Cultivating Your Creative Life: Exercises, Activities, and Inspiration for Finding Balance, Beauty, and Success as an Artist is a multi-faceted book where creativity and wonder intermingle to show how to live a creative and balanced life while moving toward your goals. You’ll find ideas for keeping your creative well full, an illustrated guide to healing herbs and plants, basic yoga poses and breathing exercises, and tips for moving your artistic career forward. Alena Hennessy's illustration style combines nature, whimsey, delicacy, and a modern sensibility; vibrant pen and ink illustrations accompany relevant quotes ofinspiration, tips, and creative journal exercises. Cultivating Your Creative Life is not only an interactive creativity guide; it is a work of art, in itself—a beautiful, collectible volume—to save and to savor, or to give as a gift to the special creative person in your life.
Cultivating Your Creative Life: How to Find Balance, Beauty, and Success as an Artist is a multifaceted book where creativity and wonder intermingle to show how to live a creative and balanced life while moving toward your goals.
For many of us, the return of Zen conjures up images of rock gardens and gently flowing waterfalls. We think of mindfulness and meditation, immersion in a state of being where meaning is found through simplicity. Zen lore has been absorbed by Western practitioners and pop culture alike, yet there is a specific area of this ancient tradition that hasn’t been fully explored in the West. Now, in The Zen of Creativity, American Zen master John Daido Loori presents a book that taps the principles of the Zen arts and aesthetic as a means to unlock creativity and find freedom in the various dimensions of our existence. Loori dissolves the barriers between art and spirituality, opening up the possibility of meeting life with spontaneity, grace, and peace. Zen Buddhism is steeped in the arts. In spiritual ways, calligraphy, poetry, painting, the tea ceremony, and flower arranging can point us toward our essential, boundless nature. Brilliantly interpreting the teachings of the artless arts, Loori illuminates various elements that awaken our creativity, among them still point, the center of each moment that focuses on the tranquility within; simplicity, in which the creative process is uncluttered and unlimited, like a cloudless sky; spontaneity, a way to navigate through life without preconceptions, with a freshness in which everything becomes new; mystery, a sense of trust in the unknown; creative feedback, the systematic use of an audience to receive noncritical input about our art; art koans, exercises based on paradoxical questions that can be resolved only through artistic expression. Loori shows how these elements interpenetrate and function not only in art, but in all our endeavors. Beautifully illustrated and punctuated with poems and reflections from Loori’s own spiritual journey, The Zen of Creativity presents a multilayered, bottomless source of insight into our creativity. Appealing equally to spiritual seekers, artists, and veteran Buddhist practitioners, this book is perfect for those wishing to discover new means of self-awareness and expression—and to restore equanimity and freedom amid the vicissitudes of our lives.
How lessons from kindergarten can help everyone develop the creative thinking skills needed to thrive in today's society. In kindergartens these days, children spend more time with math worksheets and phonics flashcards than building blocks and finger paint. Kindergarten is becoming more like the rest of school. In Lifelong Kindergarten, learning expert Mitchel Resnick argues for exactly the opposite: the rest of school (even the rest of life) should be more like kindergarten. To thrive in today's fast-changing world, people of all ages must learn to think and act creatively—and the best way to do that is by focusing more on imagining, creating, playing, sharing, and reflecting, just as children do in traditional kindergartens. Drawing on experiences from more than thirty years at MIT's Media Lab, Resnick discusses new technologies and strategies for engaging young people in creative learning experiences. He tells stories of how children are programming their own games, stories, and inventions (for example, a diary security system, created by a twelve-year-old girl), and collaborating through remixing, crowdsourcing, and large-scale group projects (such as a Halloween-themed game called Night at Dreary Castle, produced by more than twenty kids scattered around the world). By providing young people with opportunities to work on projects, based on their passions, in collaboration with peers, in a playful spirit, we can help them prepare for a world where creative thinking is more important than ever before.
