This article describes an ongoing research project at the University of the Arts, London, which investigates the learning and creativity of a group of students with mental health difficulties. It discusses emerging findings on one theme, that of motivation. Employing a longitudinal biographic narrative methodology, this research, now entering its second year, has triggered questions regarding the resilience and fortitude of a group of practising, aspiring artists. This article sketches the theoretical background used to explore this resilience and motivation, and draws on the Kleinian concept of reparation as a way to understanding the narrativised yearning for learning and the urge to create.