Creative convergence as a pedagogical phenomenon

the presented article is a scientific and pedagogical reflection on personal creative development; on joint creative work of an adult and a child, a teacher and a student; and on the potential of art as a development medium. The author considers his own personal experience of being an artist and a teacher in situations of creative interaction. This experience engages all forms of lifelong education: formal (school, university), non-formal (extracurricular and club sessions), informal (family education and awareness-building). The following methods are used: a natural experiment, participant observation, an analysis of everyday life, a phenomenological description, self-reflection. The article deals with the phenomenon of creative convergence, called "convergence effect", which means qualitative creative and personal change due to mutual influence of creators. The author provides the examples of "convergence effect" manifestations in the process of his interaction with students and children through creative, teaching, project activities, and the experience of fatherhood. Through the examples of specific situations, the author shows how joint creative work is able to bring a teacher and students or a parent and a child closer together; in which forms this convergence may be expressed; and how it may affect interpersonal relationships. In particular, the paper examines the development of the relationships between the university instructor and his students involving the use of the illustrations to mythological plots created by the author, extracurricular project and club work. The author describes a number of art projects based on the idea of creative convergence. The process of creative convergence between an adult artist and his child with artistic abilities is presented through the example of painting together. The article outlines the organization of the original exhibition of father and daughter's works which is conceptually viewed as an illustration of the process of their emotional convergence and creative development. Along with that, the paper raises a problem of the lack of convergence that occurs when parents reject creativity in their child. Finally, the author articulates a number of issues related to the support of children's creative development. The paper develops classical theoretical positions on joint activity and may be useful for researchers of creative development processes, instructors, and parents.