How to Avoid Making Art

Oh, come on - you know you do it, too. You tell yourself you're going to write that novel, or paint that picture, or learn that song, but somehow you end up doing anything and everything else. With humorous illustrations, this book shows artists how they themselves are their own worst enemies when it comes to actually creating art... and reminds us all that avoiding something is not the way to get anything done.

I love this little book. I found it after reading The Artist's Way, and like how it illustrates, simply, all the negative things we say and do that keep us from making art. It captures and shows the absurdity of self-imposed creative blocks -- letting me laugh at myself and see how unreasonable my inner-critic and self-saboteur can be. This book helps put my creative blocks into perspective. Afterwards, it is easier to get down to just doing the work.

This book spoke to me; as a writer and artist, I can talk myself out of creating, and this book confronts the reader with all the excuses. The whimsical drawings and insightful remarks inspire me to go to my studio and make art. I pick it up any time self-doubt surfaces, and I plan to buy copies for my friends who write and paint.

This is a book of cartoons with captions that are the myriad excuses for why we sometimes put off our creative work. Funny and useful. Another GREAT one by her that's serious is The Right to Write.

As a published writer/poet, I find that sometimes I get bogged down with the mundane: paying bills, worrying about my job, in short: procrastination. When I finally turned on my computer to work on my manuscript, I found my mind wandering in all directions except on my story. So, I turned it off and did something else. However, after reading Ms. Cameron's The Artist's Way, I have changed my life completely and for the better. I still give some of my time to the mundane, but I also work on my writing as soon as I think about it, thereby allowing my mind to work on it when the thought is fresh. How To Not Make Art is a delightful book I found recently and I think will become part of my purse/backpack necessities along with my blank journals and book I am reading for the day. This book offers the "swift kick" for anyone who find themselves allowing other matters or people to crowd out their creative side. Situations like this are too easy to slide into and slightly harder to get out of. But, with patience and fortitude, the wall can be broken and the creative will flow again. If you find yourself bogged down and not able to do anything creative, pick up this book and read it through, giving each cartoon their time to absorb. I found myself nodding in agreement with many of them, knowing them to be too true. Highly recommended!