In this chapter, we have investigated approaches to learning that deepen our un-derstanding of the artists’ experience of learning as intertwined with creative processes in artistic work� Specific learning approaches can be related to creativ-ity in artistic processes in ways that shed new light on both creativcreativ-ity and learn-ing� The learning theories discussed underline how creativity can be considered as a modus or dimension of learning and vice versa� Creativity can be part of a problem solving process, where it plays an important role in imagining new ways of thinking and doing things, or learning can be considered as part of a process where the individual creates new meanings and deeper understanding of both new and familiar phenomena� Creativity and learning can also be linked to aesthetic and sensory awareness, where the individual explores the surround-ings and experiences new approaches to and creation of meaning for well-known phenomena� The point is that when the artists in our study express a feeling of
learning and creativity as intertwined in the artistic process, it is important to note that the learning perspectives in question all refer to the following traits of learning as depicted in the model:
Figure 8. Relations between learning and creativity in artistic work.
Art work arscand process Learning
Experienal Explorave Problem-based Accommodave
Mediated
Sensory aware Creave process
Having investigated how learning can be interesting in relation to creativity, it is essential to know more about the specific workings of learning as part of creative processes in artistic work, as well as about how artistic cultures and communities support and foster learning in creative processes� Therefore, before we proceed to the following chapters, we will present the ways in which we have chosen to differentiate between the above conceptual aspects of learning and creativity when further introducing the voices of the artists over the next chapters� The purpose is to explore the concepts of creativity and learning in new ways in re-lation to artistic processes� To this end, new understandings of the rere-lation be-tween the two dimensions can be investigated in ways that shed light on learning and creativity as described and expressed by the artists’ narratives� This new light will be a step forward in relating artistic creativity to other domains, as a way to make the artistic approach to learning relevant for educational, formal, and informal learning settings�
As a means of structuring this examination, we have organised the chapters into three areas, where the above learning concepts will be elaborated with other, newer learning theories� The following chapters will take their point of depar-ture from empirical findings in the study, which means that more empirical
material from the interviews will be presented and analysed� The three areas will be:
• Chapter 6: Knowledge building and skills. The notion of knowledge building can be seen as the formational or competence-developing part of learning�
Focus is on the learning processes related to the individual, such as technique acquisition, experimentation, reflective processes etc�
• Chapter 7: Apprenticeship. The notion of apprenticeship is closely related to the cultural and social learning theories, which were outlined above� Appren-ticeship is about the interplay between the individual and the domain/sur-rounding culture, what this means in respect of learning and change in the individual and change in the culture and how creativity emerges as cultural change�
• Chapter 8: Perspectives for formal learning environments. Focus is on the cultural, environmental aspect of learning processes in passing on tradi-tions of an art form, as well as the environmental significance of the artists’
possibilities of acting, thinking and changing in creative ways� This will be investigated by means of an interesting concept of serendipity as a way of conceptualising and making transferrable to educational settings the way in which artists work and learn in explorative, uncertain and unpredictable crea-tive processes of art-making�
Chapter 6: Creativity and ways of building knowledge and skills
In the previous chapter, we outlined some of the learning perspectives that could explain the interviewed artists’ experience of learning and creativity as inter-twined in the artistic work� We saw that the interinter-twined experience of learning and creativity can be meaningfully interpreted, if learning is understood as ex-plorative, problem-based, accommodative, mediated and sensory-aware�
In this chapter, we move to a deeper examination of the ways in which the artists express themselves on learning as an intentional and conscious action� As we saw in the theories, not all learning is understood as intentional, or even wanted� Some learning processes are related to socialisation, environment, societal and social change, compulsory education and daily interaction with other people� However, the reason for focusing on the artists’ declared learning intentions is to explore whether they have special ways of creating opportunities to learn in the explorative and open fashion, which leads them to experience creative power� In other words, we ask the questions: Do the interviews reveal any specific ways in which artists operate with purposes and goals for learning and do they subsequently develop and use particular strategies that allow explorative and other creative ways of learning?
The examination of these topics is expected to provide us with deeper un-derstanding of the individual intentionality of learning in creative, artistic work that may be inspirational in other learning fields seeking to promote creativity, especially in education