The Craft of Creativity


Book Description

Creativity has long been thought of as a personal trait, a gift bestowed on some and unachievable by others. While we laud the products of creativity, the stories behind them are often abridged to the elusive "aha!" moment, the result of a momentary stroke of genius. In The Craft of Creativity Matthew A. Cronin and Jeffrey Loewenstein present a new way to understand how we innovate. They emphasize the importance of the journey and reveal the limitations of focusing on outcomes. Drawing on a wide range of scholarship, their own research, and interviews with professionals and learners who employ creativity in the arts, engineering, business, and more, Cronin and Loewenstein argue that creativity is a cognitive process that hinges on changing one's perspective. It's a skill that anyone can hone, and one that benefits from thinking with others and over time. Breaking new ground in the discussion about how we innovate, this book provides strategies that everyone can use to be more creative.




A Year of Creativity


Book Description

Do something creative every day! In A Year of Creativity, learn how to throw the perfect creative party with your friends—with organizing tips, 25 project ideas, and even recipes for snacks. A "craft date" is a fun get-together with a handful of creative friends in which you surprise each other with craft and DIY projects using cool materials, inspire each other, and make beautiful things together. At each date, a group of participants share a self-made project to be re-created by the other attendees. Materials are individualized for each participant and given as a unique personal gift along with the instructions for the project. A craft date is different than a workshop since you get to choose the lovely people that you invite, and as the organizer, you get to participate in all the projects. Invitees can put their own spin on the project by using their favorite colors, materials, or techniques. This way you end up with a range of different interpretations and results, leading to new inspiration and ideas. A Year of Creativity is a book for everyone with a basic knowledge of crocheting, knitting, and sewing. It does not teach you how to crochet or explain how a sewing machine works. There are plenty of other books for that. What it does do is inspire crafting enthusiasts to make something together, learn from each other, and have fun doing it. You'll find within: An introduction to craft dates and how they work Tips on planning your craft date events Plenty of project ideas (short, long, and cooperative) Plus recipes for party dishes that keep the creative juices flowing You will share ideas, discover new inspiration, and find new friends while creating uniquely beautiful aprons, knit garlands, infinity scarves, haberdashery bags, cards, pencil cases, and more. Have you had a great craft date or are you working on a neat project and want to show it off? There’s a place for this in the craft dates community. On Instagram, for example, you can tag your photos with, or search for the hashtag #craftdates. You can have a look at each other’s work, drum up inspiration for your own dates, invite your Insta-friends, or organize a "blind date" with creative people from your town or city that you don’t know yet. A whole world will open up. A very creative world is waiting for you in A Year of Creativity.




Geographies of Making, Craft and Creativity


Book Description

This book brings together cutting-edge research from leading international scholars to explore the geographies of making and craft. It traces the geographies of making practices from the body, to the workshop and studio, to the wider socio-cultural, economic, political, institutional and historical contexts. In doing so it considers how these geographies of making are in and of themselves part of the making of geographies. As such, contributions examine how making bodies and their intersections with matter come to shape subjects, create communities, evolve knowledge and make worlds. This book offers a forum to consider future directions for the field of geographies of making, craft and creativity. It will be of great interest to creative and cultural geographers, as well as those studying the arts, culture and sociology.




Conscious Creativity


Book Description

""Crammed with practical ideas, inspirational images & creative exercises, Conscious Creativity leads the reader through the process of establishing what kind of creative you are..." - Mslexia "The purpose of this book is to enable you to look at things in an alternative and more substantial way, so that you arrive at composition through genuine interest." - Juno magazine “Philippa Stanton is passionate about people connecting to their innate creativity and has distilled these incredible techniques and ideas on how we can tap into that. Philippa is a massively successful Instagramer at @5ftinf and yet she is only too aware how these little two dimensional squares can limit our experiences and restrict our creativity, so it’s not without a little irony that she’s written a book to encourage people to step away from their screens and connect more with the 3D world. It’s a fascinating subject and I wholeheartedly recommend the book for anyone who’s working in the creative industry or is curious about the world around them." - Sophie Robinson (DIY SOS, the Great British Interior Design Challenge, This Morning) How often do you notice the texture of a painted wall or the scent of a friend’s house and, importantly, how they make you feel? Connect your observations and your emotions and transform your creative practice with this essential toolbox packed full of exercises, tips, stunning images and personal experiences from dynamic artist Philippa Stanton. There is creativity in all of us, but it can easily be buried beneath our everyday concerns, or need a spark to bring it back to life. Whether you’ve lost your mojo or just need some fresh ideas, artist and photographer Philippa Stanton’s lively guide will stimulate your imagination and reinvigorate your creative life. Conscious Creativity will help you fully appreciate what is around you, opening all your senses to the beauty you may not notice every day, and showing you how to capture it. Simple, engaging exercises that encourage observation and experimentation will give you an insight into your own aesthetics as you take a conscious step to note the colours, shapes, shadows, sounds and textures that fill your world and how they make you feel. Bursting with practical ideas and inspirational images, Conscious Creativity shows you how to unlock your potential, learn to use your natural curiosity and take a leap into the most creative time of your life.




Creativity in Education


Book Description

A rounded, comprehensive, guide to issues of practice, pedagogy and policy concerned with creative education.




