the new artisans

Inside The New Artisans by Olivier Dupon.

A really beautiful book showcasing the work of 75 artisans from across a number of different countries. I really like the way the author thinks it's time to reclaim the word 'artisan' and put it up in lights. Too true. There are very good reasons for having birthdays and this book is one of them (even though it's a tad early). Even better when one gets to specifically point out the gift.

I can't imagine this as an e-book, by the way. It just wouldn't do it justice. I think Louise Adler (from University of Melbourne Press) is right when she says that some books will always remain available in hard copy. I think this is one.

creative mojo[ness]

I found this great TED talk today with painter Kimberly Brooks talking about an experiment she did to uncover her creative process. She talks about it boiling down to 8 stages:

1. vision
2. hope
3. diving in
4. excitement | 5. doubt | 6. clarity
7. obsession
8. resolution

later she added 9. exhibitionism
and a pre-stage: silence.

For her daydreaming is a critical part of how she gets to the 'vision' and 'hope' stages. Many artists talk about this dreamy first step in their creative process where to an outsider, it looks like nothing is going on. The trick is to know how to work through the daydreaming so that something eventually emerges and you start to 'dive in'.

Kimberly also talks about the 'bricklayer' approach to creativity - that is you need to make a start and just keep working, "discipline and faith" being key to this. Kind of similar to Elizabeth Gilbert's idea of being the mule for creativity where you "show up" and "do your job". Or the idea of persistence as I've mentioned before.

You can read a little more about Kimberly's ideas on her stages of the creative process here. Or watch the talk on TED.

Is this how your creative process works for you? Are these your steps? Or are there other aspects that help you kick your creative mojo along?