I found the Gunnas Adbvanced immensely useful and stimulating and I was delighted and excited enough by the prospect of the first graduate class, to jump on the plane from Sydney, hoping for similar things. I was not disappointed. In fact, the day was so productive, it moved beyond the enematic metaphor to become, in spirit, a joyous, creative circle jerk.
Catherine Deveny, leading and inspiring our fecund and excitable group like an alchemist whose base metals are the force of her personality, humour, insight, anecdotes and experience, transmutes the creative journey, in miniature, for all in the room.
We each arrived with different ideas and hopes, united in a common objective; to write better and to write more. The day’s mix of exercises and practice, alloyed to the group commitment to sharing personal reflections and a piece of the day’s work – within La Luna Bistro’s house rules of ‘no judgment’ and ‘only positive feedback’ – created a unique space. I learned to trust my ideas and words more, privileged and inspired by the variety and sheer brilliance of the work and creativity of other Gunnas.
I went along with the idea of securing for myself another push on my rickety plank and chain swing. To postpone the eventual slow-to-a-desultory-stop over the scuffed, dogshit and cigarette butt littered, dirt square that declares the A-frame, suburban park ride of my personal creativity. I was hoping for a push from Catherine to help defy the inevitable slide towards entropy.
To my astonishment, I came away believing that creativity doesn’t follow the second law of thermodynamics!!! No external heat needed.
Within us all, waiting to be released, is infinite inspiration and energy that, exactly like standing on your swing and pushing your legs at the right moment, with the precise balance, focus and effort, will propel you skyward. Weightless, slightly giddy and excited and able to see the magic, faraway, changing horizon, reaching high then whooshing back through the arc, time and time again.
Once you have learned when to push, the alchemy begins.
Jules Livingstone