Customer Reviews

Supplies: A Pilot's Manual to Creative Flight

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4 star:		(1)
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1 star:		(2)

 

 

This book is required reading for anyone who has used Julia's former books to actually create works of art! In this manual for creative flight she describes all the monsters that leap up in your face as you prepare to fly and the ones that try to wreck your creative projects. She speaks in a no nonsense, humor-filled tone--She cuts to the bone about those devils who tempt us to flirt with them instead of concentrating on our creative careers. Not only does she break them down into horrifying, simple catagories, but she teaches us how we can wave a magic wand and dispell the curse of these people. This book is a true gem for any creative artist. Buy it immediately.

Julia Cameron's books are the only companions that keep me from feeling stuck and isolated in a writer's life. "The Artist's Way" and "The Sound of Paper" are fixtures on my bedside table because she's truthful, sensible, and uplifting. ...And that's why I'm disappointed in this book. It falls very short of the mark.

True, in its pages you will recognize all those people who hem you in or hold you up. But you will perhaps also recognize what I did: deep bitterness. I'm 3/4 through the book and have been almost stunned at all the examples of, asides about, and ungloved swipes at movie industry people. Other blocking personalities are treated with a bit of remove and wry humor. But when JC launches on the movie-industry-specific examples, her venom and bitterness seep through. That flaw discredits whatever [thin] usefulness I might previously have found. I hate to say this, but I'm glad I bought it used rather than new.

Cameron's latest delight is the latest in blunt and witty guideposts for a creative thriving life. When we live to create it is our muse whose our own best friend. Protect it and nurture it - how? Enter Supplies from Cameron. A concoction of advice, strategies, and common toolkits to keep our artistic souls pure and our muse shielded from the various Crazymakers out there. Must have!

The excerpt on Amazon was interesting, so I bought this book. I am sorry thatI did. I started to be worried when I read in the Introduction by Cameron that "Each one of my books is carefully aimed to reach a certain target and take a certain trajectory. Having said that, welcome to Supplies - which is a deadly serious, humorous book aimed squarely at those embattled, and nearly embittered, survivors of the creative trenches." The back cover states that the book "shows readers how to cope with the nitty-gritty of being a successful artist," but at the same time it states that "this book is a must-have for any aspiring or working artist." As an "aspiring" artist, I found very little in the book helpful. It is cleverly written, but the thinly-disguised bitterness and sarcasm Cameron expresses in her writing is not "humorous" as she self-describes the book in her Introduction - humor lacks the nastiness, venom, and negativity that clearly comes through. Her writing exercises might be helpful, but they are so in opposition to the rest of the book as to make me wonder if Cameron is bipolar. Very early on in the book, I wondered what the point of it was. So much of it seems "insider" stuff. Underneath it all, it seems to just be an excuse for Cameron to whine about her bad experiences in becoming rich and famous. This book is just too personal - I got the feelings that she would have loved to name names - and self-indulgent. I was really put off by her attitude. Okay, so it's a jungle out there - we all know that already. Cameron seems to act as if she's the only one who knows that. I don't think it was worth writing a book on. By the way, I can't figure out why this book is called Supplies, and I STILL don't know after having forced myself to finish it because I paid for it!

This is an incredible read, that if you do the exercises, will really assist in clearing your creative energy, unblocks inspirational insights, and it is very funny! Highly Highly recommend this book to everyone willing to do the work!

Whoa, Julia!!! Was this whipped off in one of your manic states during your celebrated breakdown chronicled in Floor Sample?

This book reads like the frenzied paranoid ramblings of someone trapped in a corner. In fact, it reads more like fiction than self-help.

Having enjoyed following Julia from her breakout success of Artists Way, being witness to her breakdown is very disheartening, and I'm ashamed of Jeremy Tarcher for exploiting her by publishing this private very personal rant.

Fans of Julia Cameron's books on creativity may initially be shocked by Supplies: A Troubleshooting Guide For Creative Difficulties. Previous works by Cameron including The Artist's Way, The Right to Write, and The Sound of Paper are positive, inspirational, and filled with practical application. Supplies is equally as valuable to any collection of books on creativity. However, it explores the darker side of creative awakening, and it does so with sarcasm, humor, and real-life practical application as to how to blast away the demons that accompany success. Supplies combines humor with inspiration, and this side of Julia Cameron makes for a fun journey.

In The Artist's Way, Julia Cameron provides a 12-week course that brings about creative awakening through spirituality. With such a major life transformation comes synchronicity and success as the universe welcomes its newest creative mind and provides opportunities for it to grow further. Along the way, as success is achieved, there are those who would do everything in their power to impede future achievement. These are the lost souls Cameron explores in Supplies.

From the jealous "Piggybackers" who latch onto the success of others to the fearful "Wet-Blanket Matadors" who attempt to cause confusion and doubt in the minds of those awakening to their creativity, Cameron provides journal exercises that explain exactly how to identify and dismantle each type of creative demon. Comparing the creative journey to a flight, Cameron explains that creative success will bring with it an array of personalities who feel threatened by those achieving their potential and purpose. "Bad Fairies" will be there to ask, "Who do you think you are?" And "The Black Gypsy" will appear to try to convince you that you're heading in the wrong direction.

Through all of the humor and sarcasm remain the fundamentals of Cameron's teachings and inspiration: God is the Great Creator, and if we are created in his image, then we are also meant to create. Her approach is spiritual rather than scientific, and so you should expect a lot of discussion of God's involvement in our creativity in Supplies. As is the case in her other books, Cameron recommends as medicine three pages of hand-written journal entries every morning, a weekly one-hour creatively inspirational solo event, and a 20-minute walk. These core tools in Cameron's arsenal of values are fundamental to her teachings, and it would not be a Cameron book without them.

Supplies is a small but powerful book, a must-have reality check that explores the negative aspects of creative success. It should be used in preparation, as a guidebook for how to deal with the difficulties that others will bring into our lives as we grow closer to finding meaning and purpose.

Julia Cameron has provided much-needed advice for all of us with creative muscles that beg for exercise. Her ideas and mini-quizzes abound with down-to-earth encouragement and prompt insight into the realities of following a dream. As good as any of her other books on living the creative life.

A great book from Julia's series of guides for the writer. Short, but powerful, entries make it great for reading while commuting, or for taking away for the weekend.