Trust the Process

Rating:
Summary: Save your money!
Review: Have you ever gotten so sick of the meals you are used to cooking that you will try any recipe? You might then be so hungry that you'll eat it anyway, no matter how bad it tastes. Well, I got stuck reading this book.

Sometimes you need any kind of creative push you can get, and this book is so bad, I would be willing to do anything besides read it. Check this out--"I cannot augur the creative spirit's labyrinthine ways." There is just no excuse for that sentence. And there are 210 pages full of them. McNiff also mentions D.H. Lawrence twice in the first two chapters when any reasonable person would have to be forced to mention Lawrence twice during their entire writing career. Unless he is talking about his children, or making a truly canned reference to mythology, McNiff can only discuss standard junior college material, which of course, would be any commonly known artist from the beginning of the 20th century.

Now, let me take the opportunity to complain about visual arts getting kidnapped by academia. Art does not exist as an educational tool. It can be studied, but that is a separate activity. Art exists because people like to make things, and sometimes our eyes get hungry. Put your charge card away this time, don't buy this stilted little book.

Good luck on your art!

Rating:
Summary: Has opened a doorway I thought was forever closed....
Review: I have done visual art and writing for nearly 20 years.Several years ago I hit what first appeared to be a "dry spell". To my dismay that "spell" become a year, then two, then three and so on. I found myself profoundly blocked on all levels and the creative energy seemed to have left me altogether. I fell into a state of depression, due in part to this loss of creative energy which felt much like a loss of that which is most core to me. No what what I tried, the door remained tightly closed.

In the process of looking for the skeleton key to reopen this door I looked at nearly every book on creativity and things on the market. Many of them lacked the substance and understanding that I needed. Some were aimed at people that had never been creative and therefore the exercises never worked for me. Others used almost a Twelve Step approach which, while effective for some, didn't work for me personally. Like another reviewer said I, too, found many of the "Step 1, Step 2, Step 3..." approaches to be more frustrating and limiting, only further closing this door of creative expression.

...I had never read the book, but decided to buy it based on some good reviews and a large dose of desperation. I was skeptical and figured I would likely be disappointed by yet another run of the mill "how to be creative" work.

I couldn't have been more wrong. When I finally began reading the book it felt different - totally different. I found things that were pragmatic and rooted in a perspective I understood - the artist that has lost the inspiration and creative flow. It felt like a tangible guide that had the potential of reopening that locked door.

The book has helped me move into a place that I had previously thought to be gone forever. While I am not back to creative art at the same frequency I was before, the door has been opened a crack and that is enough to keep me working, to keep me moving forward and working to break the door free from its hinges.

I bought this book partially because of the positive reviews. That is why I felt that it was my responsibility to write a review as well. Perhaps it may encourage someone else in my situation to consider this book. It isn't a magical cure because the author is far too practical to attempt to provide one to the reader. Rather it is a sequence of little steps that snowball and produce a result that is often surprising and significant.

If I had to recommend a single book on creativity to people, especially people that have been artists of whatever form, I would recommend this one.

To the author, I remain grateful for the keys to a door that leads me to the most important place in my life - the expression and realization of life through creativity. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Rating:
Summary: Has opened a doorway I thought was forever closed....
Review: This book helps and inspires me (a visual artist) in a way that Julia Cameron's popular (and wonderful) work has not. For those of us who have a kneejerk negative reaction to following rules and doing "exercises", preferring instead to create our own structure, this is a refreshing alternative to her more structured approach. McNiff emphasizes that the sense of despair we feel when the "flow" isn't flowing is itself an integral part of the process of making art, which I found particularly encouraging and true to my experience. He also encourages the reader to get going by creating multiple small, "disposable" works, which can contain the roots of larger pieces... Read this book!

Rating:
Summary: More useful to me than The Artist's Way...
Review: This book helps and inspires me (a visual artist) in a way that Julia Cameron's popular (and wonderful) work has not. For those of us who have a kneejerk negative reaction to following rules and doing "exercises", preferring instead to create our own structure, this is a refreshing alternative to her more structured approach. McNiff emphasizes that the sense of despair we feel when the "flow" isn't flowing is itself an integral part of the process of making art, which I found particularly encouraging and true to my experience. He also encourages the reader to get going by creating multiple small, "disposable" works, which can contain the roots of larger pieces... Read this book!

Rating:
Summary: fantastic, inspirational
Review: This is must reading for anyone interested in making art-- even the non-artist will find encouragement and inspiration in McNiff's poetic observations and wonderful infusions of art and life. Wonderful book for those who want to make art, but dont know where to begin and need both practical and soulful advice on how to start. McNiff is a gifted writer who brings the art studio to life through his words and sensitivity to the creative process in life and art.

Rating:
Summary: Let yourself go
Review: This is one of the books I read before I published my own book on art creativity - Creative Painting For The Young Artist. A good point of the book is that it deals with painters block. Not many art books do. This is important for me because I had always thought that I could not paint till the age of 24 years. This book with the book Drawing On The Right Side Of The Brain are especially good for right brain learners who have to enter the process of painting through emotion and getting the larger picture before paying attention to details. That is you can't begin painting by sitting in a class and beging to draw a shoe. This has brought a sense of failure to many would be artists. This is more than a book on creativity but also a book about the psychology of the artist as the book also deals with painters block, dealing with criticism, the purpose of being a painter, states of consciousness and childhood origins of the artist.

Rating:
Summary: Let yourself go
Review: This is one of the books I read before I published my own book on art creativity - Creative Painting For The Young Artist. A good point of the book is that it deals with painters block. Not many art books do. This is important for me because I had always thought that I could not paint till the age of 24 years. This book with the book Drawing On The Right Side Of The Brain are especially good for right brain learners who have to enter the process of painting through emotion and getting the larger picture before paying attention to details. That is you can't begin painting by sitting in a class and beging to draw a shoe. This has brought a sense of failure to many would be artists. This is more than a book on creativity but also a book about the psychology of the artist as the book also deals with painters block, dealing with criticism, the purpose of being a painter, states of consciousness and childhood origins of the artist.

Rating:
Summary: Trust This Book!
Review: This is simply one of the best books on the subject of personal creativity & art. Author McNiff doesn't get preachy and didactic, and always gets to the point. He also doesn't engage the reader with "new age" solutions and descriptions. Clear and balanced.

If you have a curiosity about your creativity, or bringing about artistic expression in your life, or you're an artist on the "path", this book is a gift.

Rating:
Summary: A license to create...
Review: Whether you are an artist, dancer, writer, musician, healer or seeker, you will find inspirition and validation of your path with this book. Shaun McNiff, artist and internationally known advocate of the creative arts therapies, presents a thoughtful and beautifully written case for trusting the natural movement of the creative process. This wonderful book includes observations from "famous" artists about the creative process, anecdotes from ordinary people who are experimenting with new attitudes in their daily lives and suggestions from the author about creating a satisfying life. In a world where destruction has become a form of popular entertainment, this book offers an alternative. Worth reading, then rereading again and again!