient Native Americans with an approach for creativity that integrates awareness of feelings with critical thinking is a valuable preparation strategy. Applying this process to writing skills in a way that enhances critical thinking and creative expression while also developing a greater appreciation of petroglyphs and pictographs offers richer opportunities for appreciating the work of these ancient artists as well as for enhancing personal communication.

Ancient rock art has the capacity to trigger feelings such as awe and quandary. However, there are no written records by the ancient artists who created these images and designs. Art in the absence of certainty can actually bypass the literal and judgmental centers of the brain and inspire the imagination and creative interactions with minimal self-criticism. Creative thinking can be experienced in a way that that actually enhances problem solving and expands the imagination for engaging in artistic expression through writing as well as other artistic modalities. Sustenance: Integrating Creativity with Rock Art is an independent study workbook for learning this process. It also models ways of viewing rock art that are stimulating and thought provoking. Pre- and post-worksheets for self-assessment of progress as well as instructional worksheets for practice are included. This process honors rock art for its capacity to awaken the imagination and inspire creativity while, also, guiding the visitor in what can be done with rock art instead of just warning viewers not to touch it.

Workshops that teach the framework of this workbook are tailored to the interests and needs of the participants.  Creative interaction is explained as a process for differentiating between feelings and emotions and applying reasoning strategies. Structured questions guide participants in determining the manner of expression, making the most viable decisions, and readjusting options based on outcomes. An overview of rock art is provided, and then rock art is described in terms of line drawings and how they can be used to stimulate impressions and inspire expression. Such designs can represent a broad continuum of ideas from being identified as a simple common object to triggering the recall of an abstract theory. Participants are invited to complete pre- and post-workshop worksheets in order to see the changes in identifying and resolving issues and their appreciation of Native American rock art. The workbook is not necessary for this workshop, but is made available to those who desire to explore this process and rock art in greater depth.  Feel free to contact me through this blog if you would like to more information on these workshops.

WHEN IN ALIGNMENT

Atlatl Rock at Valley of Fire in Nevada

Before writing Engaged: Reflections of Rock Art through Photography and Poetry, Bill and Dori asked each other what might happen if an archaeologist's expertise in rock art was combined with a speech language pathologist's expertise in communication and cognition as well as nondenominational divinity to explore deeper meaning?

While writing and producing Engaged, they discovered that blending their knowledge with their photographed images, the poetic cadence of perceptions and interpretative explorations, and academic research enhanced observation and expanded insights. They now consider this process to be a form of multivocality that can generate optimal questions and aggregate evidence regardless of the field of practice. With this in mind, they decided to write a paper that blended academics, image, and poetic explorations. They presented it at the Utah Rock Art Research (URARA) Symposium on October 1, 2016. 

While writing their paper, Ritual and Rock Art in Basketmaker Ceremony: Butler Wash Revisited, Bill and Dori discovered that they were engaged in what Indologists (those who study India and its people) call "rational inquiry." Author Johannes Bronkhorst defines this as including a "system of rational debate, linked to a systematic attempt to make sense of the world and our place it. This primarily involves free and uninhibited discussion of all issues, even in the areas that might encroach upon other sources of authority, such as tradition, revelation, or insight." They decided to present their paper in a freer and more uninhibited manner. Bill voiced their research, theory, and validations and Dori voiced poetic perceptions. They were pleased by how well their approach was received. 

Bill and Dori have come to understand this method of investigation as a form of alignment. This has inspired them to continue exploring what such an alignment might create as they build upon their combined experiences of being engaged with rock art. After the URARA Symposium, they explored additonal rock art sites with the intention to align scientific observation, their professional knowledge and expertise, photography, and poetic voice of contemplation. One of these sites was Atlatl Rock in Nevada. Bill and Dori are hoping to present their next paper at the American Rock Art Research Association Conference in June 2017.

Remembrance 

After what seemed to become hopeless contemplation 

upon the unknowable within these designs, 

a question arose. 

What is it that I am remembering? 

An odd inquiry, because I have never been here before. 

Yet, I suspect the answer resides in the sensations

ignited by this cluster of images. 

It is the same feeling 

of having forgotten a name upon re-encounter. 

It is the same feeling of forgetting what it is I went searching for. 

Like the actual moment of falling asleep,

one is never aware of the act of forgetting.

If it is the act of awakening that reveals slumber,

might it be query

that reveals something haven fallen into unconsciousness?

 I have worked clinically with amnesia

where even the loss of memory is forgotten until there is inquiry.

Struggle with remembrance can become torturous

when truths are irretrievable.

                                             

Maybe, it is not about what was forgotten here,

but that these images are about remembrance.

They spark awareness of the sensations

created by the urge for recollection

and, therefore, of having become forgetful.

In this way, such ancient places become sacred.

Not because of the actual story they tell,

but because the navigation through such images

can open us to something we have in common

that we have long forgotten.

What is it I am remembering?

Maybe, it is the awareness 

of the feeling of forgetfulness,

and that it is the sensation of remembrance

that can unite us regardless of race or culture.

Such can awaken us from a complacency 

that we did not even know existed.

When this awareness returns,

we remember a deeper version of ourselves.

We remember that we are all of one Spirit.

D. Bohntinsky, D.Min.  01/31/2017