RUNNING HEAD: SEAcret of creation 1

SEAcret of creation
Miquella Young
Arizona State University
RUNNING HEAD: SEAcret of creation 2

SEAcret of creation
Upon diving into reflection, I noticed the universal application of the rhetorical move.

We live in an ocean of creative space: flowing effortlessly, floating freely. We are constantly

shifting our lens of perception, just as bubbles bend light across their surface reflecting a warped

view of the surrounding waters. All activity is creative; each fishes’ movement in the ocean

redesigns the space. We have the choice to direct our attention and ability to focus on intention;

holding each vision to the point of satisfaction. We may catch our prey or redirect our energy

towards a new nutrient-rich source. We are the fish; we are the water; we are the sunlight that

pervades it all. We live to create and create to live.

The logic of the rhetorical situation is the oceanic scenery. The rhetorical situation

introduced me to the versatility of the creative act through a painting, a video, an essay and

feedback. My writing was wordy and academic, although, sprinkled with metaphor and

personification like, “the mess of the dirty brushes, color palettes and emptied paint bottles is

text in and of itself, speaking disorder to the bodies that are present" (Young, 2017). I already

had inklings of the perceptual pathway, using language like “internal choice” and “internal

dialogue.” I assumed that it was intuition that guided the artists as they, “listen to the space

within their bodies” (Young, 2017). Painters chose to see the constraints as limitations or

pathways to creative freedom. The fish is constrained by the geographic location of its prey, but

this limitation shifts focus to new methods to retrieve that prey. It was fear and doubt that were

the true constraints, not the parameters of the activity or skill level. I approached the ocean, the

logic of rhetorical situation, with a mindset of duality, listing internal and external exigencies for

creating.
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My next step was to discover what connected these two worlds; I found the answer in the

logic of metis. If metis is a snapshot in time, then metis is like a flipbook of a fish swimming

across a trench. At first glance such a simple moment, waiting for the fish to unpack the

complexities that lie within. The simplicity of the speak aloud

allowed for description of the complexities of thought that otherwise

remain internal. I found consistency in my use of concentric circles

as a visual aid for conceptualizing the logics. In the first, I created a

model of four circles moving from the inside to the outside. In the

logic of metis, there are three circles: the past, the present, and the future. Aligning with the pre-

existing model to the left the past, or creative preparation, is the circle of control. The present, or

metis, is the circle of influence. The future, or creative outcome(s), is the circle of concern. As I

continue reflection, I learn to embrace the objective lens so that I don’t get caught in control or

concern, and remain in influence, or metis. I notice that in my embodied writing activity, I begin

with description of my internal awareness of the heartbeat, musculature, posture, and breath,

what I later learn is interoception. In the second paragraph of the embodied writing portion, I talk

about exteroception without using the exact term, labeling the experience as the "outward

sensation around this body" (Young, 2017). At this point in my understanding, I could not

distinguish exteroception from proprioception. Embedded in the exteroceptive experience, I

noticed my attention being drawn in different directions when, "Meredith scared herself by

bumping into the shelves" and when I heard the song, “Home Movies by KAMI” play (Young,

2017). I did a good job using anatomical terms for body parts, like the sternum and cervical

spine. I made realizations from the speak aloud experience like, "I feel like I am really paying

attention to my food. I should eat like this all the time. I have been breathing shallowly that
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whole time" (Young, 2017) but haven't followed through with acting on these realizations after

finishing the essay. I mentioned that I began the speak aloud with intention to stay in the present

moment but did not follow through. I can improve upon maintaining intention and realization by

writing myself notes with these on them and sticking them to my wall to see each day as I wake.

I am a fish with a short term memory, distracted by all the shiny objects glowing on the ocean

floor and shimmering in the distance.

I am a fish growing more aware of how I can navigate most efficiently through the water.

In the Logic of the perceptual pathway, I forget to cite my interview with Meredith Matsen as a

source, but my vocabulary reaches new peaks of richness. I should avoid wordiness by

eliminating redundant phrases. I begin integrating all three logics without conscious awareness,

returning again to constraints in the logic of rhetorical situation when I analyze the question,

“'how can I create something from pureness, in its most genuine form?' This question seems to

be from the creative strategy of simply existing and knowing that there are infinite possibilities,

that is, until it becomes limited by the framework of an assignment" (Matsen & Young, 2017). I

noticed this motif of questioning the self. I carry this process with me as I embark on a

collaborative project with Matsen in the coming months. I realized her process is very similar to

my own. We both have an affinity for the spiritual world. We both value contrasting pairs and

are led primarily by intuitive guidance. There is a paradox of releasing control while maintaining

awareness that we are in control of our creative process. As Matsen says, "our bodies carry a

lifetime of experiences" (2017). The body learns, just like the mind. I will be careful to

distinguish but not separate the creator self from the performing self. Each self is a complex of

the body and mind: the body-mind. Our comfortability with the creative act dictates

comfortability, or level of acceptance, with the rhetorical move. From the logic of the perceptual
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pathway I have learned the versatility of this word: is a rhetorical move a roadblock? Space?

Opportunity? Or all the above?

