Customer Reviews

Creative Wildfire: An Introduction to Art Journaling - Basics and Beyond

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Contrary to the title this is not a true beginners book. But it is wildly inspiring! It certainly is not victoriana scrap booking. Think artsy with journals ranging from messy cool to constrained cool by a wide array of artists. Each page has one to two full journal pictures. The photography is clear and detailed. Techniques are discussed but the few step-by-step instructions are brief and not as detailed as some will prefer. Nevertheless you cannot go wrong buying this book. I'm sure it will spend a great deal of time on my studio table for the inspiration and encouragement it provides. Good luck with your own journals!

I have been art journaling for about 11 years now, and I find this book amazing for all levels. It is clear and concise enough for beginners, yet challenging enough for those of us who have "been there, done that." I own almost every art journal book on the market, and can honestly say that this book is the best and well worth the money. LK's work is amazing, and the interviews and works she features from other artists are inspiring. There is a lot to be learned here. Buy this book!!!

Beth Bardino

I do not think I will ever get enough of LK Ludwig. Her books on art journaling and creative expression are inspiration. Like her previous books, I could not wait to get this one. Like her previous books, I am constantly referring and rereading. It is eye-candy and inspiration.

It is impossible to live without failing at something, unless you live so cautiously that you might as well not have lived at all. In which case you fail by default. J K Rowling "The Benefits of Failure and Importance of Imagination" 2008 Commencement speech

Creative Wildfire begins with instructions for simple bookbinding (see Cover To Cover: Creative Techniques For Making Beautiful Books, Journals & Albums for more details) and cloth book wrapping to create surfaces for visual communication. Journal privacy is prioritized with interpretation opaque except to the visual journal author.

The central portion of Creative Wildfire provides specific directions for image transfer, gesso on cloth or wood, gel transfer, stencil, reverse stencil, bleach stamping, sewing, layering, collage, etc to engage hands and mind in non-verbal technique exploration. Intriguing illustrations engage occipital brain lobes, location of visual processing, then transmit information to the hippocampus, central to memory and learning. Like roller skating, visual communcation requires practice, and more practice. Then, after a while, without conscious awareness, you become a visual thinker.

View DVD Temple Grandin the inspiring biopic of a wholly visual thinker, with her diagrams, drawings, photos, inventions used as background for the movie. Grandin in Special Features commentary reveals she continues to improve social skills even in her 60s.

Other resources: Living the Creative Life: Ideas and Inspiration from Working Artists, Creative Time and Space: Making Room for Making Art, Art Making & Studio Spaces: Unleash Your Inner Artist: An Intimate Look at 31 Creative Work Spaces.

Creative Wildfire's final section encourages development of individual style beyond technique, moving into visual poetry and use of imagination in developing journal entries. Implied is an avoidance of predetermined prepackaged purchased items in favor of originality.

Beside the visual contribution may be added powerfully written journal excerpts as in the sidebars of Art Journals and Creative Healing: Restoring the Spirit Through Self-Expression, Inner Journeying Through Art-journaling: Learning to See And Record Your Life As a Work of Art and Fearless Creating: A Step-by-Step Guide To Starting and Completing Your Work of Art.

For fun, try viewing 1000 Journals a social experiment in 2000 by San Francisco artist Someguy who sent 1000 blank journals with his email and website into the world. By September 2003 one journal had returned home. 2007 documentary traces the travels and whereabouts of only 80; where are the other journals?

The human desire to communicate via hand made, idiosyncratic, personally meaningful mark-making evokes unequaled passion, even as e-books expand the ways humans interact with media.

Creative Wildfire offers the technical guidance and encouragement needed to find visual outlet for emotions.

Experiment, fail, learn, modify, practice. Confidence arises from self-discovery; have fun with your adventure.

To live a creative life, we must lose our fear of being wrong.
Joseph Chilton Pearce

I was looking for a way to add more interest to my art journals. "Creative Wildfire" was just what I needed. This is the third book I have purchased by this author/artist. Whether you just testing the water or have been art journaling for a long time, you will discover new ways to add color and visual texture to your pages. The instructions are presented clearly and with a great deal of encouragement. I've often wondered about the creative process of others and was delighted to "peek" into the minds and journals of many talented artists, including the author. I've tried several of the techniques presented in this book and have had great success. I particularly love the gelatin mono-print process and the endless possibilities that it provides.....all with supplies you probably already have at home. I also loved the bonus of the blank recycled journal. What a great way to reuse! Although I've only had this book for about a week, it already has the worn look of a very loved book.....

LK's book Creative Wildfire has everything! Learn things like book binding techniques, how to choose a journal, different page surface painting techniques, how to gain inspiration, get a glimpse into other artists books... the list goes on. She really covers the spectrum of journaling and does it well. There's even a removable recycled journal in the back of the book which you can use to get started. I bought this book last weekend and have not put it down... I love it!!

This book is vibrant and filled to the brim with inspiration and eye candy. I've loved all of LK's books but this might be her best yet. In the interest of full disclosure two of my journals are included but even if they weren't I would love it.

LK's genius is teaching you how to create deeply personal content using your own photos and words. She has provided clear, detailed instructions on binding your own journal, creating painted pages with her amazing scraped painted surface technique, using your photos, reductive stenciling and so much more. In addition to the in depth instructions, to get you started she's included loads of what she calls fire starters and tips.

The interviews with other art journalers and photos of other artists journals are my favorite parts. I love the peek into artists journals. You'll find some old favorites along side some new names throughout.

The final treat is the small journal included in the back. She has used scraps from the printing process to create a unique, portable journal for you to play with.

I LOVE this book and will go over it again and again. Many techniques, great photos of journal pages, super instructions, and the book FEELS good too!!!This book is a keeper.

I love LK Ludwig. I have taken one class from her and now an online class. You get what you pay for and then some! She is more talented than I think she knows. I pre-ordered this book and believe me it is more than I expected! You won't be disappointed. Order it now!!!!

My son really liked this book. After I bought it for him, he consistently worked on his art journal every day. Or at least until he filled it. Once he finished the journal, he didn't really start a new one. But the book inspired him to try and find creative ways of documenting a few important events from each day. And he was able to make his own art journal using directions in the book.

There are many many how to books on drawing and painting which might help develop technique. But, at least in my experience, there are not that many good books that help develop a sense of creativity. But I can suggest two that I think are quite good. The first, and the one I would definitely recommend starting with is Drawing Lab for Mixed-Media Artists: 52 Creative Exercises to Make Drawing Fun (Lab Series). It gives lots of ideas that will help fill a sketchbook over a year if you want to. The second is Experimental Drawing. The latter book is a little dated and definitely much more serious than the former, but it is another book filled with ideas to help you become more creative in drawing.

So, overall, the strength of this book is the fact that it is filled with ideas for creativity. And it did inspire my eleven year old son to create his own art journal that I think was quite proud of