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    Art Lessons: A Life Guide for Creatives
    Art Lessons: A Life Guide for Creatives
    Art Lessons: A Life Guide for Creatives
    Ebook149 pages1 hour

    Art Lessons: A Life Guide for Creatives

    By Samantha Cursley

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    About this ebook

    Art Lessons is a book seeking to inspire creatives and creative problem-solvers. Inside are twelve lessons from a lifetime of creating art that can serve as useful pointers in how to live a full life. Included are simple exercises that can help you to examine your life, develop strategies to move out of creative blocks, and open up to new possibilities you may not normally try. This book is a practical resource for artists, writers, counsellors and anyone who is interested in creative approaches to self-development.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherBalboa Press
    Release dateJun 9, 2014
    ISBN9781452597256
    Art Lessons: A Life Guide for Creatives
    Author

    Samantha Cursley

    Samantha Cursley is an artist, writer, poet, psychologist, creative arts psychotherapist, and parent. She has worked in the counselling field for more than twenty years helping children, adolescents and adults to find their own creative solutions to problems. Samantha lives in Canberra with her husband and son.

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      Book preview

      Art Lessons - Samantha Cursley

      8434.png

      Copyright © 2014 Samantha Cursley.

      All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

      Balboa Press books may be ordered through booksellers or by contacting:

      Balboa Press

      A Division of Hay House

      1663 Liberty Drive

      Bloomington, IN 47403

      www.balboapress.com

      1 (877) 407-4847

      Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

      Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

      Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

      ISBN: 978-1-4525-9724-9 (sc)

      ISBN: 978-1-4525-9725-6 (e)

      Library of Congress Control Number: 2014908895

      Created in the United States of America.

      Balboa Press rev. date: 06/04/2014

      8421.png

      Contents

      Lesson 1: Not All Creativity Is Good Art (But That’s Ok)

      Lesson 2: Tell Your Inner Critic To Shut Right Up

      Lesson 3: If You Aren’t Getting Paint In Your Hair, You Just Aren’t Trying Hard Enough

      Lesson 4: Going Into The Zone Is Good For Your (He)Art

      Lesson 5: Mix Too Many Colours And You Always Get Brown Sludge

      Lesson 6: Let Your Inner Child Out For A Rampage

      Lesson 7: Art Can Tell You A Lot About Where You Are

      Lesson 8: Know When

      To Walk Away

      Lesson 9: If You’re Stuck In A Rut, Try A New Technique

      Lesson 10: Know What You Like (And What You Don’t)

      Lesson 11: Everyone Is Creative – They Just Don’t Always Know It

      Lesson 12: Just Start Now

      References

      Suggested Reading

      Useful Resources:

      List Of Poems

      Also by Samantha Cursley:

      Doris Learns to Dance

      Creative Seasons Workbook

      For further information visit www.creativetherapies.com.au

      8410.png

      To all my friends who love creating new things and sharing their ideas with me.

      8385.png

      List of artworks (by Samantha Cursley)

      Cover: Water, pastel on paper, 2014

      Title page: Creative Promise, acrylic on canvas, 2011

      Growth, acrylic on canvas, 2012

      Mandala no.4, acrylic linocut print on canvas, 2014

      Birds in flight, acrylic on canvas, 2008

      Daybreak, acrylic on canvas, 2008

      Dragonfly, acrylic linocut print on paper, 2012

      Trinity, acrylic on paper, 2012

      Meeting Place, mixed media collage and acrylic on paper, 2013

      Primal, encaustic mixed media on board, 2013

      Mars, mixed media collage and pastel on paper, 2012

      Spark, acrylic linocut print on paper, 2012

      Trees II, mixed media collage and acrylic on paper, 2013

      At the seams, encaustic mixed media on board, 2013

      Fragile Space, acrylic linocut print on paper, 2012

      Pebbles, acrylic on paper, 2009

      Ode, encaustic mixed media on board, 2013

      Trees III, mixed media collage and acrylic on paper, 2013

      Moon water, acrylic on canvas, 2012

      Fire trees, acrylic on canvas, 2008

      Celestial I, acrylic on canvas, 2013

      Mandala no.2, acrylic linocut print on canvas, 2014

      Intuition, acrylic and pastel on paper, 2012

      Beach Horizon, acrylic linocut print on canvas, 2012

      Celestial II, acrylic on canvas, 2013

      Sunflower, acrylic linocut print on paper, 2012

      Impressions, acrylic linocut print on paper, 2012

      Micro leaf, pastel on paper, 2014

      Back cover: Water, pastel on paper, 2014

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      Introduction

      I have learned a great deal from a lifetime of enjoying art and creating things that has taught me a lot about life. What I’ve gained from this has helped me to become a better counsellor, a better parent, and a better artist, but it has also clarified a lot of what I value about myself. The creative process, whether it is writing poetry, dabbling with crayons, painting a mural, or making a picture from shells in the sand, takes me to another place within. We aren’t designed merely for calculating numbers, solving practical problems, generating to-do lists, or fixing things that are broken, it is clear that most people need more. We yearn for self-expression – to transform some feeling or notion deep within us into forms that can be shared and enjoyed.

      It is a sad thing indeed that sometimes in this modern world we place more value on the calculations, problem-solving, goal setting and fixing, and yet interestingly all these skills can be applied to the process of creating. Turning inspiration into form often requires of the creator a range of skills that make the difference between a bit of fun and a masterpiece. Creatives can become masters at multiple skills without even realising it. This book is about tapping into some of these side products and utilising them to enhance our lives and our creative products. No one really knows when a masterpiece may emerge because no one really knows where the process will end up when they begin. Creating and living a good life are really about the process and not the end products.

      From art I have gained insights that have helped me to live a full and content life, better manage the challenges I’ve faced, and help my counselling clients. Most importantly I have learned to truly walk the walk not just talk the talk. As a counsellor (and parent) I am constantly exposed and I have learned that my actions must be connected to my values and my deepest beliefs. Anything less than this becomes pretty obvious to observers and I feel it makes me hollow as a helper. Naturally, my journey is a life-long process but I seek to live in a way that is authentic and if I have any hope of assisting others I need to be prepared to work on my own issues. This means I push myself to grow even if I have to move outside my comfort zone.

      This book is

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