I may have succeeded at problematizing the logic of rhetorical situation and the rhetorical

move itself, but the logic of the perceptual pathway had me stuck in a net, with no way to wiggle

myself out. I chose this logic to further investigate Karen Schupp’s rhetorical move because we

are always in a rhetorical situation, we are always in metis, but sometimes I forget that we are

always subconsciously creating perceptual pathways. In this essay’s composition, I notice

rockier transitions,

choppier waters. In

an effort to challenge

myself conceptually,

I lost elements of

organization. Its

complications arise in

the variances in

vocabulary: I’ve

found, exteroception

can encompass imagination but also the physical world, or any combination of the two. It can

also be explained by words like physical. Interoception does not often receive conscious

attention, but conscious attention can influence these processes. The visceral sense, interoception

is fed by, "intuition and improvisation [which] are like surprises for the self: a pathway you can’t

quite plan" (Young, 2017). Processes feed each other in a circular pattern that has held true for

all of my logical analyses where, "the emotion is primarily an interoceptive process, happening
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in the amygdala, but this organ is proprioceptively informed via stimulating activity of

movement. Another circle of problematization" (Young, 2017). The logic resembles the

scientific method, only on a metaphysical level. The creator self resurfaces as both Matsen and

Schupp hide their senses from the external world while creating dance but choose instead to

receive information from focused sources: headphones, intuition. I end investigation with a

metaphor for these rhetors as leaves, "floating on their merry way until they face a hurdle: the

rhetorical move, guiding millions of leaves towards authentic creative expression" (Young,

2017). This metaphor felt holistic to my understanding of all the logics, not just the perceptual

pathway. For this paper overall, I confused myself more in an effort to include all of the logics

than to stick with one. Just like the history of marine fishing practices, sometimes situations have

to get worse before they get better.

One relief in investigation of the logic of the perceptual pathway: intention is constant just

like the daily tide patterns, or the ship ruins lodged in the sand. The constants are consistent but

not static. Surprisingly, I felt my ability to problematize diminish. The logic of rhetorical

situation was not difficult for me to see the complexity, but as we moved closer to the rhetorical

move, there were so many boundaries that blurring all of them seemed like an unattainable

target. In Miguel’s critique, I learned positive feedback is great and all, but criticism is what

really helps students grow. I improved upon this in the third peer review for Gabriella, when I

felt there was a balance between positive and constructive comments. It was much more straight

forward. It felt negative, but helped me realize that your own writing can make complete sense to

you and not be read well by the audience. Each of these papers exists in their own rhetorical

situation that we have to be aware of for every new assignment we craft as students. Gabriella

helped me appreciate the different levels of awareness. In Stephanie’s peer review, I used the
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space as an opportunity to integrate elements of the logic of metis that I didn't use in my own

essay. Further investigations were the metaphor for Stephanie's mind as a kitten and connection

of her dualistic reality to a more generalized duality of the body-mind. All the organic and

inorganic creatures in the ocean are symbolic of the physical body, where the ocean water is the

unseen mind.

I looked deep into my ancestry where nature was a metaphor for life. I looked outward and

saw that each of us is a fish in the ocean, constantly creating and re-creating pathways to

navigate this world. I looked backward into each of the three logics that comprises the rhetorical

move. I looked forward to connect the dots. I found concentric circles in the rhetorical situation;

we are in our own situation expanding like a ripple as it is captured one artist after another. The

concentric circles of the logic of metis show value in the preparation and outcomes of a creative

act, but ultimately values the moment where we put our feet into action and our fins start

flapping. The logic of the perceptual pathway taught me to problematize the self into the creator

and the performer. The video analysis is represented by the circular process of proprioceptive

stimuli to interoceptive information which informs exteroceptive functions. My peers teach me

that without each other, we will never be able to see a perspective other than our own, and thus

the world as a whole. Just as a school of fish are led collectively to avoid the dangers of the

unknown ocean, this class of DCE 405 make rhetorical moves toward understanding together.
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References
Roses-Thema, Cynthia. (n.d.) DCE 405 RHETORICAL MOVES Capturing Change during the

Creative Experience. Tempe, AZ: Arizona State University. Retrieved from https://

myasucourses.asu.edu/bbcswebdav/pid-16989642-dt-content-rid-

112275509_1/courses/2017FallB-X-DCE405-75033/DCE%20405%20Rhetorical

%20Moves%20Booklet%20.pdf

Schupp, K. (2014, Sept. 15). Karen Schupp 9.15.14 interview for rhetorical moves. [Interviewed

by Dr. Cynthia Roses-Thema]. Retrieved from https://myasucourses.asu.edu/

bbcswebdav/pid-17082280-dt-content-rid-114282703_1/courses/2017FallB-X-DCE405-

75033/Choreographer%20Interview.pdf

Matsen, M. (2017, Nov. 6). Meredith Matsen interview on perceptual pathway. [Interviewed by

Miquella Young]. Unpublished manuscript.

Young, M. (2017). Karen Schupp’s rhetorical move. Unpublished Manuscript.

Young, M. (2017). Logic of the rhetorical situation. Unpublished Manuscript.

Young, M. (2017). Logic of metis. Unpublished Manuscript.

Young, M. (2017). Logic of the perceptual pathway. Unpublished Manuscript.

Young, M. (2017). Peer review 1 Miguel. Unpublished Manuscript.

Young, M. (2017). Peer review 2 Stephanie. Unpublished Manuscript.

Young, M. (2017). Peer review 3 Gabriella. Unpublished Manuscript.

Young, M. (2017). The embodied Chipotle experience. Unpublished Manuscript.