Finding Water: The Art of Perseverance [Hardcover]

Julia Cameron (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 28, 2006

This third book in Julia Cameron's bestselling trilogy on the creative process-beginning with The Artist's Way and Walking in This World-offers guidance on weathering the periods in an artist's life when inspiration appears to have run dry.

Julia Cameron presents a new twelve-week program for addressing those periods in an artist's life when inspiration is lacking. Finding Water offers advice and wisdom about tackling the most challenging issues an artist faces, such as:

- making the decision to begin a new project;
- persevering when a new approach to your art does not bear immediate fruit;
- staying focused when other parts of your life threaten to distract you from your art; and
- spotting possibilities for artistic inspiration in the most unlikely places.

This powerful new installment in Cameron's groundbreaking body of work on the creative process will guide readers to discover enduring inspiration-it will lead them to water.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Creative process guru Cameron continues to guide readers on the "spiral path" of their artistic journeys in this eloquent third book (after Walking in This Water) in the series that began with her influential, bestselling creativity manual, The Artist's Way. For those who missed earlier installments, Cameron—an author, teacher and aspiring musical theater lyricist/librettist—rehashes basic tools to get creative juices flowing while also delving into her ongoing personal creative struggle. Structured as a 12-week course in regaining one's relationship with one's own work, whether it be writing, painting or music, the volume grapples with the symbiotic relationship between art and spirituality. Cameron posits a benevolent universe waiting to support the artist in his or her endeavors; the artist simply has to get out of the way and become a channel for the work to speak through them. Toward this end, she instructs readers in exercises for uncovering a sense optimism, balance, resilience, perspective and discipline, among other strengths. Woven through with confessional anecdotes from her life as a writing teacher and oft-blocked artist wrestling with self-esteem and faith in her work, this guidebook's combination of action-oriented steps and heartfelt revelations will speak to legions of struggling artists. (Jan.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

About the Author

Julia Cameron has been an active artist for more than thirty years. She is the author of twenty-three books, both fiction and nonfiction, including her bestselling works on the creative process: The Artist's Way, Walking in This World, The Vein of Gold, The Right to Write, and The Sound of Paper. A novelist, playwright, songwriter, and poet, she has multiple credits in theater, film, and television.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: Tarcher (December 28, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1585424633
• ISBN-13: 978-1585424634
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.3 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (32 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #670,769 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Julia Cameron has been an active artist for more than thirty years. She is the author of twenty-eight books, fiction and nonfiction, including her bestselling works on the creative process: The Artist's Way, Walking in This World, Finding Water, and The Writing Diet. A novelist, playwright, songwriter, and poet, she has multiple credits in theater, film, and television.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

84 of 85 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Loved It, January 9, 2007

By 

J. "book lover" (New Jersey, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Finding Water: The Art of Perseverance (Hardcover)

I received a copy of FINDING WATER as a gift almost two weeks ago, and already I can feel it working in my life. I've loved THE ARTIST'S WAY and have done it twice. A couple of years ago I did the sequel, WALKING IN THIS WORLD, which I actually thought was even better than the first book, and really helped me to bring my creativity into the world. Now, with the third book of the trilogy, I can say that it came into my life just when I needed it. It does use the same basic tools that the other two books use, but it deals specifically with finding the strength within to keep going forward, to keep finding inspiration, to keep growing artistically and spiritually. The writing is beautiful, the exercises are challenging (in a good way), and the result for me so far has been a sense of renewal, and of re-connecting to my creative life. I'm doing it with my original Artist's Way group -- we've traveled together for a long time now -- and all of us feel the same way about FINDING WATER: it's great.

36 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing Sequel, July 25, 2007

By 

Karen W. Ruetz "Creative Spirit" (Marietta, GA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Finding Water: The Art of Perseverance (Hardcover)

I agree that Ms. Cameron's current book sounds more like a cry for help than words of advice. After a life-changing experience of "The Artist's Way" for me and others, the exercises provided in "Finding Water" seem more rote and mechanical than truly enlightening. While there is some artistic merit to the book, I found it to be more of a disappointment than a true creative inspirational piece. A group of friends who formed because of "The Artist's Way" have read the book as a group and have found it to be a big disappointment.

43 of 46 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Julian Cameron Perseveres, February 6, 2007

By 

Dede Ryan (Boise, Idaho) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Finding Water: The Art of Perseverance (Hardcover)

The third in Ms. Cameron's trilogy continues her writing legacy. I'll get my bias right out front -- I purchased dozens of "The Artist's Way" more than a decade ago, and continue to gift friends with "The Vein of Gold" and "Walking in the World." Hers are about the only books I buy in hardback because I know I'll return to them again and again. It's not just the guidance that makes her books so compelling. Her phrasing, syntax, ability to draw the reader into her environment and circumstances, makes me keep coming back for more. She is a great story teller, as well as generous with her insights.

That said, her third volume is a bit like watching a train wreck. Especially Chapter 5, as we enter the abyss with her, I began to feel some cracks in the foundation of daily pages and artist's dates. It appears that Ms. Cameron is struggling with her own advice -- "keep the drama on the page." And some of us may feel our own resolve begin to crumble. But as the book progresses, the theme of perseverance certainly proves its value.

Those of us who feel we know Ms. Cameron recognize instantly why she would be walking on mental eggshells. Not only is she not going back to Taos this summer, but she also has chosen to close out her artist's series with this third book. Readers will miss both, and in that knowledge share a small bit of the grief that Ms. Cameron must be experiencing.