Pencil Dancing : New Ways to Free Your Creative Spirit [ILLUSTRATED] (Paperback)

by Mari Messer (Author) "Strands of raffa hang in the doorway of the classroom where I teach writing and art..." (more)
Key Phrases: chaos layer, predatory vision, handmade life, Racehorse Mind, Annie Dillard, Ohio River (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
The back cover of Pencil Dancing asserts that "there is a creative genius within you." Chapter titles include "Going into Your Egg," "Wake Up and Notice the Fuzz on the Rose Petals," and "The Value of Being Weird." The book's author, Mari Messer, leads workshops on creativity, writing, and art, and she loves similes: she likes to think of creativity "as a seagoing vessel encrusted ... with barnacles"; she uses her writer's notebook like a net, "where I could catch a thought and preserve it like a butterfly under glass." She emphasizes the need both to break out of your shell and to build your own chrysalis. Her exercises include designing a coat of arms "to symbolize your vision" and molding in clay "an image of a person, animal or thing that represents your creative muse." She peppers her book with anecdotes from her life and those of her artist and writer friends, as well with quotations from the works of Betty Edwards, Alan Watts, and Ram Dass. She writes about creative visualization and taking "soul days." Pencil Dancing is clearly written to appeal to the spiritually inclined, though it does balance its New-Agey earnestness with a healthy dose of humor and some solid ideas on fostering creativity that will appeal to others as well. --Jane Steinberg

Product Description
Pencil Dancing offers readers a fresh take on developing creative confidence, overcoming blocks and taming their inner critics. They'll discover fun and effective ways to achieve satisfying creative expression and enrich their daily lives, approaching creativity from the point of view of a "dance" between conscious and unconscious, left and right brain, creator and critic, logic and creativity.

The book is divided into fifty short chapters, presented as if an encouraging teacher or coach is standing close at hand. Readers will find prompts, field trip activities, vivid imagery and other methods that allow them to get into a creative mode, and to conquer writer's block and other creative difficulties.

* This book is perfect for anyone who wants to be more creative!
* Contains concise instruction that's lighthearted and clearly organized
* In the tradition of the Artist's Way, Pencil Dancing encourages both creativity and personal growth

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 281 pages
• Publisher: Walking Stick Press; illustrated edition edition (May 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 158297005X
• ISBN-13: 978-1582970059
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 7 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #829,202 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

  Popular in this category: (What's this?)

  #75 in

  Books > Arts & Photography > Drawing > Pencil

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

27 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Move Your Ideas from Concept to Completion, January 3, 2002

By	FictionAddiction.NET - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

Are you a budding writer full of ideas and not real sure how to move them from your mind to paper? Or are you an experienced pro feeling creatively blocked?

Whether you're a writer, actor, painter, parent, even an athlete - "Pencil Dancing" is designed for anyone with a desire to live life on a more creative level.

This guide is broken up into fun, easy to read sections written to show you you're not alone in your creative frustration and the best way to unleash the creative you. Page after page shows you how to remove anxiety from the writing process, what you should look for in a critique group, how to tame your inner critic and so much more.

At the end of every chapter you'll find special exploration sections. These exercises contain projects, research, reflections and even mental push-ups to get those creative juices flowing freely.

You can read this book from cover to cover or you can skip around to tackle your trouble areas head-on. Sections include:

* Creativity 101
* Polishing Your Powers of Observation
* Creating with Your Whole Self
* Losing Your Logical Mind
* Freeing Your Creative Elves
* Befriending Your Beasts
* Creating from the Inside Out
* Dancing with Your Creative Spirit

If your creativity's smothering, hiding or driving around in circles within your mind, break through those road blocks. Your writing success depends on your creativity. Discover how to get on track and eliminate your creative boundaries.

Author Mari Messer teaches creativity, writing and art workshops. She studies the creative process and uses real-life situations to transform your creative spirit into a healthy, productive muse. "Pencil Dancing" covers every aspect of inspiration and provides the motivation and tools you need to take your creativity to a whole new level.

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Whimsical exercises for creativity, August 19, 2002

By	Joanna Daneman (Middletown, DE USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 10 REVIEWER)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)

I only give this three stars because it is too much like other books on exercising your creativity that I've read in the past. But, if you don't own any other books on this subject, you might find this is just the ticket for expanding your abilities.

Here's an example of the exercises in the book: "Think like an alien." Here, you are asked to examine flowers, trees, everything on Earth as if you dropped in from a flying saucer. A good idea. How would you describe a pansy to someone who'd never seen one? How would you draw it?

I prefer other volumes I already own (Carbonetti's "Making Pearls" and The Artist's Way, in particular) to Pencil Dancing. But, if you want a somewhat whimsical set of exercises and musing on creativity, this book may just do it for you. It didn't do it for me, but, because the creative process is so different for each individual, you may be entranced. How to judge? If you own other such books and like them a lot, this may not be a good choice. If you like fantasy and directed imagery, and some of the other creativity books seem a bit dull, you will probably like "Pencil Dancing."

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Add this one to your personal collection, February 21, 2004

By	Lacey Savage (Ottawa, Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Pencil Dancing: New Ways to Free Your Creative Spirit (Hardcover)

I've never considered myself a particularly creative person. In fact, I'd put off my dream of writing a novel for so long partly because I kept going back to one detrimental thought: "What if I can't come up with any ideas?" Since I started writing, however, I found that ideas are endless - and they're everywhere. Yet developing those ideas, looking at them in new ways, still proves difficult.

That's why a book like PENCIL DANCING is so remarkable. It helps the reader discover new ways to look at the world. One of the most enjoyable aspects of the book is directly related to the fact that Mari Messer doesn't just focus on one type of art - whether you're a writer, a sculptor, a painter, a dancer, or even a parent or a businessperson - you'll find ways to reach deep inside yourself and discover a creativity you never knew you had.

Written in a beautifully poetic style, with a lot of allusions to our natural surroundings (many nature writers are quoted throughout, such as Thoreau, and Annie Dillard), this book has a calming new-age feel to it. Far from being off-putting, this particular style oozes the kind of creative relaxation the reader's aiming for, and it allows the author's ideas and teachings to shine through.

Divided into thirty-eight short chapters, PENCIL DANCING can be read cover to cover, or savored a chapter at a time. You'll also find tons of exercises, project ideas, and themes for reflection. This book truly has something for everyone, though be warned, not all chapters will apply to your personal needs at the time of reading. This is one book that should find a permanent home on your shelf, to be reached for and browsed through on a regular basis, as your needs and your creative style change.