Product Description
Focusing on the lives and work of several prominent singersand songwriters from a wide range of musical genres, Inside the Musicexplores the influence spirituality has had on their lives andwork. Includes profiles of Jeff Buckley, Billy Bragg, Leonard Cohen,Dead Can Dance, Perry Farrell, Michael Franti, Allen Ginsberg, PhilipGlass, Al Green, Robyn Hitchcock, Ziggy Marley, Moby, Meredith Monk,Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Iggy Pop, Joan Osborne, PM Dawn, Vernon Reid,and the Reverend Run of Run DMC. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Really interesting stuff! Not new age, but full of insight.
This book is full of interviews with musicians and the author got them allto talk about thieir inner expereince as creative people. The cool thingis, it's not too soppy or mushy. There's a sense of humor and a sharpnessto the writing that makes it really readbale. I really recommend it toanyone inter4ested in music, spirituality, and the place where those twoareas mix.

Nancy Jimenez ... Read more

Product Description
Although the creative impulse surges in revolt against everyday reality, breaking through its confines, it makes pacts with that reality’s essential laws and returns to it to modulate its sense. In fact, it is through praxis that imagination and artistic inventiveness transmute the vital concerns of life, giving them human measure. But at the same time art’s inspiration imbues life with aesthetic sense, which lifts human experience to the spiritual. Within these two perspectives art launches messages of specifically human inner propulsions, strivings, ideals, nostalgia, yearnings prosaic and poetic, profane and sacral, practical and ideal, while standing at the fragile borderline of everydayness and imaginative adventure. Art’s creative perduring constructs are intentional marks of the aesthetic significance attributed to the flux of human life and reflect the human quest for repose. They mediate communication and participation in spirit and sustain the relative continuity of culture and history. ... Read more

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An artist's selection of quotations for the creative spirit. Ideas and drawings in a stimulating mix.
... Read more

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A book of tips, suggestions, and brief ideas to inspire and guide any creative activity. Written by an artist to share hard won lessons that might be applied in many contexts. Foreword, Introduction, 26 drawings. ... Read more

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As exciting to look at as it is to read, The Looks Book is guaranteed to be a must-have book for teens and young women. A fascinating exploration of the history, culture, science, and business of beauty, this is the first book to empower women to simply have fun with their looks. Throughout the book, real-life examples of a stunning range of beauty archetypes help young women to re-define their concepts of beauty, while emphasizing self-expression, self-invention, and a healthy irreverence toward traditional ideals. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Absolutely Wonderous
I really like this book. I read it when I was 12, and I just HAD to show it to my friends at school. They're more confident in their looks because of this book. They know now not to be a slave to the stereotype depiction of beauty (this one girl actually tried to pop her zits to get rid of them, even when she knew it was a bad idea!!)

I feel better about my looks now
I felt so much better about myself reading this book.It has girl's comments on their bodies and how they feel about them, and it shows how fashions change and how media images aren't real.There's a lot of stuff that helps you appreciate your body, plus a chapter on different looks you can try, to express yourself.Plus, the illustrations and chatty, fun writing style make it fun to read.

Finding your INNER look
This book covers just about ALL QUESTIONS! It has info about beauty and style as far as the egyptian and greek times! It shows how certain styles and body types have gone "in" and "out" of fashion. It also has info about different body parts. There's even letters and emails from girls who talk, comment and ask about the body part. The looks part of the book is excellent too! From Diva to Vamp, Bombshell to Femme Fatele, you will find a look that suits you! In fact, for me and many others, you will find you like a combanation of two or more styles! I hope you really like the book! I do!

Great for a teen girl you love!
I just bought this book for my almost-13-year-old niece.I spent the entire evening poring over the chapters myself!I hope it will help her maintain a positive self-image throughout the devastating teen years.The thing I liked best about it is that it explains how fashions and make-up styles follow cycles,and the kinds of things these industries do to create demand for their products.And talk about diversity!It celebrates the beauty of all body types and sizes, deals honestly with burgeoning sexuality and sexuality identity, and also emphasizes a very important point: things like wearing make-up, shaving your legs or following fashions are really a "choice" rather than an obligation for teen girls.You don't see information like this in most of the magazines aimed at girls in this age group, since they're part of the "machine" that creates and drives demand for cosmetics and fashions.It was nice to see a different viewpoint presented.Nice also to see the quotes included from teen girls who frequent the authors' website.Wish there had been something like this when I was a teenage girl! ... Read more

Product Description
Filled with elegant watercolors and inspirational prose, Art as a Way of Life offers reflections on art and creativity, empowering us to discover and nurture the creative spirit within. It is an encouraging book for people wanting to live, work, and love in the creative spirit.

