The Artist's Way (UPDATED EDITION)

There is an artist inside you that you don't know about... If you know - if you have known since the beginning of the universe, say yes immediately. Mevlana Celaleddin Rumi Every child is an artist. The problem is to remain an artist after growing up.Pablo PicassoRemember that art is a process. The process should be fun. The saying "There is only one destination - that is the journey itself" should be perceived as "Our creative work is actually our creativity itself that manifests itself over time". If you are happier by writing-painting-singing-acting-directing, for God's sake, do it. The Creator made us creative. Our creativity is a gift from God. By using it we send our gift to God. At the heart of creativity is mystery. And surprising things too. When we say we want to be creative, we often mean - I want to be productive. Being creative already means being productive, but by collaborating with the creative process - not by forcing it. Creating ideas is like baking bread. An idea needs swelling. If you tamper with it excessively at first - if you constantly check it, it will not rise. A baking bread or a cake has to stay in the dark and safe environment of the oven for a long time. Open the oven prematurely - the bread will collapse or a hole will form in the middle of the cake as all the steam escapes. Creativity needs respectful silence. It is a fact that the best ideas come out this way. Let them thrive in darkness and mystery. Let them form on the roof of our consciousness. Let them fall on the page as droplets. As we relied on this slow and seemingly haphazard trickle, one day we suddenly said, "That's it!" We may be surprised. All the art we make is an apprenticeship. The greatest art is life.M. C. Richards Number of Pages: 316