Makers Who Move: Solitary Exercise & the Creative Mind

In this essay, the spoken accounts of nine craft practitioners who engage in solitary running and cycling reveal how repetitive exercise relates to decisions made in their studios. Whereas collaboration remains the dominant approach of most research agendas, the reflections here focus on the varied ways solitary exercise offers a productive trigger for some practitioners’ creative thinking. The investigation seeks to enhance awareness of alternative approaches to cultivating creative thinking that may disrupt our fixed intellectual routines within and beyond craft practices.

Keywords: patience, perseverance, stamina, delayed gratification, craft practices, running, cycling

  • Image credit

    Sue Lawty Lead XVI (detail), 2020, lead, 24ct gold, courtesy the artist and private collector.

  • Open access publication

    PARSE issue 18