A wide range of creative innovators, including Carl Rogers, Robert Henri, Tom Jay, Henry David Thoreau, Ansel Adams, and Vincent van Gogh, contribute poignant and moving thoughts, quotes, sayings, interviews, and poems on the beauty of love and art. Through these contemporary and past theorists, musicians, artists, writers, and poets, Art as a Way of Life explores what it is to be passionate, inspired, and blissful. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

Every person who wishes to strive toward their creative best should own a copy of this book.
Listening to that inner voice that tells us we are creative beings is sometimes a lonely and difficult chore. Rod's collection of stories, quotes, allegories, parables, and anecdotes, as well as his own musings, is a wonderful companion for the journey. As a photographic artist and workshop leader, I use it constantly in my work -both with my students and for myself.

Beauty and Inspiration
This book is a marvelous collection of inspirational writing and enchanting images that combine to create a treasure.It's one of those volumes I keep close at hand and pick up to enjoy a page or two, especially when creativity wanes...

Heron Dance Publications
I ordered Art as a Way of Life from Heron Dance (along with several other items as gifts) around the holidays. This book is spectacular and an inspiration for all who are creative or searching for their creativity! It is a pleasure to read and see. The layout is as superb as the quality of content. One item I ordered as a gift was slightly damaged. I called and they sent a replacement out same day with postage paid envelope for my return.....AND I got a real person (pleasant and helpful to boot) on the phone. I plan to order more from them. I highly recommend them for their product and what they stand for. Laura ~ Arlington VA

Art as a Way of Life
Some of us are working/living in high stress situations.When I return to the sanctuary of my home, reading here and there in "Art as A Way of Life" and loosing myself in the wonderful watercolor pictures by Rod MacIver is a wonderful way to unwind.

Jan Penney
California

A beautiful gift
"When this old world starts getting you down," open this book of beauty.Rod's exquisite watercolors take you to a place of quiet and contemplation, while Ann's well-chosen quotes and her own words of truth will lift you into your own possibilities. And...the format and presentation make this book stand out above others of its kind. I will give this as a gift to all my friends.But I will always keep one for myself. ... Read more

Product Description

With a wealth of papers in its pages, this book examines that fundamental of human philosophy, the relationship between human beings and time. Having the human subject – the creator – at its center, literature is essentially engaged in temporality whether that of the mind or of the world of life through the creative process of writing, stage directing, or the reader’s and viewer’s reception. This text examines, among others, the work of Proust and Kafka.

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Customer Reviews (3)

Musedom taken to new heights and depths
This presentation of Muses is the most revealing and provocative book on the subject. It can trigger an interest, which if pursued from the leads it offers, will take you to depth integration of ancientinsights into today's society and its experience of creativity and inspiration. Another affirmation for how artistic insight precedes scientific validation of evolving principles of interconnectedness that communicates to all.

My thoughts
This book is a great resource for anyone looking to learn the history of musedom.It delves into the past, tapping into names of those we have heard about and even read about but with a more in-depth description of how they moved through their life either being a muse or being the recipient of a muse.After combing my town for such a book, it is this one I ordered from Amazon that somewhat satisfied the thirst of knowledge I have for this topic, "Muses".

Informative and entertaining
MUSES is an incisive look at the role of muses in artists' lives, opening up with with the muses' origins in Greek mythology, and closing out with a mind-boggling examination of the "future of inspiration" in the 21st century. That future finds the mysterious nature of musedom being viewed through the lens of postmodern science; through -- among other things -- quantum physics and energy fields, and finding a rational explanation for the interconnectedness between mind and matter, muse and artist.

And between the book's mythology-based opening and quantum-view closing is a rich history of artist-muse relationships.

The book is cleverly conceived, pairing artists and muses by the nature of their relationships: archetypal muses, beloved muses, married muses, iconic muses, fated muses, male/mutual muses, etc., in each case exploring precisely how the muse influenced the artist she (or he) so enchanted. As MUSES makes clear, the nature of the muses' magic is wide ranging, manifesting itself uniquely with each artist. The author covers a remarkable array of artists and muses, some of them well known (such as Ted Hughes and Sylvia Plath; John and Yoko; W. B. Yeats and Georgie Yeats) and some less well known (Dante Gabriel Rossetti and Lizzie Siddal; Rainer Rilke and Lou Andreas-Salomé). Whether well known or not, their stories are invariably compelling, and the author's analysis consistently adds valuable insight. The author also explores the symbiotic nature of the artist-muse relationship, describing the (sometimes tragic) sacrifices endured, or mutual inspiration often received by the muses themselves.

