Drawing Closer to Nature: Making Art in Dialogue with the Natural World - Softcover

London, Peter

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1570628548 ISBN 13: 9781570628542

Publisher: Shambhala, 2003

Synopsis

Making art, says Peter London, is a perfect vehicle for recovering our lost sense of unity with Nature. When we draw closer to Nature through art, we simultaneously draw closer to our Selves, and thereby enjoy a richer, more authentic creativity and a deeper, fuller life. Through exercises, theoretical reflections, poetic meditations, and stories, London presents an innovative approach to creativity that engages body, mind, and spirit. A series of guided "Encounters"—some to be done outdoors, some indoors in the presence of some natural objects, and some entirely in the imagination—invites the reader to investigate Nature's secrets and then to celebrate through making a work of art.
Topics and exercises include: the essentials of creative practice, such as time, space, media, and intention; cultivating a simple, firsthand way of seeing Nature in all its subtlety, mystery, and intimacy; creating a personal sanctuary in which to communicate directly with Nature; conducting a sacred conversation with archetypal forms of Nature encountered in the imagination; seeking forgiveness from Nature, with the intention of healing our broken primal relationship with the natural world and rediscovering our rightful place in it.

About this title

About the Author:

Peter London—painter, author, art educator, and art therapist—has taught the approach presented in this and other books to thousands of students, ranging from teens to octogenarians, from "art phobics" to professional artists. Professor Emeritus at the University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth, and a 2002 Distinguished Fellow at the National Art Education Association, he lives in Fairhaven, Massachusetts.

From Booklist:

"A desire for change, if not the full readiness for it, is the prerequisite for change." So states painter, art therapist, and art educator London in this extraordinarily well thought out and well-written approach to the creative process. Arguing that the making of art requires a wholeness conceived through the integration of self and nature, London organizes his book into six sections that utilize essays, "encounters," media and techniques, and poems to explore his personal experiences, offer practical yet creative methods for drawing closer to nature, and present specific ways for approaching art as well as allowing readers to explore their inner natures, reposition their view of media, and open up to a holistic perspective. Illustrated throughout with the author's work and photographs that reveal his process in a variety of visual and literary formats, London's book exemplifies the theme that "in Nature, as in art, there are many structures that viably resolve the problems of how to thrive in this world." Lauren Roberts
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

About this edition

• Publisher: Shambhala
• Publication date: 2003
• ISBN 10: 1570628548
• ISBN 13: 9781570628542
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 368