Learning by Heart: Teachings to Free the Creative Spirit

After being out of print it is pure joy to have this fine book available again. It is written to engage and guide new artists into the wonder of creating art and at the same time it will inspire mature artists to reach deeper and stretch their artistic wings. After Sister Corita's death Jan Steward labored with great love and determination to finish the book they had begun together. She is to be thanked for bringing the brilliant teaching methods of Corita Kent to the rest of us.

Corita was an artist who was so ahead of her time. She, virtually, invented the whole concept of teaching with a multicultural, cross curricular approach. She used poetry, prose, folk art and film and tapped into mass media to teach her students. Corita used techniques to teach her students and left a mark with her own art work, influencing advertising with her use of caligraphy and popular media slogans. This book describes her approaches and tries to give the reader a philosophy to use when approaching art. This is not just a how to do art book, but more of a how to think about the world and art. The messages in this book by the author, Jan Steward, make this book worth reading. It will wake up the artist inside of you.

Corita Kent was one of the great American artists of the XXth Century. She made hundreds of works of art in her lifetime, designed books and posters and was a legendary teacher. She taught at Immaculate Heart in Los Angeles in the 1960's. In this concise and wonderfully illustrated book her teaching lives on for many new students and readers to enjoy. This is a real treasure and the exercises that Corita Kent and Jan Steward have put together in this book make it valuable and inspiring.

Everyone with a mind is creative. Now in a newly updated and expanded second edition, "Learning by Heart: Teachings to Free the Creative Spirit" is a guide to embracing the creative energies within everyone, and unleashing them to create whatever it is they seek to create. With a focus on the visual arts, "Learning by Heart" is a step by step guide to the many aspects of art and will do much in educating and inspiring readers to push forward. "Learning by Heart" is a top pick for those seeking a creative outlet.

Rarely have I met a book that invites me to join in such a luscious romp in creativity. Since this book found its way to me 10 years ago, I keep it close at hand and revisit its pages with the same pleasure as visiting a dear friend. The writing style and images are inviting, informative and inspiring.This is a valuable tool abundant with ideas for the artist as well as the educator who dreams of a rejuvenation in their teaching and learning. I wish to see this book in print once again, to continue to inspire the joy found in true creativity.As Education Director for a large arts organization, I desperately need 30 copies to pass on to our teaching artists to ignite the fires we all kindle deeply inside. And then of course, I'll need a spare to takes its place alongside my own rather tattered and loved - Learning by Heart.