How to Avoid Making Art (or Anything Else You Enjoy)

In How to Avoid Making Art, the bestselling author of The Artist's Way delivers a (tongue-in-cheek!) guide to doing anything and everything you possibly can to avoid making art. Anyone who is engaged in a creative pursuit will no doubt identify with these wonderful cartoons by award-winning artist Elizabeth Cameron of creative wannabes doing everything except actually getting down to work.
«For most people creativity is a serious business," says Julia Cameron. “They forget the telling phrase 'the play of ideas' and think that they need to knuckle down and work more. Often, the reverse is true. They need to play.” Ultimately, the characters in this book show us how we can turn our procrastination into play and our play into great work. With this delightful volume, Julia Cameron once again hits the nail on the head on the subject of creativity.
From BooklistElizabeth Cameron's delightful line drawings of dogs in human attire serve as illustrations for creativity guru Julia Cameron's aphorisms about the things we do for the love of art. Cameron homes in on how our fear of creating art is rooted in the contrast between our pleasure in the process and dread of failure. And talk about creativity: Julia reminds us how creative we can be at finding reasons not to create. “Get your main sense of self-worth helping others instead of facing the blank page.” “Tell yourself you can't afford art supplies, and buy five expensive cappuccinos while you discuss this with friends.” And that all-time favorite: “Talk about it so you don't have to do it.” Humor make points that would be less palatable if approached in a serious tone, and humor is the perfect vehicle for the no-nonsense stance of the writer best known for her groundbreaking The Artist's Way (1992). These captioned cartoons may become the next Far Side calendar for the artistic crowd. Whitney ScottCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
About the AuthorAward-winning writer Julia Cameron is the author of twenty-two books, fiction and nonfiction, including The Artist's Way, The Vein of Gold, Walking in This World, The Right to Write, and The Sound of Paper. A novelist, playwright, songwriter, and poet, she has extensive credits in theater, film, and television.