The Widening Stream: The Seven Stages Of Creativity by David Ulrich

by David Ulrich

Excellent Book

Genres: Photography, Nonfiction

Paperback

First published January 1, 2002

About the author

David Ulrich is a professor and co-director of Pacific New Media Foundation in Honolulu. He teaches frequent classes and workshops, and is an active photographer and writer whose work has been published in numerous books and journals including Aperture, Mānoa, and Sierra Club publications. Ulrich's photographs have been exhibited internationally in more than 75 one-person and group exhibitions. He is the author of The Widening Stream: the Seven Stages of Creativity and Zen Camera: Creative Awakening with a Daily Practice in Photography.

He blogs about creativity and consciousness at theslenderthread.org, and is a consulting editor for Parabola magazine. www.creativeguide.com

Reviews

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Widening Stream is a book that, true to its name, delivers a lot to quench your thirst. I was attracted to it for its promise of analyzing and explaining the artistic creative urge and process and their significance. But, as enlightening on a page-by-page basis as it is, this is not a book that you can simply read through and come away feeling "OK, I got it." It is a dense and passionately written treatise, often intensely personal, that draws on a broad range of sources and inspirations with the express purpose of inspiring and rendering change in the reader and the world. It is didactic.

After one reading, my Notes and Highlights for this book now contain scores of inspirational and thought-provoking passages. Having looked at them one more time just now, I find them useful and inspiring. However, as wide-ranging as this voluminous stream is in its discussions, quotations and rejoinders, it is all too easily boiled down to aphorisms. Coming away from having read it, the structure of the book has already crumbled in my mind (quite possibly the fault of my poor memory) and I'm just left with a list of perfectly sound and sensible statements, like "to refine and transform materials is to refine and transform oneself," "There is a directly proportional relationship between our ability to see and know ourselves, and our ability to see and know the world" or "We must become more responsible, and we must become more conscious. These are essentially interrelated needs."

I personally found the discussion too ethereal for my liking and not grounded enough to make the content memorable. If I had the time, I'd read it again with the hope of doing this mammoth effort of the author better justice, but there are other books I'd be itching to read instead.

[Rajiv Chopra · Rating 5 out of 5]

“The Widening Stream” is an excellent book. It is not just a book about the creative life, but it is also a book that can help you live a more meaningful and mindful life.

There is a lot of inspiration that David Ulrich seems to take from Zen philosophy, as well as from the writings of Carlos Castaneda, amongst others.

Minor White is an inspiration.

I like the questions and exercises that he appends at the end of each chapter. It is worthwhile doing the exercises, as they will allow the reader to extract the maximum benefit from the book.

Towards the end, I did think that David Ulrich sounded a bit repetitive. If he was, then I would only consider this to be a minor blemish in an excellent book.

[MountainAshleah · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is probably the most comprehensive, intense book I've read to date on the creative process. Ulrich offers many good quotes for inspiration. He presents an insightful and realistic perspective that's a refreshing change from "the secret" cheerleading of many books on the creative process. Ask, Believe, Receive . . . that's fine, but there's a missing word: Work. Interestingly, I've started weaning myself off of these books as I've been working daily on my creative project and no longer need inspiration (or a kick in the tail). This book can be a "wall of words" at times, but it's highly recommended in the journey towards understanding the creative process.

[Rosa Frei]

Excellent book on creativity and art. Well written, well discussed, with a deep sense of what the creative process can be. Enriched with some black and white photographs of the author. Inspiring and motivating book!

[Zoe · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Art is, or can be, a genuine spiritual practice." David Ulrich.