A multifaceted and heartfelt exploration of creative life.
MacIver, a working artist and the founder of the Vermont-based Heron Dance Art Studio, offers an illustrated guide to applying personal insight to artistic pursuits.
The author organizes his book around the idea that “creating art is wonderful, but not nearly as wonderful as creating a life of beauty.” It’s a self-help work that explores how such notions of creativity relate to the examination of one’s own life. Amid vivid watercolor images by the author on every page—usually depicting aspects of nature, such as a forest or a flock of birds in flight—MacIver dispenses ideas in small doses. Advice includes taking the time necessary to construct a thoughtful work, and a recommendation to keep a journal, in which one should “talk to your Muse as if it is a person.” Perseverance is a key element: “One distinguishing characteristic of great artists is their willingness to experiment and fail.” Other pages are devoted to illustrations alone, such as one awash with hues of blue and purple inspired by the author’s time on the north shore of Lake Superior. It’s clear from the get-go that MacIver has put a great deal of passion, research, and effort into the work. The material never feels half-hearted, whether it’s selected anecdotes about creative artists such as Bob Dylan and Billie Holiday, questions such as “What do you want to get out of this strange, precious gift of life?,” or an image of a solitary white owl. Quotations, such as one from poet Tess Gallagher (“You can’t go deep until you slow down”) also support the text. Several of the book’s insights have great potency, as in observations on the importance of allowing a creative vision to evolve. On the other hand, some tips are rather obvious, such as that one should have a financial reserve (or at least a day job) that allows on to pursue one’s artistic activities, and the notion that “it takes courage to offer beauty and love to the world.” Still, the devotion required to construct such a work is inspirational in itself.
A multifaceted and heartfelt exploration of creative life.Pub Date: July 31, 2024
ISBN: 9781933937946
Page Count: 190
Publisher: Heron Dance Press
Review Posted Online: July 31, 2024
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A virtuoso performance and an ode to an undervalued medium created by two talented artists.
The veteran actor, comedian, and banjo player teams up with the acclaimed illustrator to create a unique book of cartoons that communicates their personalities.
Martin, also a prolific author, has always been intrigued by the cartoons strewn throughout the pages of the New Yorker. So when he was presented with the opportunity to work with Bliss, who has been a staff cartoonist at the magazine since 1997, he seized the moment. “The idea of a one-panel image with or without a caption mystified me,” he writes. “I felt like, yeah, sometimes I’m funny, but there are these other weird freaks who are actually funny.” Once the duo agreed to work together, they established their creative process, which consisted of working forward and backward: “Forwards was me conceiving of several cartoon images and captions, and Harry would select his favorites; backwards was Harry sending me sketched or fully drawn cartoons for dialogue or banners.” Sometimes, he writes, “the perfect joke occurs two seconds before deadline.” There are several cartoons depicting this method, including a humorous multipanel piece highlighting their first meeting called “They Meet,” in which Martin thinks to himself, “He’ll never be able to translate my delicate and finely honed droll notions.” In the next panel, Bliss thinks, “I’m sure he won’t understand that the comic art form is way more subtle than his blunt-force humor.” The team collaborated for a year and created 150 cartoons featuring an array of topics, “from dogs and cats to outer space and art museums.” A witty creation of a bovine family sitting down to a gourmet meal and one of Dumbo getting his comeuppance highlight the duo’s comedic talent. What also makes this project successful is the team’s keen understanding of human behavior as viewed through their unconventional comedic minds.
A virtuoso performance and an ode to an undervalued medium created by two talented artists.Pub Date: Nov. 17, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-250-26289-9
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Celadon Books
Review Posted Online: Aug. 30, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2020
PERSPECTIVES
A sweet final word from an actor who leaves a legacy of compassion and kindness.
The late actor offers a gentle guide for living with more purpose, love, and joy.
Mixing poetry, prescriptive challenges, and elements of memoir, Heche (1969-2022) delivers a narrative that is more encouraging workbook than life story. The author wants to share what she has discovered over the course of a life filled with abuse, advocacy, and uncanny turning points. Her greatest discovery? Love. “Open yourself up to love and transform kindness from a feeling you extend to those around you to actions that you perform for them,” she writes. “Only by caring can we open ourselves up to the universe, and only by opening up to the universe can we fully experience all the wonders that it holds, the greatest of which is love.” Throughout the occasionally overwrought text, Heche is heavy on the concept of care. She wants us to experience joy as she does, and she provides a road map for how to get there. Instead of slinking away from Hollywood and the ridicule that she endured there, Heche found the good and hung on, with Alec Baldwin and Harrison Ford starring as particularly shining knights in her story. Some readers may dismiss this material as vapid Hollywood stuff, but Heche’s perspective is an empathetic blend of Buddhism (minimize suffering), dialectical behavioral therapy (tolerating distress), Christianity (do unto others), and pre-Socratic philosophy (sufficient reason). “You’re not out to change the whole world, but to increase the levels of love and kindness in the world, drop by drop,” she writes. “Over time, these actions wear away the coldness, hate, and indifference around us as surely as water slowly wearing away stone.” Readers grieving her loss will take solace knowing that she lived her love-filled life on her own terms. Heche’s business and podcast partner, Heather Duffy, writes the epilogue, closing the book on a life well lived.
A sweet final word from an actor who leaves a legacy of compassion and kindness.Pub Date: Jan. 24, 2023
ISBN: 9781627783316
Page Count: 176
Publisher: Viva Editions
Review Posted Online: Feb. 6, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2023
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