Customer Reviews

Art Escapes: Daily Exercises and Inspirations for Discovering Greater Creativity and Artistic Confidence

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As a student of Russian Literature in college, I kept notes and impressions of my days on campus or by the lake. This activity was lost in the last 30 years with my immersion in the world of work.

While spending a long weekend at a friend's beach house, I found a copy of Art Escapes in the bookshelf. My interest was immediately captured, and I spent the rest of my stay writing notes, doodling illustrations and making coctail-napkin collages. While all of this looks mre kindergarten than Kandinsky, the projects and suggestions contained in the book have helped me tremendously. I now have my own copy of the book, and would recommend it to anyone for its many insights.

I got this book delivered to my door when the mail got screwed up and we did not receive a club mailing until a month too late. My book club sent it to me since I did not refuse it, which I usually do.

However, when I got the package, I was upset with the hassle of returning it. I kept it for a while and then FINALLY got the club mailing. I decided to take a chance and keep it. Boy what a TREAT!

This spiral bound book is a delight not only to read, but to turn the pages. I am tired of the bindings flipping closed on books. This one stays open no problem!

The layout is delightful. Illustrations are profuse and rustic. This book is in no way intimidating like some art books tend to be. I actually feel like I can relax while reading it with nothing to live up to and no frustration with how hard I am going to have to work to achieve desired results.

Dory writes with a warm friendly demeanor and the book is loaded with creative exercises that are easy to do, and RELAXING. As an artist, I have almost no time to paint with little ones around. Art Escapes offers a perfect compromise. Keeps me painting and going in small spatters, instead of monumental undertakings.

Think of a quiet calm day, warm cup of tea, beautiful sunshine, neither too hot or cold weather, curled up in a chair admiring life itself, and you pretty much have this book captured in essence. A delight to own and USE. For any level artist. We all need vacations and escapes!

A couple of months ago my husband and I took a long-planned and fondly-anticipated trip to France. Neither of us is a serious watercolorist, but we enjoy dabbling. We'd never thought about keeping a travel journal until we read the Art Escapes book. It was a real inspiration for us and enriched our trip more than I can tell you.

Each of us kept our own journal, and it's amazing how different our perceptions of the same scenes turned out to be. Reading through the journals takes us back to France in a way that just a batch of photos never could. They're also going to be raw material that we mine for months to come. I've already got a wall picked out for the watercolors we plan to make of our travels.

I shouldn't leave the impression that all we got out of Art Escapes was the inspiration to keep our travel journals. It has a terrific collection of suggestions and exercises that got us thinking and creating in new ways. And it's written in a really engaging and approachable way. There are also lessons that really helped our technique. I'm thinking especially of the color wheel and different color palettes the author recommends and the description of perspective that suddenly made it all seem so simple.

The best thing about the book, I think, is that it enabled us to see and experience France in a deeper and more thorough way than we ever could have otherwise. The sights, sounds and smells didn't just wash over us, as they have on other trips. We learned to truly savor our experiences. Isn't that what art is, really?

One last thought: There's no law that says you can keep a journal only on your trips. There's plenty right here around us that we should start to appreciate on a conscious level. I've just started keeping a journal and using the Art Escapes ideas as part of my regular life, and it's been wonderful.

This is a gorgeous book - hard cover over spiral bound, full color pages. I've seen a lot of books of this sort, but this one actually had something new to say. Everything about it says "PAINT!"

I have been lucky enough to attend one of Dory Kanter's creative art workshops. What an amazing experience! Dory's book not only lets me share her enthusiastic attitude towards making art easy for everyone, but allows me to play with more creative journaling exercises than we were able to cover in one weekend. I have seen firsthand how Dory's excellent instructions and unique techniques create artists through her journaling exercises. The funny thing is that as you make her collages, paper weave simple images into dramatic designs, try one-minute sketches, Creatively Doodle your way through staff meetings and use blends of colors to capture sensual input like smell, taste and touch, for example, Dory is painlessly tricking you into learning drawing skills, color theory, perspective and composition. Before you know it, you really understand yourself as an artist! Wow!

At the end of my weekend with Dory, every student had a journal filled with colorful memories and reflections of their unique personalities. Watching the delighted faces of artistic novices like dentists, homemakers, company CEO's and college professors light up as they explored their "surprising" talents was an emotional experience. I think each of us had a little tear in our eyes as we realized we were artists. All we had to do was trust Dory. After that we sailed on with our own explorations. Since then I have spent many happy hours with my journal at home and while traveling around the world. That is the gift that Dory is sharing with her book. Please, take her gift and see how a few minutes of inspired creativity each day can build into colorful records of the moments and emotions of your life.

I am not an artist and did not stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night. Still, I am attached to this book because it is taking me on new journeys, helping me buy just the tools I need to create work in pencil, watercolor, pastel and other media. Although I have purchased other books on collages,painting and drawing, this one is my favorite.

I read this book, bought my own sketchbook, and began to go through the exercises. With each exercise my own creativity was opened. I began to rely on my sketchbook for capturing my personal reflections as I went through my daily life. Eventually, I began to travel with my limited number of art supplies, as described in the book. Now wherever I go my impressions are captured. This art is private and therefore freeing. Great book! Liz Ross

This is exactly what "the doctor ordered" for jumpstarting the creative juices & getting out of an "artists' block"! It is filled with pictures, instructions, ideas/suggestions to springboard from...can't wait to dive in! You won't be disappointed!!!

ms. kantor's exercises are so well explained that it just takes one read thru and you are there, getting your supplies and going at creating art. whether it be painting, sewing, writing, ms. kantor's eloquent descritions of the process of creating make you hungry for making more and not caring about the outcome but rather she makes you want to create--something that all artists' desire and she so well brings to the surface for discovery. the honesty and visual integrity of this book are fabulous.

This new book is exactly what I needed! I'm a budding artist with lots of "real" artist friends. One small group of us meets monthly to talk about art, think about travel journals or do art projects, but we're always looking for art and journal ideas that will appeal to our widely varying interests and levels of expertise. This book could be our guide for way more than a year! It's perfect for us... and it's not that we haven't tried others. We're all buying Art Escapes before our next gathering...I particularly like that we can do the activities both on our own or with others in the group.

Dory Kanter is the quintessential teacher. Her approach is friendly and informal, while, at the same time, professional and steeped in expertise. The instructions are SO clear that you don't have to stare at the page for an hour before "getting it"; trust me, I am a retired curriculum writer and I know clear from unclear! Although you could pick up the book and start almost anywhere, there is a logical sequence that really is, as the title says, giving me "artistic confidence." For example, the first chapter has concrete, practical, and, of course, artistic ideas about organizing supplies...already I've saved many minutes of dithering as I pack for a weekend trip during which I want to play with my art.

Being such a new book, I haven't yet done all the exercises, but after reading every word and doing some of the activities, it's the first book like this that I know I really will do, and not just say I'll do. It certainly won't be a shelf-sitter, and don't we all have tons of those?! One really terrific exercise is called Creative Doodling...I even got my husband to do this one with me, and he's an accountant who says he'll "never do art"! I just quietly slipped it in with our morning coffee/read the paper/what's-on-your-day conversation and he loved it...didn't even know he was doing art...what a sweet way to start the day! P.S. he said he might give the book to his sister for Christmas! Thank you, Art Escapes, for bringing cheer, inspiration, and the promise of so much creative fun in the coming year.