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Sark's New Creative Companion: Ways to Free Your Creative Spirit
We all need reminders that it'¬?s little things that make us feel really alive-those small actions and subtle gestures that can potentially lead to great moments of magic and joy. Unfortunately, we'¬?re so frequently occupied with day-to-day responsibilities and commitments that a mere moment of magic often seems miles away. In SARK'¬?S NEW CREATIVE COMPANION, you'¬?ll discover insight and suggestions for creating everyday magic in your life no matter what your everyday surroundings. You'¬?ll find stories, poems, and exercises that provide inspiration, self-reflection, and discovery-all cheerfully handwritten in SARK'¬?s trademark style and embellished with her vibrant illustrations. From treasuring yourself and others to living artistically and free, SARK'¬?S NEW CREATIVE COMPANION will open your heart and your mind, and remind you that it'¬?s never too late to kindle-or rekindle-the loving and creative spirit within.A delightfully inspiring collection of stories and exercises to help you spark your creativity.Discover how to be an artist ("learn to watch snails"), be really alive ("make yes your favorite word"), and really love a child ("if they get crabby, put them in water"), and more!SARK has more than 2 million books in print!
92 pages, Paperback
First published October 31, 1991
17 people are currently reading
2870 people want to read
About the author
SARK
34 books495 followersSARK (a.k.a. Susan Ariel Rainbow Kennedy) is an American author and illustrator of self-help books. Five of her sixteen books have been national bestsellers, and she has sold more than two million copies of her books.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 57 reviews
May 7, 2014
SARK is more than a bit spiritual and new age-y, two things I'm not so in to, but for some reason I am not annoyed by her books, but really inspired by them. Her philosophy is so positive. I am able to take it for what it is and not get bogged down in the near impossibility of some of what she believes (like that "the universe will provide" crap).
UPDATE: I'm a lot more like SARK now than I used to be!
In any case, this is a great book to help folks get in touch with their creative energy.
UPDATE: I'm a lot more like SARK now than I used to be!
In any case, this is a great book to help folks get in touch with their creative energy.
August 6, 2009
The permission slip that for me started it all. Read this as a freshman in high school after I found it on the concrete floor of a cavernous warehouse of a bookstore in Newton.
Highly recommended for those who are wound too tightly and looking to get loose.
Highly recommended for those who are wound too tightly and looking to get loose.
October 27, 2020
I am a massive SARK fan. This was her very first published work and she took two weeks to make it. In her later works she references and shines more light on all of the stories she accumulated in this one. The thing I most appreciate about this work is how she purely encourages folk to write their hearts out. I feel as though it took me maybe ten or 15 minutes to read it but it has left me with thoughts to chew on and a thirst for more of her stories and perspectives.
i appreciate reading this each time it comez back around to me, this time i most appreciate her encouragement for a writer to collect samples and quotes of other creators.
i appreciate reading this each time it comez back around to me, this time i most appreciate her encouragement for a writer to collect samples and quotes of other creators.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 6, 2009
This book was a lot of fun. It had colorful pictures and pages filled with slogans written in different colors. It said things like, "Eat mangoes naked," and, "Make little signs that say yes and post them all over your house," and, "Learn to watch snails." I definitely recommend this book.
July 9, 2012
Damn it! I just wrote an entire review for this and now the internet is all messed up and has erased it. Bah humbug!
Good book. Good ideas. I would give this to a young person that has a passion for art.
Hmph.
Good book. Good ideas. I would give this to a young person that has a passion for art.
Hmph.
August 2, 2016
I got this book years ago as a gift, and really enjoyed it at the time... but now it's hard for me to take it seriously. My main issue is the constant refrain of "don't worry about the money!" It sounds great when written in fancy script on watercolor paper, but the fact is that we DO have to worry about money -- to survive, to support our family and loved ones, to prepare for the future, and, well, to support our creative endeavors! The author seems to have gotten by with a lot of luck and the benefit of some overly generous friends, and it grates to think how many readers may have struggled to follow her message without having those same advantages.
Some of the other stream-of-consciousness suggestions are just confusing or bizarre, but there are a few genuinely inspiring bits here. One of the other main themes of this book is that you have to take action on your ideas or nothing will happen; you have to create, write, draw... just do *something* to truly be creative. That's a vital message, easily overlooked by the many of us who have that great idea for a book or a film or a drawing in our heads; a shame that the message is obscured by so many odd and off-beat recommendations.
