Displaying items by tag: Romania

The present article explores the nature of creativity in craft and does so with the help of a case study of traditional Easter egg decoration. It starts by positioning the domain of folk art in relation to fine art and within a larger category of everyday life forms of creative expression. Following this, a cultural psychology approach to creativity is introduced and its framework used to unpack the actors and processes involved in craftwork. Analysing what is characteristic for folk art uses these particular theoretical lenses and requires paying attention to externalisation, integration, internalisation, and social interaction aspects, which are discussed in turn. Findings reveal fundamental features of craft such as its materiality, the presence of a strong traditional background, the importance of continuous learning, and the role of family and community relations. Towards the end, connections are made with the existing literature and final reflections offered on whether the characteristics above say something about creativity more generally, beyond the context of craft.

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Vlad Glaveanu has a BA in Psychology from the University of Bucharest, and an MSc in Social and Cultural Psychology from the London School of Economics where he recently completed a PhD in Social Psychology. In September 2012, he became Associate Professor at Aalborg University. His main interest is in creativity and innovation and in particular the intersections between creativity, society and culture.

His work aims to develop a socio-cultural psychology of creativity, one that offers a situated and micro-level account of the phenomenon and explores creative acts in everyday life contexts. Vlad has published several articles on these topics in creativity journals (such as the Creativity Research Journal, the Journal of Creative Behavior and Thinking Skills & Creativity) as well as in social and general psychology outlets (such as the Review of General Psychology, Culture & Psychology, the Journal for the Theory of Social Behaviour and Theory & Psychology). He is currently the Editor of Europe's Journal of Psychology (EJOP), a peer-reviewed open access publication published by PsychOpen.

After graduating in 1968, Ana investigated the psychological and educational aspects of creativity in a research institute, the Romanian Academy. Three decades later she became a professor at the Alexandru Ioan Cuza University in Iasi, Romania. Working in the Department of Psychology, she taught creativity and conflict resolution. Although Professor Constantin officially retired recently, she does not yet feel retired.