Outside in / inside out

How much one creates to open up and how much to actually hide one true nature?
Many use art as a form of theraoy, as a way to express themselves when words fail.
But how much of it is true? One is still in control of color, shape, and final effect.
One still hides behind the art.
In jazz there is an inside-outside-improvisation method
in which harmonically appropriate tone sequences
are alternated with harmonically inappropriate ones.
In that case is a balance of outside - inside way of being and creating
a key to have it all?