The book -- by design -- is compact but, since not a word is wasted, it gives the reader plenty of background on the personalities involved and an understanding of their relationships and lasting effects on each other, with no fluff or redundancy. And for those wanting more (this book does a great job of whetting the appetite), the book includes an extensive bibliography.

As an artist, I found the book informative, inspiring and affirming, but the author's engaging writing style should make the book enjoyable for anyone who is interested in the mysteries of art and inspiration, or the lives and inner workings of acclaimed artists, poets and musicians who often live on the fringes of society. The vignettes are, in and of themselves, tightly constructed short stories, filled with passion, pathos, humor and tragedy.

All in all an excellent, concise book that's as entertaining and engaging as it is informative and eye-opening.

Incidentally, I had been looking for a book on Muses for some time; I stumbled upon MUSES in the book store of Washington DC's National Gallery of Art. It was, in that sense, recommended by a knowledgeable art book buyer, and it's not hard to understand why this book found its way onto the shelves of a book store of that caliber. ... Read more

Product Description
In an inspirational compendium of writings, a distinguished group of filmmakers, artists, poets, writers, painters, and musicians reflect on creative expression, its significance in human life, ways to harness its power, and its role in building a successful society. Original.Amazon.com Review
In this collection of essays by the world's most renownedcreative-types--Ingmar Bergman, MauriceSendak, Frank Zappa, and Maya Angelou--welearn time and again that the act of creation is a willingness toencounter the unknown. If we never risk losing control and wallow inthe murky depths of our beings, how will we ever meet our potential?Laurence Olivier talks about going naked. Federico Fellini romancesthe virtue of passion. Mary Shelleyspeaks frankly about the genesis of Frankenstein. This is chicken soupfor the soul of any creator. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

I Adored it! You Will Too!!!
This particular book is one of a series entitled The New Consciousness Reader edited/authored by reputable experts in the fields of healing, spiritual growth, personal development and psychology.

This particular book is an absolutely compelling compilation of both original and classic writings by an assemblage of Creators writing about Creating - Awakening and Cultivating the Imaginative Mind. Frank Barron is professor emeritus of psychology at the University of California, Santa Cruz and is known as a leading expert on the study of creativity. Dr. Montuori is associate professor at the California Institute of Integral Studies in San Francisco. Anthea Barron lives in Santa Cruz. Sections of this work include The Uncovered Heart, The Opened Mind, The Web of Imagination, The Creative Ecology, The Dedication to Mastery, and The Courage to Go Naked. Authors and authorized pieces include 39 individual readings from the likes of Laurence Olivier, Frank Zappa, Igor Stavinsky, da Vinci, Tony Kushner, Maurice Sendak, Michael Focault, Carl Jung, Rainer Maria Rilke, Henry Miller, Annie Dillard and William Butler Yeats --- to name only a few. Each section contains an important orienting introduction written by Dr. Alfonso.
I adored the splendid variety contained in this volume. Admittedly, some of the names of the authors whose pieces were shared here, I have never heard of them before. It is the diversity of the insights, stories and thoughts that truly made me come back for more each day, until I had devoured the entire volume. I grew by reading this book. I'm certain you will too.

In the introduction, Frank Barrone writes: "creativity is a quest for meaning. It is an attempt to penetrate the mystery of the self, and perhaps the even greater mystery of Being. The very origin of existence is open to creative exploration, and the science of this century has posed new questions, large and small - intriguing , challenging, important questions." (p.2). The manner in which we humans live out our creative potential is aptly portrayed in the content of this volume - necessarily inhabited by novelists, musicians, composers, poets, dancers, physicists, scientists, playwrights and the like.

Creativity is a gift to the human species that can be developed - even taught, as Barrone says: "Creativity is a specifically human resource. It is part of the general human potential, something we can cultivate in ourselves if we set out to. It is also something that can be nurtured in others who are close to us and perhaps in our care. Teachers can help foster creativity in students, parents in children, and children in parents! It can work both ways, and it can be an important part of the mutuality that helps make all of us stronger." (p.5).
Here are some other particularly poignant excerpts I truly appreciated:

"The power to create is potential in all of us, and that we should express it in small ways if great and grand ways are beyond our means." Frank Barrone- P. 12

"Without our creative dissidents, where would we be?" Frank Barrone - p. 13.

"The creator creates and is created by the creating." Pamela Travers - creator of Mary Poppins - p. 36.

