Some of my favorites....

When I find something I love, I want to share it with my friends.  Sometimes that is a piece of art or a movie or a photograph.  Today it is a book.

I just finished reading "Taking Flight: Inspirations and Techniques To Give Your Creative Spirit Wings".  To be honest I picked this book up on a whim one day when I was browsing through Michael's.  The cover art appealed to me and I threw it in my cart.  I started reading it that night and immediately knew it was a book I needed.  I am always on the search for ways to make my art more authentic, more me.  I struggle to tune out and make art that just comes from inside.  I sometimes feel that my art is influenced by others than I have seen (which isn't always a bad thing) or my art is trying to fit into some parameter that I set for it.  I want to spend more time in that frame of mind where my mind and my hands act before I can analyze what I am doing.  That is one reason I do alot of work with the TV on.  I usually would never share that, but it is the best way for me to occupy part of my brain, so my true creative self can work.  

This book was a wonderful blend of advice, interviews with artists and projects with instructions.  Some of the projects used techniques I wasn't familiar with.  Not only did I get some inspiration, but I also found a way to expand on my work.  

If you are looking for a way to branch out creatively (and we all have some part of our life that needs that), check out this book.  The questions at the end of the chapters will give you something to ponder and who knows where that will take you.

To buy on amazon.com
http://www.amazon.com/Taking-Flight-Inspiration-Techniques-Creative/dp/160061082X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1287547726&sr=8-1