A rich and playful resource for fostering creativity in the classroom The product of over three decades of teaching design studios and creativity seminars primarily at the University of Washington, Cultivating Creativity offers firsthand, on-the-ground accounts of encouraging creative expression in the classroom. In this lively book, course instructors will find a wealth of creativity-awakening exercises and strategies that can be adapted to suit a variety of disciplines. More than a practical guide, this book uses a combination of playful design, full-color illustrations, participant reflections, and pedagogical reflection to encourage innovation. Readers can turn to the “Who, What, Where, How, and Why” chapters for guidance on developing exercises of their own, or flip to any page for a dose of inspiration before their next creative project. Today’s world is filled with nations, businesses, venture capitalists, and institutions of higher education in hot pursuit of “innovation.” Cultivating Creativity offers up new strategies for finding it and invites each reader to continue their search in a way only they can.
"With its gentle affirmations, inspirational quotes, fill-in-the-blank lists and tasks — write yourself a thank-you letter, describe yourself at 80, for example — The Artist’s Way proposes an egalitarian view of creativity: Everyone’s got it."—The New York Times "Morning Pages have become a household name, a shorthand for unlocking your creative potential"—Vogue Over four million copies sold! Since its first publication, The Artist's Way phenomena has inspired the genius of Elizabeth Gilbert and millions of readers to embark on a creative journey and find a deeper connection to process and purpose. Julia Cameron's novel approach guides readers in uncovering problems areas and pressure points that may be restricting their creative flow and offers techniques to free up any areas where they might be stuck, opening up opportunities for self-growth and self-discovery. The program begins with Cameron’s most vital tools for creative recovery – The Morning Pages, a daily writing ritual of three pages of stream-of-conscious, and The Artist Date, a dedicated block of time to nurture your inner artist. From there, she shares hundreds of exercises, activities, and prompts to help readers thoroughly explore each chapter. She also offers guidance on starting a “Creative Cluster” of fellow artists who will support you in your creative endeavors. A revolutionary program for personal renewal, The Artist's Way will help get you back on track, rediscover your passions, and take the steps you need to change your life.
The Healing Guide to Flower Essences shows you how to connect with the magic and frequency of 100 flower essences. The power of Nature to heal has been accepted for many millennia. Flowers inspire us with their beauty, beguile us with their fragrance, and can have medicinal properties in their oils and plant matter. However, the healing properties of flowers go even deeper. Each flower holds a unique energetic fingerprint or essence that can be used for healing, wellness, and self-discovery. Organized by categories such as transformation, inspiration, boundaries, and self-esteem, you will be able to easily find the right remedy for your wellness and self-discovery. For example, you can use Larch for overcoming doubt and insecurity, Gentian for perseverance and optimism after a setback or Cherry Plum for surrender and trust in one's soul path.You'll also learn about the history of flower essences and the original 38 Bach flower remedies. Learn how to connect more deeply with the properties and messages of the flowers by making your own flower essence remedies. Written by noted artist, Alena Hennessy, The Healing Guide to Flower Essences is also lovingly illustrated with original botanical art and illustration.
"Creative longevity is about what you do to prepare yourself for the ripe moment, when the potential of an idea is able to grow into something useful....This book is for anyone who has a tendency to think visually and needs to satisfy their creative soul." —from the Introduction Discover the road to productivity and success by keeping your creative juices flowing daily. Cultivating Creativity is a book based on the idea that creativity requires ample momentum--if you stop, you'll stall. In order to get the creative inspiration you need to do your design work well, it's important to establish daily creative routines. Author Maria Fabrizio has compiled here a beautiful and inspirational guide, a companion to unlocking your creativity every day. Create every day, and you'll be able to keep creating every day--it's as simple as that.
"Through 50 beautifully illustrated and inspiring prompts, The Painting Workbook offers readers an opportunity to let go of creative inhibition to express oneself through their very own personal painting style"--
