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on 16-11-2002 22:44
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By Julia Cameron
Jeremy P. Tarcher/Putman
288 PP.
$24.95
Reviewed By Khalil Abdel Alim
Artistic creativity - writing, painting, music, sculpturing, dancing, composing, photography, or what ever is not the esoteric domain of a few talented people in the world. It is an innate gift of The Creator to all human beings. That is the teaching and message of Julia Cameron. She, in her many books, counsels that we all should express out dreams to create, to become unlocked, and as the commercial says, "just do it" and connect with "the Creator." She posits that all creative work -artistic endeavors- are collaborations with God - the Creator.
Julia Cameron is a consummate artist. For more than thirty years she has written seventeen books including several best-selling books on the creative process; she has been a playwright and songwriter with many credits in theater, film, and television.
In this, her latest book, she continues her didactic process of guiding people to creativity - how to be an artist. Her aim is to bring one to self-actualization through creativity.
Those looking for a "how to" manual for writing, painting, sculpturing, acting, or any other artistic expression will be surprised but not disappointed.
Ms. Cameron shows that all human beings are creative - that there is an artist in all of us. Her books show how to free that natural propensity. She also points out that many people who are considered strange, eccentric, or "crazy" are people whose artistic talent is being self-repressed. She indicates that many dollars and hours spent in therapy could be saved by picking up a pen or paintbrush and expressing yourself - not with a goal of fame and fortune but self-actualization.
Some peoples problem is just that they are blocked artists.
The book is a twelve-week course in spiritual, emotional, and artistic awakening. It includes self-exploratory and diagnostic exercises. One very valuable practice is "Morning Pages"- three pages of free flow of consciousness writing in the morning. She writes of art as a spiritual experience. She describes a religious experience without the accouterments of organized religion. She is a priestess of artistic spiritualiy. She is without a temple she appeals to your temples - the ones that encase your brain. She says that creativity is an act of faith. It is also an itch that must be scratched. That only can be done by artistic expression. She points out that the artist struggles to be "normal." It is a challenge to make friends and family to understand the need for time to do your art. It is like a secret lover you must slip away to regardless; even isolated weekends in fleabag motels to write. Artists do not just make things, they strive to make big things of themselves.
Ms. Cameron writes of creativity in a flowing, poetic, and sometimes clinical manner. Because she is an artist she can empathize with the almost physical sensation of creation-the labor and birth pains and the postpartum depression experienced in making art. She describes creativity as sort of a high that makes return to routine mundane and anticlimactic.
Julia Cameron places art in historic perspective when she points out that in past centuries art was made for the honor and glory of God. She compares that to the egocentric motivation of too many artists today. She calls for more altruism among artist - dedicating their work to a higher cause than their own self-promotion.
She points out that spiritual centers are great places of retreat for artists in doubt of their art. Convents and monasteries offer retreat for artists.
She best describes the essence of her book: "It could be argued that creativity is a form of prayer, a form of thankfulness and recognition of all we have to be thankful for, walking in this world."
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Last update : 16-11-2002 22:44
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