Artist's Way

Rating:
Summary: Just follow your dreams.
Review: You don't need Ms. Cameron's book to inspire creativity. It was a waste of my time to do daily pages. I got to where I just sat and stared at the blank page before me. My time was better spent practicing my drawing and music. If you're blocked - a walk in the park will do more for you than the daily pages and exercises. Ms. Cameron suggests an artist's date - time you spend by yourself doing something you want to do....a picnic in the park, a visit to an art museum, etc. You don't need a book to tell you this.

Rating:
Summary: The path for creative survival into adulthood
Review: I liked this book so much I now lead a program at my church with other aspiring and working artist. I never felt blocked (by anything other than time....) but this book has improved my sense of creativity when I never knew it needed tweeking and I have since overcome my time problem. I rate very few books as highly as I rate this one.

Rating:
Summary: Why read a book about creating instead of creating?
Review: I admit, I didn't read the whole thing. I flipped through a few pages and found myself really liking what she had to say...then I stopped myself. I could have wasted tons of time reading her book and doing her exercises, which would have been fun (but so is computer solitaire) or I could have sat down at my desk and written. Even if nothing came out but 20 pages of 'All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy,' I would have been writing instead of reading a book about it. I also found myself not trusting this woman, as she appears to be making her money writing about writing instead of writing fiction. What are her credits? If you want to read a truly nuts and bolts, informative book about writing by someone who's written some stuff you might actually have heard of, check out Stephen King's "On Writing." Part autobiography and part how-to, both how-to write and how-to ignore the people who want to tear down your art, from a man who's actually spent 30 years in the trenches.

Rating:
Summary: This book changed my life
Review: I felt like I hit the jackpot when I found this book. I signed up for a 12-week course based on The Artist's Way, and got a lot more than I'd bargained for. Julia Cameron is a muse for this generation. In this astonishingly honest, insightful book she inspires the reader to step outside one's self-imposed box and literally reach for the stars. This is a life affirming book that generously provides a step-by-step method of "..harnassing universality and making it flow through your eyes." Forget chicken soup, this is creme brulee for the soul.
No matter what your occupation or avocation, you can benefit from The Artist's Way.

Rating:
Summary: CHANGE YOUR OUTLOOK ON LIFE
Review: Believe it or not, there is an artist in every person. Not necessarily to become a best seller or an Oscar winner. To discover the artist embedded in each of us, this book is a more must. I am not paid to write this piece. In this confusing world, there is the need to anchor ourselves to what we really want and need. The book has a way of bringing to the fore issues that we prefer to sweep under the carpet of poltical correctness, thereby enslaving our lives, and releasing us from our self induced incarceration.
It volunteers a holistic approach to charting a new course in life. It is never too late to make amends.

Rating:
Summary: A Tool to Help You Proceed...If You Want To
Review: This book has and continues to change my life.

Within the pages are timeless tips for the brave of heart- you have to be brave enough to:

-Examine your past including the events and attitudes that created your present perceptions of art, the making of it and how it "fits" in your life.

-Let go of negative beliefs that are unsupportive of your heart and..your art.

-Allow yourself the time to dream, ponder and try fresh ideas, freeing yourself from whether the outcome is "success" or "failure" .

You'll find the truth written about so many of the "myths" of the creative soul. ie. You don't HAVE to be tortured, frustrated etc. to be a truly creative artist. You don't HAVE to be famous to be successful. You don't HAVE to endlessly compare yourself to (fill in the blank).

In short, this book IS a work of art. I remain genuinely grateful to the authors for taking the time to create "The Artist's Way".

Rating:
Summary: process vs. product
Review: Another reviewer has criticized Cameron for suggesting too much "preparation" and not enough "doing" in her abundance of exercises. I would respectfully offer that perhaps this reader has missed a vital point of the book: The Tao (way) of Art *lives* in the process more so than the product.

There is a good deal of difference between creativity and mere talent; Cameron seems to help us work toward the former, the reviewer seems to be confined to the latter. Perhaps one of the most important aspects of creative consciousness is a developed sense of mindful attunement and the ability to stop and smell the roses - something that ceaseless "doing" hinders us from attaining.

I agree that the musician needs practice and a steady supply of "good" music. But, I might add, we must frequently review and update our conceptions of what constitutes "good." Perhaps part of Cameron's mission here is to help us recognize that *everything* has the potential to be prima materia.

That said, the fraction of the spectrum that critics and educators deem as worthy may not necessarily be what we should adhere to as models. Rather, Cameron's goal is to help us recognize that genuine creativity comes from within, not from mere imitation of museum pieces.

I am grateful to Cameron for her suggestions. My only criticisms are her lack of musical examples and exercises, as well as the absence of dream work (a la Pat Allen's *Art is a Way of Knowing*).

Rating:
Summary: My perspective on "The Artist's Way"
Review: This is purely my personal perspective on this book. What I ultimately found after working exercises, doing morning pages and the artist's dates suggested in the book was that I found myself in a state of preparation to become an artist.

I know how to do that already, that was part of the problem. I found myself getting bogged down creatively, to be honest; doing the exercises, thinking and talking to friends about this wonderful process that was going to change my life radically, rather than spending my time drawing, etc.

What I have come to believe is that art is in the doing, and not in the preparation to do. If I want to be a visual artist, I should draw and study art. If I want to write, I should write a lot and read many books. If I want to be a good musician, I should practice my instrument and listen to good music.

And if I don't want to, then I don't have to either. It just turns out that I am not a happy person if I am not creatively engaged in some pursuit.

And understand that the real reason to do that is for the love of the doing of it. I really don't think I have that many creative enemies that are out to keep me from reaching my true creative potiential. If I did, I feel confident that I could still sneak away from them and do my own creative work on my own time, in spite of them if I want to. This is the gift of having free will.

This all having been said, it this book may still be helpful for some people. I may come back to it someday, and give it another try, but for now I am using that time to play my guitar.

Rating:
Summary: Most valuable book I own
Review: A wonderful book. I am a much happier person since I have been reading this book and going through the process she describes. I recommend this book to anyone who would like to be happier. More than a path to creativity, it is a path to free your spirit, which is really the same thing. I recommend it without any reservations.

Rating:
Summary: Art book or psychology book?
Review: Sorry, but by the time I got to the part about "crazymakers",
I stopped reading. This book is loaded with pop psychology
and starts with the point of view that the reader is loaded
with psychological baggage that inhibits creativity. If that's
where you are, fine. I was looking for something more along the
lines of "Drawing on the Right Side of Your Brain", I guess.