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Editor’s Note: Former managing editor of Conversations Journal Christie Pettit recently released a new book. I CreateChristie Pettit, I Create (Atlanta, GA: Our Rainbow Press, 2015). is a children’s book that explores self-expression and the development of identity through a child’s creative work. As the current managing editor, I had the opportunity to sit down with her this summer and learn more about this project. It fits quite nicely with the theme of this issue!

Joannah Sadler: Tell our readers what interested you in this project—writing and collaborating on a children’s book about creativity?

Christie Pettit: There were three experiences that primarily led me to this project.

First, my work as a counselor with teenagers who were struggling with eating disorders or cutting caused me to consider how these young adults had gotten to a point in their life where they were unable to express themselves in healthy ways and how we could help families cultivate a culture of healthy communication.

In addition, as I was at home with my young children, I observed the depth of meaning in their creative play. It was clear from watching them and interacting with them that the ways in which I spoke with them about their play was significant to their formation. Our oldest child, Shea, and her insatiable desire to create inspired me to think more deeply about the significance of children’s creative work. I began to see that each time my children made something new and shared it with me, they were learning about themselves and discovering what it felt like to be vulnerable as they share their work. I try to engage with them about their experience, rather than focus on my praise of their work. “Wow, that is so cool. What did it feel like to build that big tower?” Helping children connect with their own experience of being creative, rather than being dependent on approval from others, empowers them to create more freely, and hopefully lays the foundation for a lifetime of being willing to take creative risks. As I observed the development of my children in the area of creativity, I realized that I wanted all children to believe that they were capable of creating amazing things.

Finally, as I interacted with parents and students at a racially and economically diverse charter school in Atlanta, I saw the importance of equipping parents of all backgrounds to talk with their children about their creative work and to promote healthy communication about emotions. This work is universally important and is essential for launching children into further academic, professional, personal, and spiritual pursuits.

 

JS:      What are some ways that you encourage parents to talk with their children about their creative work?

CP:     The ways in which parents and educators talk to children about their creative work really matters. It is my hope that I Create will help parents grow in their understanding of the importance of the work that their children do through their play. It is through their play that children lay the foundation for self-efficacy, a belief that they are capable of meaningful and valuable work. I hope that I Create broadens our conversations with our children about who they are, what excites them, and what they dream to be a part of in their lives.

One thing that I have really seen the importance of with my own children, and also when sitting with clients, is to learn to be able to listen with curiosity about their emotional experience. As my children have been developing emotionally, I have found it challenging not to assume how they feel about things. It is so easy to assume or to tell my children how they feel, rather than listen and patiently hear how they would describe their experience. If I practice listening with curiosity when my children describe how they feel when they paint or dance, it is easier for me to listen patiently in more emotionally charged situations, like a fight with a sibling or friend.

Zayid’s beautiful artwork is such a compliment to the text of this story. His images expand our imagination and communicate the importance of this message for every child, regardless of racial or economic background. The illustrations show us that these conversations about emotions, expression, and identity are vital in every home, neighborhood, and school.

 

JS:      The theme of this issue is “Created to Create”—share with us how art has spiritually formed you?

CP:     Reflecting on the truth of our being created in the image of a creative God was central to my work on this project. Creativity is not something that some of us have and some of us do not. Creativity is an essential part of how we are created, and it is critical that we empower all children to be able to engage meaningfully in creative work. Connecting with our creativity gives us the opportunity to more fully explore how God uniquely created each of us. In addition, sharing our creative work with others takes tremendous courage and gives us the opportunity to be known and loved. Connecting with my creativity through this project has been a very meaningful spiritual experience.

 

JS:      In addition to being a wife, mother, writer, and tennis player, you’re also a therapist. How have you seen God use that role in who he’s created you to be?

CP:     Being a therapist has given me the privilege of sitting with clients and creating a space for compassion, grace, and listening to God’s voice. It has given me the opportunity to walk into darkness and brokenness with others, and to try to see and connect with God’s light in creative and meaningful ways. God has used my own story of brokenness to shape me as a therapist and to equip me to walk alongside others. My experience with this project about creativity has opened me to be more creative in my work as a therapist, as well.