Book Review: *The Artist Within* by Whitney Ferre

The Artist Within: A Guide to Becoming Creatively Fit by Whitney Ferre

Back of the Book Blurb:  If you can spill paint, this book will help you turn your creative potential into reality. Whether you are looking to be a writer, architect, entrepreneur, painter, or business leader, developing creative ideas is the factor that differentiates the extraordinary from the common.

Based on principles that underlie the aesthetics of design, this book shows you how to strengthen your own creative ability and how to turn that ability into reality. So, if you ever felt that you have creative potential, or even if you don’t, but you want to be more creative, pick up this book and start unlocking your own Artist Within.

She is Too Fond of Books’ Review:  Artistic entrepreneur Whitney Ferre begins The Artist Within with the premise that “our confidence in our ability to create change has been sabotaged by the luxuries of modern living.”  That is, the very conveniences that simplify our lives (take-out or prepared food, manufactured clothing, warehouse-style shopping centers), have limited our desire - and even our ability – to produce or create, these basic items for ourselves.  The Artist Within offers a set of creative exercises to help you strengthen the right-brain, the creative side, which is in the shadow of the over-developed left-brain.

Ferre discusses the eight principles of design – emphasis, balance, proportion, unity, harmony, contrast, rhythm, and repetition – and offers a self-test to determine how these principles are reflected in our daily lives, with the choices we make, and in the changes we work for.  I scored lowest in the assessment for “emphasis,” having a tendency to multi-task (to distraction, I’ll admit) and not clearly communicate (to myself and others) what is most important to me.  This is a fairly accurate assessment, and I decided to pay special attention to the exercises in this section of the book.

Each subsequent chapter tackles one of the eight principles, explaining the way it is used in our day-to-day lives, and guiding the reader through a series of creative exercises (both free-flowing artistic and written brainstorming).  Every step is conversational and encouraging; Ferre often employs a positive “what have you got to lose by trying!?” attitude in coaching.

I expected this book to be interesting, but I wasn’t prepared for all the fun I had while reading it and working my way through the various creativity exercises.  From simple “make your mark” doodling to more extensive projects involving painting, weaving, and collage, there’s something for everyone.  The Artist Within has reminded me how much I like to play along with my kids when they’re working on their crafts, and I’ve contacted the local art center to look into taking either a stained-glass or pottery wheel class in the spring (you can keep me honest, check in around March so I can confirm that I’ve registered for the Spring session!)

Whitney Ferre is the “creativity expert” for HGTV and DIY network.  She is co-owner of Rumours Wine Bar, which offers food, wine, and art in the Nashville area.  More information about the author can be found at her website.

Many thanks to Rachel at Turner Publishing for providing my review copy of this fun and insightful workbook.

What are you doing to keep “creatively fit?”