Spilling Open: The Art of Self-Discovery

Rating:
Summary: Amazing
Review: Beautiful...a piece of art in itself! It's a very personable book, but at the same time it's so fun and creative you'll want to put it out for guests to look at too.

Rating:
Summary: An art journal that embraces life
Review: By its nature, an art journal is an intensely personal foray into the creative mind of the artist who finds expression in the combination of art and language. Spilling Open offers page after page of collaged images, highlighted by the writing that explains, explores, questions and muses, in search of the inner self. Author/artist Sabrina Ward Harrison begins her very personal journey after an introduction by SARK that encourages readers to dive into these pages, give over to the adventure that awaits, to "see through Sabrina eyes".

Indeed, there is much to see. Colorful splotches, photographs and ink drawings attract the eye to the hand-lettered text that personalizes the experience. Harrison shares her growing pains, the struggle to accept her own body just as it is and the heartbreak of lost love. Her self-expression is courageous and honest, constantly revelatory of an evolving self: "It's a mixture of speaking up and speaking in, reaching out and reaching in."

With more questions than answers in these years of early womanhood (eighteen to twenty-one), this imaginative map of the author's inner heart is an epiphany of sorts, one where Harrison defines her space as an individual, the bright, bold images as stimulating as her curiosity about the world that awaits: "Love it all...the whole process that's known as Life". Luan Gaines/2004.


Rating:
Summary: MULTIMEDIA JOURNALING FOR THE CREATIVE EDGE
Review: I was fortunate enough to meet the author at a seminar she gave at the 92nd street Y in New York. I saw a small article in the New York Times about the workshop, jumped into a cap and was at the seminar 1/2 hour later. It was modestly priced and the book came as part of the deal. This is an extraordinary journaling method that seems to be a cross between keeping a diary, scrapbooking and artistry. We started our 'journals' in the class and I still add to mine. What makes this so different is that the author encourages you to use your creativity not just cut and paste or write. Without seeing this book you can't possibly realize how creative you can be. Bored with life, think you're in a rut on your job, just fired? On Vacation -- this is the book you need to buy immediately. Also see if you can buy a blank journal (don't know if Amazon.com sells them) but I'm sure you can find one at your local bookstore or stationery store. Or make one using your typewriter paper by putting it into a three ring binder. Don't worry you can decorate the binder so it will be a piece of art to cherish. You can share your journal with others or just keep it sacred and hide it in your underwear drawer or under a plant because by using it you will grow creatively. Yes, the author is an artist but what's so fascinating is once you 'get' how she does her journaling, you'll realize you can be an 'artist' too. No classes required.
This is journaling for the multimedia person. Add an audiotape or use these techniques on a personal web-page or blog and you breakthrough the clutter of print. Ever thought that your life was too boring for a journal? Ever get overwhelmed in presenting your thoughts or is it just too difficult a time to find the right words to write? Then this technique can help you breakthrough to express what's inside and to create a glorious journal of memorabilia for the future.

Rating:
Summary: This book changed my life
Review: I would have to recommend this book for any young spirit--Sabrina invites her readers to spill open and be themselves. This book has truly changed my life!

Rating:
Summary: "Spilling" but uninspiring
Review: I'm a big art fan and *adore* journals, but this book just didn't do anything for me. Sabrina tries very hard to be this uplifting, creative, inspiring artist, but she just doesn't fit the role. Her writing is too cliche -- yes, we know being a girl is hard, yes, we know girls feel fat sometimes, but do we really want to hear another writer whining about it? -- and her art, though pretty sometimes, is ultimately untalented. It's a good picture book to get from the library, but if you're going to buy something, you're better off with 'the Journey is the Destination' by Dan Eldon or 'Succulent Wild Woman' by Sark.

Rating:
Summary: lovely and breathtaking
Review: Sabrina Ward Harrison is so inspirational. This book makes me want to paint and create and write great things. I love the little girls she draws with the sad mouths. I also can relate to her feelings of insecurities about her body and herself. It's just a really honest book. I love it.

Rating:
Summary: Amazing
Review: Sabrina's books are amazing: the art, collages, and writing are beautiful and beautifully blended together into these dreams of books. Her books are extremely intimate and personal, which is what makes them vulnearble, honest, and moving- there is a true connection in these books that is rarely found. Her books are such an exploration of herself, and because they are so poignant and deeply-delving, there is raw human truth and universality. Yes, her books are about herself- on the surface. Just as the concept of radical self acceptance may seen adolescent or simple- on the surface. But to truly live that concept is difficult and rare- these books take you through that process of moving past some cliche ("accept yourself") and into the marrow. Beneath the surface, the book goes beyond being about Sabrina, into being about every person. Sabrina's journals are truly exceptional- the brave writing, the power of each word, the watercolors, photographs, calligraphy and collages.

Rating:
Summary: Amazing
Review: Sabrina's books are amazing: the art, collages, and writing are beautiful and beautifully blended together into these dreams of books. Her books are extremely intimate and personal, which is what makes them vulnearble, honest, and moving- there is a true connection in these books that is rarely found. Her books are such an exploration of herself, and because they are so poignant and deeply-delving, there is raw human truth and universality. Yes, her books are about herself- on the surface. Just as the concept of radical self acceptance may seen adolescent or simple- on the surface. But to truly live that concept is difficult and rare- these books take you through that process of moving past some cliche ("accept yourself") and into the marrow. Beneath the surface, the book goes beyond being about Sabrina, into being about every person. Sabrina's journals are truly exceptional- the brave writing, the power of each word, the watercolors, photographs, calligraphy and collages.

Rating:
Summary: art of journal-ism
Review: This book elicited mixed reactions from me. I did enjoy Harrison's art: collage-y, somewhat messy and imperfect, it came across as very casual, which made it seem like she was not trying too hard to get someone else's approval (publisher, reader, what have you) and had really done it for herself. The deep colors and photography are pleasant to look at (though there is a picky point: all the pictures of Harrison herself look like they're trying to be spontaneous and yet end up looking calculated, like someone who has seen a photo of herself that she really liked and ever after always tries to hit that mark whenever a camera is nearby.)

The text I found less inspiring. I know this is from her journals (or at least purports to be), so some of the text and topics were bound to be somewhat angsty, but I kept hoping she'd break beyond them. I suppose that is the point and the process of journaling, but when she kept focusing on how fat her thighs are, it lost me after a while.
Also, her spelling is really not great, which makes me twitch. Even if this is a journal, it's also a published piece of writing.
Harrison is friends with SARK, an author with a shelf of upbeat self help-y books, and if you're familiar with SARK's writing it is easy to see in Harrison's book in some places where she is basically parroting her friend's words ("What is 'it'?" etc).

It's nice to see something creative in print coming from a younger writer/artist, though Sabrina still needs to hone her skills somewhat, in my opinion.


Rating:
Summary: Utterly marvellous!
Review: This book is not really available in Australia, and too bad for all the Australians missing out. This is the most astonishing, most beautiful book I have ever come across. Having being a journal writer for as long as I can remember, this book was a wake up call on how much I have to learn on the art of creative journal writing. This book is the epitome of creative, it literally spills creativity and reflection from the first page to the last. It is colourful, astonishingly thoughtful and indescribly beautiful. I can see why Sark and Sabrina have befriended each other, it is easy to see that their souls undoubtably dance to the same tune. They are both beautiful and this shines in their glorious books. My only complaint with this book, is that we are often only given sectors of her life, and I am frequently left wondering who she is talking about and what the pictures and the significance of small things she puts in there.