Crafting Calm


Book Description

As our world has become increasingly dependent on technology, and our Western societies have become woefully “Crackberried”— to use the title of a recent documentary on the emotional and social pitfalls of our too-wired ways—an intriguing phenomenon is occurring: There is an increasing amount of interest in returning to some of the simpler arts that were neglected or left behind with the onslaught of technology. Artisans and everyday crafters are finding a renewed satisfaction in making something with their own hands; some are even communicating about the inherent physical- and mental-health benefits found in handwork—and, even more than that, they are framing their handwork as meditation or spiritual practice. In today’s sophisticated and pluralistic society, people are more aware than ever that spiritual practice can be defined more expansively—and the popularity of books focusing on alternative spiritual practices demonstrate that readers are hungry for new (or ancient) ways of enhancing their inner lives. In Crafting Calm the author will explore these new forms of creative spiritual practice and the benefits they provide. The format of With Shannon's book will itself be creative, a rich “potpourri approach” that weaves together interviews, historical facts, projects for readers to do themselves, quotations, and suggested resources. Crafting Calm will serve as an inspirational resource guide to a broad assortment of spiritual practices gathered from the global arts-and-crafts communities, as well as from people who don’t consider themselves artists but who have adopted creatively expressive forms of spiritual practice. While there have been a few books published focusing on a particular form of creative spiritual practice (Skylight Paths, for example, has published books on beading as a spiritual practice; painting as a spiritual practice; and using clay as a spiritual practice), no one has yet explored the breadth of possibilities for creative spiritual practices contained in Crafting Calm.




Creativity


Book Description

In the vein of The Creative Habit and The Artist’s Way, a manifesto on the creative process from a master of the impossible. Since well before his epic (and illegal) 1974 walk between the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center, Philippe Petit had become an artist who answered first to the demands of his craft—and not just on the high wire, but also as a magician, street juggler, visual artist, builder, and writer. He was a rebel and an autodidact, cultivating the attitudes, resources, and techniques to tackle even seemingly impossible feats. His outlaw sensibility spawned a unique approach to the creative process—an approach he shares, with characteristic enthusiasm, irreverence, and originality, in Creativity: The Perfect Crime. With the reader as his accomplice, Petit reveals fresh and unconventional ways of going about the artistic endeavor, from generating and shaping ideas to practicing, problem-solving, and ultimately pulling off the “coup” itself—executing a finished work. His strategies and insights will resonate with performers of every stripe (actors, musicians, dancers), practitioners of the non-performing arts (writers, artists), professionals in search of new ways of meeting challenges, and individuals simply engaged in the art of living creatively.




30 Days of Creativity


Book Description

The creator of the worldwide bestselling coloring books is back with a new book to unlock that inner creative lurking in us all, a guide that encourages comfort, pushes us to experiment, and above all, empowers us to discover joy in our own lives In 30 Days of Creativity, colorist Johanna Basford takes you on a journey of imaginative prompts and inspiring ideas that will kick-start your creativity. A mix of whimsical doodle pages, expert artistic advice, and simple step-by-step drawing guides, the book celebrates the things that bring us comfort and joy, from scrumptious ice cream cones to flourishing potted plants. And of course, there's plenty of pages to color when you find yourself in flow and want to remain in the creative bubble a little longer. For those of us who struggle to make time for self-care, the prompt to pick up your book each day will soon become a creative habit that allows a little calm into your life.




From Chaos to Creativity


Book Description

Art and writing can be the most fulfilling part of our lives. But it's often difficult to make space for it in our day-to-day existence, especially if we're not at the point yet where creating it is our job. Sometimes we have so many ideas it’s difficult to keep them all organized, much less maintaining a creative schedule or dedicated workspace. With all the clutter overwhelming your scattered brain (not to mention your desk), it's all too easy to fall into procrastination and disarray. From Chaos to Creativity is a series of glowing beacon. Jessie L. Kwak has written a Getting Things Done for artists and writers, drawing on her experience as a professional copywriter with a novel-writing habit, and from interviews with other authors, artists, musicians, and designers, to teach you how to focus on the good ideas, manage your project, make time in your life, and execute your passions to completion. Make great art by channeling your chaotic creative force into productive power and let the world see what you're capable of!




Destination Creativity


Book Description

Experience art retreats without leaving your home! There's a community of passionate, creative souls looking to connect, and the art retreat is where is happens. In Destination Creativity, Ricë Freeman-Zachery brings the life-altering journey of the art retreat from venues all across the country straight into your hands and the comfort of your favorite chair. Maybe you've heard about the many different places you can go to take art workshops from a variety of talented artistic instructors, but you haven't been sure which retreat experience is right for you. Ricë has done your homework! From Port Townsend, Washington's Artfest to Hampton, Virginia's Art & Soul, from rural Wisconsin to the strip of Las Vegas, from beads to quilts to painting with your hands, she has the inside scoop for you in Destination Creativity and a first-hand account of nine inspiring art retreats. Take five workshops right alongside Ricë with step-by-step instruction and a glimpse into the actual classroom experience. Hear from a variety of attendees—creative types just like you—what it is that drew them to attend their chosen event and be inspired by their life-changing stories. See what the retreats actually look like with plenty of atmospheric photos taken by Ricë's favorite sidekick, Earl Zachery. Discover ideas for hosting creative get-togethers in your own hometown including naming your retreat, picking a venue and planning meals. Destination Creativity is your chance to see what all of the buzz is about. Pull up a chair and take the journey.