"You're a craftsman - essentially your job is to be a vehicle for other people." Anna Halprin - dancer - p. 46

"When we think of the creative mind, we think of the generative mind, full of ideas and brilliant new insights. But the creative mind is both full and empty. It is able to create within itself a space for the new to arise. It is a mind that is constantly opening itself to the internal and external world." Alfonso Montuori P. 57

"The opened mind thrives on difference and remains open to the contradictory." Alfonso Montuori p. 57

"Moving between fields is the way to be creative. Keep your fingers in a lot of pies. I do because I'm curious. Kary Mullis - molecular biologist - p. 73.

"To settle upon what one knows and act upon it and stick to the decision that has been made - This sort of thing is very necessary for other purposes, but this is the very thing which must be thrown aside when one is trying to make a new creative step." J.G. Bennett - mystic and philosopher P. 77.

"for something to enter, a place must be made for it." J.G. Bennett - mystic and philosopher P. 79.

"Words are powerful beyond our knowledge, certainly. And they are beautiful. Words are intrinsically powerful. And there is magic in that. Words come from nothing into being. They are created in the imaginationand given life on the human voice. We do not know what we can do with words. But as long as there are those among us who try to find out, literature will be secure; literature will remain a thing worthy of our highest level of human being." - N. Scott Momaday - novelist and poet - pp. 160-161.

"What I want to see is the demise of fundamentalism in favour of pragmatism. By fundamentalism I mean any philosophy that thinks it has the final and unique answer, that believes there is one essential plan underlying the workings of the universe, and seeks to make sure everyone else gets persuaded to get in line with it. By pragmatism, I mean improvisation: the belief that there are many approaches, that whatever works in the light of our present knowledge is a good course of action, and that what is the best course of action for us, here and now, might not be for someone else, there or then." Brian Eno - music producer - in Why World Music? P. 167

"The creative process involves a tension between opposites, and nowhere is that tension more apparent than in the need to balance freedom and exploration with the disciplined fine-tuning of our craft. Creativity is a gift, some say, but not a gift that survives without practice." Alfonso Montuori - author - p. 171.

"This guest (`inspiration') does not always respond to the first invitation." Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky - composer - p. 181.

"Thus, what concerns us here is not imagination in itself, but rather creative imagination: the faculty that helps us to pass from the level of the of conception to the level of realization." Igor Stravinsky - composer - P. 191

"Whatever field of endeavour has fallen to our lot, we are called upon not to cogitate, but to perform." Igor Stravinsky - composer - P. 190.

"Creativity involves a degree of risk taking, if only because we have invested so much in our product that we do not want to see it flop. We have pinned our hopes on our creative ideas, and we want some degree of recognition and reward, whether social or financial. The moral is, get out there and do it! Take it off! In the realization of the dream is self-realization, in its impact is its proof, in our creations we complete ourselves." Alfonso Montuori - Author - p. 205 - Introduction to the section entitled "The Courage to Go Naked."

I truly adored all the diverse, nutritious insights in this book, only a small handful of which I have shared above.I recommend it.

Inspiration from the Most Creative Minds of Our Age
Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/RF0LME3EL7JOU Jurgen Wolff, author of "Creativity Now! reviews this collection of insights on creativity from some of the most imaginative people of our time, including Ingmar Bergman, Henry Miller, Maurice Sendak, and Brian Eno, among many others. Creativity Now: Get inspired, create ideas and make them happen now!

Very inspiring and descriptive
As a composer, I bought this specifically to figure out how to hunt down creativity and not wait for it to hit me.This book delves into the sources of creativity from many famous and successful people, and it's from the people themselves.It's a pretty easy read, and the subjects speak from such a personal origin that it seems intuitive.I'd highly recommend it if you're a writer, a musician, a film maker, an artist, anyone in the creative field.

A true treasury
This book is a fascinating read - the selection of writings is fabously diverse and offers a myriad of views on creativity.It is easy to read and can be picked up and put down at any time with its short chapters.It is indeed a true treasure

Serendipity
I picked up this book idly and became interested in it.The selections are good.The creative mind is both full and empty.Serendipity means coming on an unexpected treasure.Cathy Johnson explains that her father had an unshakable need to wander.

Richard Feynman reports that teaching is an interruption, but that the questions of the students are often a source of new research.When Feynman felt burnt out at Cornell someone threw a plate in the cafeteria.He saw it wobble so he started to figure out the motion of a rotating plate.It was effortless.It was easy.It was like uncorking a bottle.His mind started to flow.

Kary Mullis, molecular biologist, notes that important inventions almost always cross disciplines.Mullis discovered the PCR, Polymerase chain reaction.It is widely used by molecular biologists.What is necessary for creative activity may be quite destructive of other kinds of activity.Yeats thought that rhythm prolongs contemplation.Annie Dillard sees herself as an explorer and also a stalker.

