Inner Excavation: Exploring Your Self Through Photography, Poetry and Mixed Media [Paperback]

Liz Lamoreux (Author), Tonia Davenport (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 3, 2010

Express the art within you

There are clues all around you—sounds, textures, memories, passions—just waiting for you to shine a light on them, and unearth the most intimate form of expression—the self-portrait. Inside Inner Excavation, author Liz Lamoreux will be your guide, along with eleven inspiring artists, as you discover more about who you are, how you got here and where you wish to go. Prompts and exercises will show you how to express who you are through the photos you take, the words you write and the art you create.

Find encouragement and fresh ideas in these pages as you:

• Uncover prompts to use your senses for exploring and capturing where you are in any particular moment.
• Tap into the poet's voice that's whispering inside of you, even if you've never written poetry before.
• Be given permission to spend time "Delving into the Quiet," being still and listening to the mindful voice inside of you through meditation to create a balance in your daily moments.
• Bring words and art together in self-portrait expression that is as layered as you are.

Take a fresh look inside today; become inspired, through Inner Excavation, to see more than the smiling reflection in the mirror.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Liz Lamoreux is an editor, poet, photographer, yoga teacher and mixed-media artist living in the Pacific Northwest. She is the organizer of the Be Present Retreats where she teaches alongside nationally known instructors. She has been writing on her blog, Be Present, Be Here, for five years and has quite a following.

Product Details

• Paperback: 144 pages
• Publisher: North Light Books; 1 edition (November 3, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1440303096
• ISBN-13: 978-1440303098
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 0.4 x 10 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #274,494 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

33 of 34 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Multi-media Self Exploration October 15, 2010

By Meri Arnett-Kremian

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

Finally! Today Liz Lamoreux's new book Inner Excavation arrived and I have been devouring it. I preordered in back in May and waited eagerly for its arrival. I was not disappointed.

The focus of the book is on self-exploration through vehicles like poetry, collage creation, examining and recording your world and its many personal meanings through photography, creation of collaborative projects with others who are also on self-discovery journeys.

The book is beautifully laid out. Many pages look like photo montages with multiple photographs artfully arranged. There are pages that look as if someone has handwritten intros to various sections on paper from a spiral bound book, contrasting nicely with more traditional layout arrangements and less fancy fonts on facing pages.

Liz's narrative is descriptive and insightful. She is a marvelous writer (something you'll already know if you follow her blog Be Present, Be Here). She also introduces us to many of her artist friends who have contributed to the book, each in different ways. The artist illuminations, as Liz calls them, are unified through a series of questions Liz asked each: Who are you? Who or what inspires you? How do you nurture yourself? and How did you find your creative voice? For people, especially women, trying to uncover what it is that makes them unique, these are important questions and it is both illustrative and inspiring to hear how women artists of various ages answer these questions for themselves.

Liz has exercises that focus on things like light and shadow, sensory tasks, clues in old photos, the landscape of home. She encourages even those who think they are not writers or poets to uncover the poet within.... She shows us the beauty of assemblage, teaches us to look for clues about ourselves in what repeatedly draws us. She mentions the current fascination with Polaroid photos even though Polaroid recently stopped making "instant" film. Liz encourages us to look closely at the world around us as if we are seeing newly, freshly. I think of this looking at the world up close and personal as an encounter with the everyday sacred. In my view of the world, there is no delineation between sacred and not-sacred --- and in seeing the beauty in the ordinary subjects of the photography in this book, you are reminded that beauty is indeed in the eye of the beholder.

Playing with Liz will help open your mind and your heart if you're ready for the journey.

Do I need to say it? This is a wonderful book to add to your collection if you yearn to know yourself better, to play with creative expression in a way that will make you feel capable and safe, if you love to peek into the thinking of ordinary creative women. There's no intimidation factor here: Liz will even convince those who swore off poetry after a bad high school experience that they have poetry in their souls. Read more ›

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A gift for myself December 4, 2010

By Lori Stone

Format:Paperback

In all the gift giving of the holidays, this book is the gift I chose to give myself. And I'm so very glad that I did. It combines the words and photos and art of several artists, so that you get a glimpse into several different worlds. And the artists are some of my favorites so I was delighted to peek into their world.

But the reason I am really glad that this is the book I chose to gift to myself is that more than pretty words and images, it actually makes me create! I'm not an artist, but after dipping into parts of it and reading the tips and ideas and suggestions, I've spent time actually putting some words together for poetry, taking photos that are starting to capture what I am feeling and I am adding painting and mixed-media to my journal.

If you're looking for inspiration on finding the beautiful in the everyday ordinary moments, here it is. Have fun with it!

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars claim your title as an artist in a brilliant and poetic 'ode to life' December 3, 2010

By persisting stars ~ Maddie ~

Format:Paperback

I cannot keep this book in the house in full view of my friends anymore.

It keeps disappearing and going home in their satchels with a promise
that it will be returned 'shortly'.

It is never returned.

Liz's book reawakened the artist in me fueling my innermost desire for self expression. I am a seasoned artist with no end to inspiration dancing through my life and yet, when I picked up this book and settled into it's wondrous pages I was ignited with a brand new wave of artistic fever.

My creative muse danced around the house thrilled with the array of stunning talent she has enlisted to nudge you into the artistic limelight ~ our eyes lit up with the breathtaking photo's and soulful outpouring of an ode to life.

This book reminds me so much of Sabrina Ward Harrison's books which shove you off the couch, offline and into a life marvelously and joyfully lived.

I CAN DO THIS!!! you will shout!!!
I HAVE SOMETHING TO SAY AND I WANT TO SAY IT NOW!!! you will sing

and this book, yes, will give you all the tools and magic to help you make art that is true to YOU.

This book is real, true, genuine and brimming with soul. Liz has a profoundly beautiful voice and her book is a gift to all who buy it ~ or sneak it home in satchels.

:)

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful & True December 7, 2010

By Jennifer

Format:Paperback

Lamoreux and the book's contributors have packed Inner Excavation with juicy goodness and a beautiful message: that we (our own true, messy, wonderful selves) are worth exploring through our creativity. I appreciate the mix of creative ideas and prompts in this book, and the way that even people who don't consider themselves poets, photographers, or artists are invited to try something new and play with various forms of creativity. And I especially love the way that Lamoreux's gentle, nurturing voice guides readers through the kind of soul work that this book invites us to explore. As a bonus, it is also visually stunning. What a lovely package.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Superb! December 19, 2010

By Bernadette M.

Format:Paperback

A superb insightful collaboration Liz Lamoreux has created! This multi-faceted book has brought me great pleasure and thoughtful introspection into my own inner self. Recently I walked throught my local bookstore and found her book prominently displayed in the the craft section. I would categorize this book as a self-improvement delight. I am planning on giving several to friends and family this holiday season. I applaud Ms. Lamoreux and her collaborators!