This is a lovely, lovely little book. I was in one of my favorite stores in Taos NM, Common Threads. You have never seen a more delicious collection of world textiles. The variety of colors and textures is a visual and tactile feast of velvets, silks, tribal, hemp, cotton, you name it. And the buttons, oh my word, the BUTTONS...oops, I digress...
Anyway, the owner of the shop was talking to another customer about this book. So many women in mid-life have expressed to me their need to be more creative at this time of their life. And so, ever alert to items I think a mid-life lady would enjoy, I asked to see the book. Oh the darling thing! Its beautiful illustrations with old Oriental fabrics and images makes it almost as much of a visual feast as the store.
Brenda Mallon, a psychotherapist and author, has provided a whole year of exercises aimed at deepening your understanding of yourself and your creative nature. An example: consider creating a collage of images and objects that speak meaningfully to you about the life you'd like to create. There are many many more to spark your imagination.
That isn't even to mention the probing questions at every turn.
Consider:
What are the high points of your life at present? Low points?
Are there any parts of your life that feel stagnant, like a swamp?
What parts of your life run smoothly, like a sparkling river?
What parts of your life do you keep hidden from friends or family?
What words would you use to describe your emotional landscape, for example, rocky, barren, lush, rich, overgrown, etc?
Good stuff. To engage questions like those can't help but result in keen insights into one's creative spirit.
At the end of each month's exercises, she has a list of feedback questions to help you internalize what you've learned. Well done.
The downside is that I believe the book may be out of print. However, when I got on Amazon, there were a number of booksellers offering it and I got a like new copy.
