How to Avoid Making Art [Bargain Price] [Paperback]

Julia Cameron (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 8, 2005

This hilarious look at creative blockage and blunder is a laugh-out-loud tribute to artist procrastination.

In How to Avoid Making Art, the bestselling author of The Artist's Way delivers a (tongue-in-cheek!) guide to doing anything and everything you possibly can to avoid making art. Anyone who is engaged in a creative pursuit will no doubt identify with these wonderful cartoons by award-winning artist Elizabeth Cameron of creative wannabes doing everything except actually getting down to work.

"For most people creativity is a serious business," says Julia Cameron. "They forget the telling phrase 'the play of ideas' and think that they need to knuckle down and work more. Often, the reverse is true. They need to play." Ultimately, the characters in this book show us how we can turn our procrastination into play and our play into great work. With this delightful volume, Julia Cameron once again hits the nail on the head on the subject of creativity.

--This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Elizabeth Cameron's delightful line drawings of dogs in human attire serve as illustrations for creativity guru Julia Cameron's aphorisms about the things we do for the love of art. Cameron homes in on how our fear of creating art is rooted in the contrast between our pleasure in the process and dread of failure. And talk about creativity: Julia reminds us how creative we can be at finding reasons not to create. "Get your main sense of self-worth helping others instead of facing the blank page." "Tell yourself you can't afford art supplies, and buy five expensive cappuccinos while you discuss this with friends." And that all-time favorite: "Talk about it so you don't have to do it." Humor make points that would be less palatable if approached in a serious tone, and humor is the perfect vehicle for the no-nonsense stance of the writer best known for her groundbreaking The Artist's Way (1992). These captioned cartoons may become the next Far Side calendar for the artistic crowd. Whitney Scott
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

About the Author

Award-winning writer Julia Cameron is the author of twenty-two books, fiction and nonfiction, including The Artist's Way, The Vein of Gold, Walking in This World, The Right to Write, and The Sound of Paper. A novelist, playwright, songwriter, and poet, she has extensive credits in theater, film, and television. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 144 pages
• ISBN-10: 1585424382
• ASIN: B000FKPA96
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.4 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,298,335 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

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What NOT To Do!, August 7, 2006

By 

K. Richardson "Kimberly Richardson" (Memphis, Tennessee) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: How to Avoid Making Art (Paperback)

As a published writer/poet, I find that sometimes I get bogged down with the mundane: paying bills, worrying about my job, in short: procrastination. When I finally turned on my computer to work on my manuscript, I found my mind wandering in all directions except on my story. So, I turned it off and did something else.

However, after reading Ms. Cameron's The Artist's Way, I have changed my life completely and for the better. I still give some of my time to the mundane, but I also work on my writing as soon as I think about it, thereby allowing my mind to work on it when the thought is fresh.

How To Not Make Art is a delightful book I found recently and I think will become part of my purse/backpack necessities along with my blank journals and book I am reading for the day. This book offers the "swift kick" for anyone who find themselves allowing other matters or people to crowd out their creative side. Situations like this are too easy to slide into and slightly harder to get out of. But, with patience and fortitude, the wall can be broken and the creative will flow again.

If you find yourself bogged down and not able to do anything creative, pick up this book and read it through, giving each cartoon their time to absorb. I found myself nodding in agreement with many of them, knowing them to be too true.

Highly recommended!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Funny and simple reasons why we sometimes don't create, August 20, 2006

By 

Alexandra (NORTHAMPTON, Morocco) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: How to Avoid Making Art (Paperback)

This is a book of cartoons with captions that are the myriad excuses for why we

sometimes put off our creative work. Funny and useful. Another GREAT one by

her that's serious is The Right to Write.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is what I'm doing when I should be painting, November 11, 2006

By 

Mary Kolada Scott (VENTURA, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: How to Avoid Making Art (Paperback)

This book spoke to me; as a writer and artist, I can talk myself out of creating, and this book confronts the reader with all the excuses. The whimsical drawings and insightful remarks inspire me to go to my studio and make art. I pick it up any time self-doubt surfaces, and I plan to buy copies for my friends who write and paint.