Christmas by the Book

Geraldine James' Creative Walls will definitely have you digging up your old treasures, junk and art work to transform your wall space!

Can you believe it, there are only 15 days left until Christmas!  If you’re still searching for that special book to give as a gift to another creative soul (or yourself!) here are some inspirational and practical recommendations…

Mess: The Manual of Accidents and Mistakes:

Maybe you’re like me… for the longest time my art work had to be organized and executed just so.  There was very little room in my process for spontaneity or thinking intuitively.  While I was studying art I discovered incredible artists such as Jackson Pollock or Jean Michel Basquiat working in seemingly loose, carefree or expressive styles of art making… I often wondered how they achieved this child-like sense of play when it came to creating their work.  It was something I felt that was beyond my reach … if only I had had Keri Smith’s book to show me the way to free my constrained spirit!  Mess is an action-oriented book.  If you’re courageous enough to go to town with all the crazy, messy antics Smith has you doing, I’m certain it’ll rekindle the sense of creative play and wonder many of us lost as adults.  If you’re  diligent in the homework she doles out and don’t give up, you’re sure to yield some amazing insights into other forms of composition and mark making that are more chaotic, emotional and expressive… beautiful qualities I know deep down inside many of us control freaks long to bring into our own art work.  Special thanks to Olive Jones for pointing out this book to me.

Your Creative Brain: Seven Steps to Maximize Imagination, Productivity and Innovation in Your Life:

Not long ago it was believed that our right brain was solely responsible for helping us tap into our creative self.  Recent research however, has shown that both our right and left brains play an important role in shaping our sense of creativity.  Shelley Carson’s easy-to-read book relays her CREATES brain model which reveals the areas of the brain that we can tap into to make the most of our creative abilities.  She provides the reader with fun and practical exercises one can incorporate into their daily lives to develop or strengthen their creative capacities.  Carson believes no matter what path we choose, thinking creatively can further both our personal and professional lives.  This is a must read for wannabe artists and professional artists alike.  See Boosting Your Creative Brain Powers for my review of this book.

Creative Walls: How to Display and Enjoy Your Treasured Collections:

As well as doing collage and mixed media work, my art practice has extended into the realm of installation art.  I’ve been working on and off on an oral history project about my father which I’d love to make into an installation.  For a few years now I’ve been studying texts related to contemporary artists’ installations, but nothing has struck me more than some of the fabulous window display layout designs I’ve been seeing in stores lately.  I’ve been wowed by window display artists use of: dinner plates, old peeling painted frames, dog-eared postcards, pages torn from old books and magazines and even crumpled up wads of paper!  If only, I thought, I could work with a window display artist to garner all their secrets!  So when I spied Geraldine James’ book, I snapped it up! After savouring its contents and beautiful imagery, I came to the realization that display art and collage art such kindred spirits!  If you love collage and mixed media art this is a way to extend your practice from paper to a wall (maybe even a whole room!).  Although this is not a how-to book, it provides page after page of visually stunning images to draw from – I highly recommend it!

The Paper Garden: Mrs. Delany Begins Her Life’s Work at 72:

Do you enjoy deriving inspiration from reading about the lives of other artists?  If so, look no further than Molly Peacock’s history of real-life amateur collage artist, Mary Delany.  At 72, Mrs. Delany invented a unique form of floral collage which is now part of an esteemed collection at the British Museum.  Peacock’s love for fine art, crafts and writing along with her own personal history are fused with Mrs. Delany’s story in a manner any qualitative researcher of history would envy.  She does a beautiful job of convincing the reader that it’s not unusual that one day all we are, even in our old age, might coalesce to transform us into extraordinary artistic inventors such as Mary Delany.  A great read for 40+ somethings like me who want to believe there’s still hope left for us!  See my blog entries: Molly Peacock’s Book Unearths Mary Delany’s Paper Garden and First Love Blooms in Molly Peacock’s Paper Garden for more on this subject.

Writing the Artist Statement:

This year I found out too late that a good friend had suffered alone trying to write an artist statement for an art fair she wished to enter.  She wouldn’t have had to go through this excruciating exercise if she had had Ariane Goodwin’s book.  In each chapter Goodwin has you doing simple writing exercises that’ll help you to reflect upon your art work from many angles… until finally you have collected so many thoughts you now have some interesting things to say about your work.  I’ve been through the whole book to write mine and found by the time I got to the end of the exercises, I was so excited about weaving my most compelling thoughts together to create my artist statement – not terrified or at my wits end as I usually am.  Also, I’ve accumulated so many reflections about my work that I can use the surplus ideas to build other interesting texts related to my art work for PR purposes – a real bonus!  If writing an artist statement paralyzes you with fear, Goodwin’s book is a fine remedy!

Happy shopping!