Unstuck: 52 Ways to Get (and Keep) Your Creativity Flowing at Home, at Work & in Your Studio

by Noah Scalin

Can’t get the creative juices flowing? Unstuck features 52 simple, creativity-generating projects that can fit into any lifestyle. Arranged in order of time commitment—from 30 seconds to several hours—the 52 projects can be done randomly or one per week for an entire year of creativity building. Also included are 12 artist profiles that illuminate what other successful creative people do to stay inspired and productive, along with blank journaling pages to sketch, scribble, and jot down your experiences and ideas. Roll the dice (made from the “custom inspiration dice” template in the book) and see where your creative energy takes you!

www.noahscalin.com
www.skulladay.blogspot.comwww.makesom...

Genres: Art, Nonfiction, Business, Crafts, Self Help, Design

240 pages, Paperback

First published October 24, 2011

About the author

Noah Scalin is an artist and author based in Richmond, Virginia. Noah is the creator of the Webby Award winning art project Skull-A-Day . His fine art has been exhibited in museums and galleries internationally, including the Mütter Museum in Philadelphia, the International Museum of Surgical Science in Chicago, and Krause Gallery in NYC. He also co-runs the art & innovation consulting firm he founded Another Limited Rebellion and is a sought after public speaker on creativity. He is the author of six books including most recently Creative Sprint: Six 30-Day Challenges to Jumpstart Your Creativity which he co-wrote with his sister Mica Scalin. He's also the creator of the collaborative science fiction universe League of Space Pirates.

Reviews

[Mim · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was so exciting to see this book in print. We were "there" when it was just being developed and to see it finished is terrific. It's full of excellent ideas to help you get unstuck, no matter what field of endeavor you're trying to proceed in, not just for artists. There are interviews with creative people, which I like; for me different points of view are always interesting. The book is a nice size for carrying around like a journal, and is even set up so that you can use it as a workbook. I recommend this book for gifts, as well as, for oneself. (note: I'm one of the author's parents)

[Marzi · Rating 5 out of 5]

despite what the cover lead me to believe, the book is not about removal of chewing gum, caramels or other sticky substances from shoes, clothing and terrycloth. still, i was not disappointed.

every page is chock full of goodness to spark you creativity & get your creative juices flowing. noah has targeted the artsy reader with this book, but any primate can enjoy these projects to help them look at the world from a different angle, build a stronger bond with a friend or add an extra dose of wonder to the day.

not to be missed is the photos on page 215!

[Allie · Rating 1 out of 5]

What's funny is that I read this at the same time I'm reading Jonah Lehrer's Imagine: How Creativity Works. This book is pretty contrived and most of the exercises are really terrible. It's all "change your perspective" type of stuff (which is a good thing, generally) but most of the actual tasks are just dumb. Read Imagine instead.

[Tara · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just finished reading through this book! As I read through it I flagged some of the activities that I definitely want to use when I get stuck with my own creativity. Thank you Noah for another great reference for helping keeping my creativity going!

[Marjorie Elwood · Rating 4 out of 5]

More engaging than the usual book of ideas to get the creative juices flowing, I could see this also being of use for retired folk who are bored (which isn’t most retired people, but some). It’s divided up by the time it takes to do the project, the skills you use, where it takes place, etc. There are pages to write on, to document how the project went, and essays by guest creatives.

[Kristina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Didn't get quite as many ideas as I would have liked. But it was still fun to read. I especially liked the "creative advice" sections from artists.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

You know what? There actually were several very good ideas in here!

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'll admit that I haven't technically finished this book. I've checked it out from the library and renewed it at least once and am still running out of time to finish it. What I have read I've really enjoyed. So far my favorite ideas are 6 word memoirs, cloud shapes, and one called book worm where you go to a library/bookstore, follow directions to get a random sentence ( shelf 5, book two, page 15, sentence 1) and then use that sentence as inspiration for your current project. I would love to have a copy of my own sometime to refer to...

[Charlou · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of those book/journal combos to get your creative flow moving in a size you can carry with you. No excuses - ideas you can do in 30 seconds to 30 minutes. For work, fun, art, writing, the 52 ideas turn this into a year long project. If that's not enough, follow his MakeSomething365.com.

[Kaila Gallacher · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not bad at all, some pretty great advice and ideas. Liked it a lot.