Living the Creative Life by Rice Freeman-Zachery

Living the Creative Life by Rice Freeman-Zachery

Living the Creative Life, Ideas and Inspiration from Working Artists is an image packed paperback that’s definately worth a read.  It’s also beautiful (and sweet) enough to make a great gift for your favorite artist.

Long before I began writing about creativity, I was researching it.  Not because I wanted more creativity.  Mostly, because I have so many ideas, I could spend a life time lost in them.   This book is kind of like that.  There are numerous images, thoughts and ideas from various artists, there is a little something for everyone.

Some of my favorites artwork in the book included:  Pg. 24, a colorful image of a quilted diary by Susan Shie.  Shie is featured again on page 105. The puppets by Scott Radke on page 85, 111 and 120 are surreal and sublime.  The first puppet he made was to woo his wife.  How romantic is that?

My favorite suggestion from Rice:  “Today, have as many sensory experiences as you can.  Divide a piece of paper or a page in your journal into six columns:  Tasted, Touched, Heard, Saw, Smelled, Did.  Then, for one day, list the things you experience.” It’s amazing all that we experience in one day!

The book is full of ideas, tidbits from artists, and suggestions of things to try.  I think of this type of book as bathtub reading — you can pick it up, plop it open at any page and read as much, or as little, as you like.  It does not have to be read from cover to cover to be useful and inspiring.

I’d rate this book a 4 out of 5 with the only suggestion that it could be longer.  At 140 small pages, it leaves you wanting for more, but that’s a good thing.

I’m not an Amazon affiliate, but here’s a link just in case you’d like more info.