Fanning the Aesthetic Flame: Learning for Life

Abstract

Selected findings are presented from a doctoral study (Bennetts 1998) into traditional mentor relationships in the lives of 35 creative people, including painters, poets, writers, sculptors, dancers and actors. The study used a hermeneutic (interpretive) approach which demands that meanings are constructed through negotiation with participants, and accepts that these meanings are themselves processual, shifting and developing through reflection long after the inquiry ends. Mentor alliances from childhood to adulthood and across personal and professional development were examined. The role of the mentor is described within in the nebulous concept of ‘career’ in the creative arts, and summaries are provided of effective mentoring at each stage of life. Findings show that the mentoring process remains the same at whatever age mentoring occurs; that mentors can help latent creativity to flourish at any age; and that those who have experienced mentor relationships go on to be mentors themselves.