Italo Calvino relates that in devising a story the first thing that comes to mind is an image.In the acutal writing of the story,the words, the verbal aspect start to become more important.Imagination is a repertory of what is potential.The imagination is a kind of electronic machine.Michel Foucault suggests that utopias afford consolation although they have no real locality.Those who have creative power find the strength of mind to reject what is not true.

Mabel Dodge Luhan describes an experience with peyote where she had a momentary glimpse of life given by an expansion of consciousness.Creativity lives and dies within an ecology.Maya Angelou believes that black American art is rooted in music.N. Scott Momaday feels that southwestern landscape, turning up frequently in his writing, is more spiritual.He does not see any validity in separating man from the landscape.The oral tradition of the American Indian is intrinsically poetic.The Indian has the advantage of a very rich spiritual experience.

The creative process involves a tension between opposites.All the factors of creativity can be increased through training.The discipline and routine of creativity do not have to be boring.Stravinsky writes that all creation presupposes a sort of appetite.He believed that we have a duty towards music, namely to invent it.The faculty of creating is never given to us by itself. ... Read more

Product Description
What made the Sopranos finale one of the most-talked-about events in television history?

Why is sudoku so addictive and the iPhone so darn irresistible?

What do Jackson Pollock and Lance Armstrong have in common with theoretical physicists and Buddhist monks?

Elegance.

In this thought-provoking exploration of why certain events, products, and people capture our attention and imaginations, Matthew E. May examines the elusive element behind so many innovative breakthroughs in fields ranging from physics and marketing to design and popular culture. Combining unusual simplicity and surprising power, elegance is characterized by four key elements—seduction, subtraction, symmetry, and sustainability. In a compelling, story-driven narrative that sheds light on the need for elegance in design, engineering, art, urban planning, sports, and work, May offers surprising evidence that what’s “not there” often trumps what is.

In the bestselling tradition of The Tipping Point, Made to Stick, and The Black Swan, In Pursuit of Elegance will change the way you think about the world. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (25)

This is the worst book ever.
This book is terrible. I only bought it because I was required to for school. It makes no sense.May tries to compare a bunch of things that do not relate to each other by using the word "elegance" out of context. Do not read this unless you have to.

A Must Have for Consumer Products Industry
I have not been able to put this book down. The stories bring to life the insights that make the methodologies so compeling. It will certainly help you "see the forest for the trees" so to speak. I am plan on making this book a permanenet placement in my library, and if you are in the consumer products industry, I suggest you do the same. There is no better way to break through the clutter than by applying the principles of elegance: seduction, subtraction, symmetry, and sustainability.

Getting more by saying less
I try discrimination cases to juries. May's insights support a key trial idea: juries decide on emotions, not facts. Give them a few key facts and they will extrapolate what they think occured;give them too many,they shut down.Our job:fight the helpful facts. Useful insight in much of our lives. Excellent discussion of how our mind's bias toward pattern recognition and to action(great for our survival 30,000 years ago), now impedes our ability to function effectively (ie to stop and think, not to plow on and just do). A worthwhile book, weighing in at an elegant 193 pages.

Elegant advice!
Matthew May has given us one of the best business and design books in my experience. He truly delivers an elegant book on what good design and concepts leave missing. His premise is intriguing and thought provoking. I highly recommend this book to anyone responsible for design and strategic thinking no matter whether the result of your effort is process or product. In my book Matthew May is in a top thinkers ranking along with Chip and Dan Heath.

Everyone is likely to take away something different from this book
I have an interest in urban design. The discussion of the Monderman intersection and why it works so well in handling traffic and preventing accidents is worth the price of the book all by itself. (This is a roundabout-style intersection paved with a textured surface, lacking a traffic light.) Since I read this book, I can hardly pass an intersection without thinking how much better it would work as a Monderman intersection, and how easy and cheap the conversion would be. Maybe you're not interested in traffic flow, but May puts in enough off-the-wall examples to get nearly anyone thinking. Recommended. ... Read more

Product Description
The classic introduction to Howard Gardner's path-breaking ideas on the development of creativity, with a new introduction by the author. ... Read more

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An informal introduction of Langer's theory of expressive form. Also explores what is created, what is expressed and what is experienced. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Finest Text on Art
Why is this book out of print? There is no better undergraduate text on the definition & meaning of Art than these lectures by Suzanne Langer. Complicated aesthetic theories are distilled and presented with fresh common sense. The reason for different forms of art and what makes them unique are ideas that stimulate hours of discussion and yield life-changing Eureka moments. Her earlier work, Feeling & Form, covers the same ground but Problems of Art is much more accessible to non-philosophers. ... Read more