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Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Book review: Creative time and space - Ricë Freeman-Zachery

I thought it might be a good idea to do some reviews of books I read in the not so distant past before I had my blog and posted artsy book reviews online. I have quite a collection at home and maybe there's some things in there you might enjoy also. So, here's one I read in spring of 2010.


Title: Creative time and space: making room for making art
Author: Ricë Freeman-Zachery
Info: 144 p. - 2010
Rating: 7,5 / 10




Notes:
I love Ricë Freeman Zachery. She's one of the most outspoken bloggers out there for one, but she also wants to get into the heads of artists and see what makes them tick. Her interest in creativity is boundless. Before this book I read her wonderful "Living the creative life" that explores how artists live and generate ideas (I can totally recommend that one). This book is kind of a follow up on that, but you can read them seperately easily.

In Creative Time and Space it's all about making room for art. Not just the physical space (although that is adressed too), but also the mental space and space in your busy schedule. How do artists do it? To get to the bottom of this Ricë has interviewed a group of mixed media artists and their answers are as diverse as their work. Of course there is no one size fits all answer to the question of how to make room for art, but the ideas and suggestions given will definitely make you think about your own routines and preferences and maybe help sort things out.

The book has some exercises in it as well that may help you prioritise and look at your own way of dealing with finding time/room/head space for art. If anything this is a wonderful book for people who just want to know how artists think and what they are about.  Maybe next time someone doesn't 'get' you, you could lend them this book. ;-)

As with Living the Creative Life this book is a nice square format with beautiful eye candy of the work of the contributing artists. A definite little gem to keep and reread every now and then. I know I have.