Go For It Surviving The Challenges Of Becoming An Artist

In "Go For It ...Surviving the Challenges of Becoming an Artist," we have a rare invitation to explore the mind of a young jazz violinist, from the very beginning of her life to the present moment and beyond. We are taken on a journey through childhood, through heartache and loss, through moments of success and accomplishment, periods of uncertainty, creative blockage and inner challenge. Within these stories and memories we're also taken on a journey of our own, a journey that inspires and uplifts us, and asks us tough creative and spiritual questions. Both candid and passionate, "Go For It" reignites our love of the arts and gives us advice and confidence that fuels our own creative paths.

From across the spectrum of the arts--theater to music, painting to poetry, and everything in between--men and women from the creative front lines share their experiences and insights on the often harsh realities of a life in the arts. Artists on the Art of Survival examines the lives of artists as some continue to struggle to find their place, others have managed to carve out a niche for themselves, and still others have, for a variety of reasons, moved on to something else. By exploring each of these paths of development, the book provides valuable, practical, and spiritual lessons in maintaining and surviving as a working artist.

You have survived the crisis—trauma, disease, accident, or war—now how do you get your life back? The shark attacked while she was snorkeling, tearing through Micki Glenn’s breast and shredding her right arm. Her husband, a surgeon, saved her life on the spot, but when she was safely home she couldn’t just go on with her life. She had entered an even more profound survival journey: the aftermath. The survival experience changes everything because it invalidates all your previous adaptations, and the old rules don’t apply. In some cases survivors suffer more in the aftermath than they did during the actual crisis. In all cases, they have to work hard to reinvent themselves. Drawing on gripping cases across a wide range of life-threatening experiences, Laurence Gonzales fashions a compelling argument about fear, courage, and the adaptability of the human spirit. Micki Glenn was later moved to say: “I don’t regret that this happened to me. [It] has been . . . probably the single most positive experience I’ve ever had.”

The Art of Survival: Depictions of Zimbabwe and the Zimbabwean in Crisis offers a fresh, interdisciplinary examination of a period against which development in Zimbabwe is often measured, one epitomized by the severe shortages and runaway inflation of 2008. While journalistic stories of the 1998–2008 era often privilege the reductive stories of woe, defeat and crushed hopes, this volume explores how survival was still possible in those circumstances. The book offers insights into how ordinary Zimbabweans battled the odds by making startling innovations in language use to legitimize new survival strategies, how they weaved new songs and reinterpreted old ones to fight for survival, how social institutions such as churches reinterpreted popular gospel, and how authors, playwrights and dramatists crafted works that acknowledge the unprecedented difficulties and yet find humour, laughter and love in unusual places. This work will appeal to both scholars, who will appreciate the depth of the analysis, and the general reader.

BLOOM is a call to action for those individuals—not only in a later phase of life, but at any age—who feel the call to pursue a creative path in their lives. The pressures of the modern world force many into utilitarian careers early on. Artistic impulses lie unfulfilled, dormant. For some, at a certain point, there comes an ache in the bones, a deep longing for creative expression—a simultaneous sense of emptiness and overflowing feeling. This was the case for the author, Janice Mason Steeves, who left a career in psychology to pursue art in her forties. She went back to school, graduated from the Ontario College of Art and Design, and went on to develop an international art career, an art consulting practice, and a highly sought after travel workshop business. Weaving together insights from her own art experience with the stories of 138 artists over the age of sixty, whom Janice surveyed for the book, Bloom offers guidance, inspiration, and support for the often difficult and misunderstood desire to change trajectory and take up a path of creativity and meaning. Mason Steeves then takes these observations a step further, suggesting that not only is it possible to come to art later in life and be successful as an artist, but that the distillation of life experience and self-knowledge gleaned from the artist’s path may enable older artists to step into an even larger role: that of a community elder. The elder role—acquired, in this case, through art but existing beyond art—is essential in our society, providing stability and depth, wisdomkeeping, space-holding, and care-taking, in Bill Plotkin’s words, “for the very soul of the world.”

The perennial bestseller—now in a new edition Authoritative and practical, this comprehensive guide offers everything a teacher needs to know for conducting an effective art instruction and appreciation program. The Third Edition of The Art Teacher's Survival Guide for Elementary and Middle Schools includes a complete update on public-relations guidelines, and reference material examples. The revised edition also features many new projects, an update on current projects and includes an explanation of the hot topic amongst art educators, Teaching Artistic Behavior (TAB/choice). Choice-based art education is reflected in the authors’ discussion of teaching in mixed-media, ceramics, photography, sculpture, and art history. More than 100 creative art projects, from drawing to digital media Offers teaching tools, tips, and multicultural curriculum resources Includes new material on logical ways to encourage individual and personal solutions to a problem Gives teachers more latitude as to how individuality is suggested in a lesson This is an invaluable compendium for art educators and classroom teachers alike.

“Michels explodes the romantic notion of the starving artist.” —The New York Times “Michels is a tough but compassionate advocate, savvy in the ways of the world and the demands on artists in this materialistic society.” —The Miami Herald Written for fine artists ready to launch their careers as well as experienced artists who wish to relaunch their careers, How to Survive and Prosper as an Artist, Seventh Edition, an acclaimed guide, empowers artists to take control of their careers to create a fulfilling life and earn a decent income. In this newly revised edition, Caroll Michels continues to demystify the inner workings of the art world and challenge the status quo. New chapters discuss such topics as: New business models for artists: Going to the extreme The use of social media and website development as marketing and publicity tools and what does and doesn’t work The confusion between the “art-buying public” and the “general public” and their differences New suggestions for establishing and calculating prices for artwork Neighborhood gentrification and the growing challenges of securing a reasonably priced live/work space How dealers find artists, how to negotiate with dealers, and how to understand a dealer’s agenda Using her own experiences as an artist as well as the experiences of her clients, Michels crafts a must-read guidebook for anyone interested in embarking upon a successful career as an artist.

The complete guide to survival in the concrete jungle. The modern urban environment is rife with dangers. Crime, violence, natural disasters, wars, and terrorism are real life possibilities for which few people are prepared. The Art of Urban Survival offers readers simple, safe, and practical advice on how to prepare for, and react to dozens of life threatening situations. The author draws from psychology, sociology and anthropology to provide a deeper understanding of the laws of the urban jungle. In addition, elements of military strategy, eastern martial arts, and wilderness survival techniques are included to provide information on the full spectrum of urban survival skills.