Some books are like pavlova and whipped cream

[Oh_hunnihunni]

Which is a good thing. A good well made pav is a thing of beauty and very easy to eat. But not every day.

These books are so useful, for times when the world is just too hard to cope with. Times when we need to go along for the ride, but not be required to think too much, or be challenged to use our own imagination. I love a good hard puzzle to chew over, so my tastes run to science fiction of the British kind, or huge literary journeys that require total submersion just to keep up with the world created within the pages. But in between those deep dives there is nothing better than a fast Norah Roberts romance or a good guys bad guys chase from John Sandford.

But on my bedside table at the moment I am in Edinburgh, my Father's city, in Leith where he grew up, walking alongside Inspector Rebus. Who is aging far too fast...

[Praktica]

How about that - my dad was from Ayrshire, and went to secondary school in Glasgow.

[Lilith7]

I'm struggling a bit with The hero's journey, Joseph Campbell. Have meant to read his books for years, so when I saw this at the library, I grabbed it. The problem is that on the same visit I also got Women & power, Mary Beard which I've just finished reading. So now I'm reading the book about the myths & wondering where the hell all the women are. Apart from Medusa, obviously.

I'm slightly tempted to give up; I have an Ursula K le Guin short stories waiting but think I'll persevere a bit longer.

[Oh_hunnihunni]

I was introduced to Campbell when I was doing my first stages at TLC, and went from him to Shaun McNiff, who was hugely influential on my practice. I challenge any artist to read one of his books and not be changed forever.

[Oh_hunnihunni]

How about that - my dad was from Ayrshire, and went to secondary school in Glasgow.

Ahhhh, my Dad had a name for Glasgae weegies...

[Olive]

My reading equivalent of Pavlova and whipped cream is the Rebus series, as an antidote, as an easy read, is almost anything by Alexander McCall Smith.  The 44 Scotland St series is my favourite.

[Lilith7]

Finished the Campbell book; it did get better & he said that having taught at Sarah Lawrence for several years had allowed the women students to educate him. As it turned out, there wasn't a lot of book once past the two lengthy introductions so will keep an eye out for more next library visit.

Started the Ursula K Le Guin short stories, brilliant as always.

[Outsider]

I'm struggling a bit with The hero's journey, Joseph Campbell. Have meant  to read his books for years, so when I saw this at the library, I grabbed it. The problem is that on the same visit I also got Women & power, Mary Beard which I've just finished reading. So now I'm reading the book about the myths & wondering where the hell all the women are. Apart from Medusa, obviously.

I'm slightly tempted to give up; I have an Ursula K le Guin short stories waiting but think I'll persevere a bit longer.

I first heard about Joseph Campbell when I happened to catch the 6 part TV series The Power of Myth with Bill Moyers talking to him.
It made a big difference to my understanding of religion and the spiritual side of life. I still have my recordings of that series, which I've watched a few times, and also have the book.
But I agree that he's not an easy read - I bought a few more of his academic books but struggle with them.

Have you watched the Power of Myth series? It's probably on YouTube.

[Oh_hunnihunni]

It reinforced my impression that we are creatures who enjoy rituals as very important parts of our lives.

[Lilith7]

I'm struggling a bit with The hero's journey, Joseph Campbell. Have meant  to read his books for years, so when I saw this at the library, I grabbed it. The problem is that on the same visit I also got Women & power, Mary Beard which I've just finished reading. So now I'm reading the book about the myths & wondering where the hell all the women are. Apart from Medusa, obviously.

I'm slightly tempted to give up; I have an Ursula K le Guin short stories waiting but think I'll persevere a bit longer.

I first heard about Joseph Campbell when I happened to catch the 6 part TV series The Power of Myth with Bill Moyers talking to him.
It made a big difference to my understanding of religion and the spiritual side of life. I still have my recordings of that series, which I've watched a few times, and also have the book.
But I agree that he's not an easy read - I bought a few more of his academic books but struggle with them.

Have you watched the Power of Myth series? It's probably on YouTube.

Not that I recall, but then there's been so much information poured into my brain that some old files seem to be far harder to reach these days - I know I recall seeing/hearing about him somewhere & TLC was influenced by his ideas - ' follow your bliss', so I got a bit of that when i did a course with them approximately a century ago; or perhaps it was only last century, who knows!

[sumstyle]

In Christchurch there is only one Shaun McNiff book available in the library, and it's about dementia + art.

A number of his books are on Amazon as e-books = which one would you recommend OHH?

I'm a good stone carver, and enjoy chalk pastels, but while I have plenty of ideas, since my accident I struggle to start a carving project.

[Oh_hunnihunni]

Any of them. Truly.

McNiff started off as a young man working in a mental asylum and went on to discover the power of art to heal, to teach, to provide a reason to live. His books are powerful stories. Powerful tools - for me they were life changing. I think his Trust the Process would be worth dipping into for you.

Another one I loved was by Nick Bantock - his The Artful Dodger. Again, the story of how his artist life developed, the accidents, the opportunities.

One of the most important lessons I learned in rebuilding my practice was just to start. We can let all kinds of stuff get in the way, but if we just start and let the process take over, without us putting aims or expectations in the way, the process of making something/anything is in itself the guide, the healer, the teacher. Once you start, and regain some of the pleasure of it, it becomes easier to rebuild the discipline of making room in your life for it. Do it just for the sake of doing it, and make no judgements. No inner critic allowed. Just play. For fun. For the joy of it. And any art making is good artmaking. The more you do, the better you get - just like with your stone working.

This guy is good too, though a bit denser to read - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mihaly_Csikszentmihalyi
He is the 'flow' man, and he has researched the process in similar ways to McNiff, and Campbell, and Bantock, And other artist therapists.

Thing is, once you start learning about art therapy, and engaging with the process, you will be changed. Mostly for the better - but change can be an 'interesting' experience. You might end up a bit of a zealot, like me, lol. We all need a bit of art therapy. It is good for our souls.

[sumstyle]

It is very cathartic, smacking at stone with a chisel and mallet! thanks for the recommendation - I will be able to read it off my kindle.

[Oh_hunnihunni]

So is making a book.

One day we must share pics of our genius creations!

[sumstyle]

I used to keep a record in Flickr - look for photos tagged "sumstyle"

[Oh_hunnihunni]

I really like your work! Especially the stone pieces. I'd quite happily place some of those in my precious gardens!

[sumstyle]

Thanks! Before the earthquakes, I had a very specific Saturday morning walk in the centre of town, which had a high number of homes with garden art to see. It was a refill of my tank, being able to see the quirky and whimsical in other people's gardens. It was close to the Avon river, so a good part of those streets were damaged badly, and the arty people moved away. John Monto has a fabulous garden in a suburb close by, and I stare greedily at the art he has, and their lovely gardens - it really lifts my spirit. My dog just stares at their chickens...so on that corner of the fence we don't linger...