Make Your Art No Matter What: Moving Beyond Creative Hurdles

Make Your Art No Matter What by Beth Pickens Moving Beyond Creative Hurdles With personal anecdotes, examples and stories taken from people she has consulted with, information she has gleaned from life, and issues she believes are important to artists this book provides case studies, suggestions, activities, meditations, list making, work to be done and more as it identifies twelve areas that might cause difficulty and how to overcome issues that might arise. The Twelve areas covered: * Time * Work * Asking * Money * Fear * Grief * Other People * Education * Thinking and Feeling * Isolation * Marketing * Death + God - additional reading suggestions a As an amateur artist, I have gotten away from the practice of creating and thought this book might assist me in returning to art, but it did not provide that stimulus or ideas that I was hoping for. Instead, it is more of a friendly consultant-like exploration of the topics listed above, the author’s thoughts and suggestions and beliefs on each topic, and a bit like a manual and self-help for artists with the above specific issues to address. If you do have such issues then this book might help, but it is not the book that I need right now or the one I was hoping it would be. Thank you to NetGalley and Chronicle Books for the ARC – This is my honest review. 2-3 Stars

This is a practical and compassionate guide for artists who are learning to navigate the particular challenges of an artist's life. It might appeal to new artists or those who've reached a stumbling block. For established artists, it might be a little annoying that the author seems to be giving us "permission" to be artists, as if we require external affirmation. As if we aren't already doing our jobs and doing them well. So, whether you find this book useful might depend on where you are in your career. Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.