Some of the other stream-of-consciousness suggestions are just confusing or bizarre, but there are a few genuinely inspiring bits here. One of the other main themes of this book is that you have to take action on your ideas or nothing will happen; you have to create, write, draw... just do *something* to truly be creative. That's a vital message, easily overlooked by the many of us who have that great idea for a book or a film or a drawing in our heads; a shame that the message is obscured by so many odd and off-beat recommendations.
August 31, 2013
Today I read this book for the second time. I don't do that very often. It inspires me to pursue some of my creative dreams boldly, and provides tools, ideas, and encouragement to move ahead. It is a fun, colorful read with many thought-provoking quotes for anyone who feels creative and wants to further embrace that.
June 6, 2012
I have been a fan of SARK for almost 25 years now. I have read all her books, but am rereading them. This is her first book, updated in 2005. Not bad, but not her best. More of a collection of her famous posters and cards.
June 10, 2022
I read this book without doing the exercises and in my opinion, SARK's books are best experienced by doing the exercises. I'm planning on re-reading it and doing the exercises. She recommends that you actually draw and cut from the book
September 17, 2008
SARK, man. It's a funny thing: I'm pretty sure she's at least a third crazy, but I really like her books anyway.
October 17, 2008
I love SARK's use of color and words. She is a gift of inspiration to all persons, not only artists.
February 12, 2009
Wish it had been twice as big, with more fun exercises to try! Still a good read!
November 13, 2008
When I'm feeling less than inspired or creative, I do a few of the exercises. It's great. I have introduced my students to creativity through this book.
November 30, 2010
Provides tips and techniques on how to free your creative spirit. Good book for someone who thinks they have no creativity or for the person whose creativity is stuck.
March 29, 2015
A quick, fun, positive book about creativity and enjoying life.
August 17, 2012
Absolutely love this book.....and its so beautifully written and so colourful
February 21, 2013
Love SARK!
April 25, 2013
Fun, inspirational book
December 15, 2014
love sark. everyone should love sark.
September 6, 2014
My first SARK read. <3
May 27, 2017
I read this book without doing the exercises and in my opinion, SARK's books are best experienced by doing the exercises. I'm planning on re-reading it and doing the exercises. She recommends that you actually draw and cut from the book, which I ain't doing because I like my books intact.
Like other SARK books that I have read, it is inspirational, but it was too short and I wanted more. It's more a brief overview of ways to jumpstart your creativity and get inspiration, but it was short on actual, practical advice as to how to get from point A (having an idea) to point B (initiating a project and seeing it through to the end). She offers advice on "making a habit of completion," but to me, it was a little fuzzy and New Age-y, such as "I've learned to ask for whatever I want, and trusting that the Universe wants me to have it." (Page 29.) She has been fortunate enough to live a life (I suppose) where that philosophy works for her, but it doesn't work for everybody.
I had trouble suspending my disbelief and buying into the whole "You create your own reality" concept. However, I can see where the exercises in the book would be useful to helping an individual unblock her or his creativity in constructive ways, because they are rooted in cognitive behavioral therapy techniques (questioning why you have the beliefs about yourself that you do and getting to the root cause that spawned those beliefs and working to overcome them, replacing the negative thought patterns with positive thought patterns).
This was SARK's first book, and it offers an overview of her general philosophy. I found "Make Your Creative Dreams Real" to be more helpful when it came to figuring out what I wanted to do, and why the things I was doing weren't working anymore.
Overall, I recommend SARK's books on the creative process. To derive the most benefit from them, I recommend doing the exercises.
Like other SARK books that I have read, it is inspirational, but it was too short and I wanted more. It's more a brief overview of ways to jumpstart your creativity and get inspiration, but it was short on actual, practical advice as to how to get from point A (having an idea) to point B (initiating a project and seeing it through to the end). She offers advice on "making a habit of completion," but to me, it was a little fuzzy and New Age-y, such as "I've learned to ask for whatever I want, and trusting that the Universe wants me to have it." (Page 29.) She has been fortunate enough to live a life (I suppose) where that philosophy works for her, but it doesn't work for everybody.
I had trouble suspending my disbelief and buying into the whole "You create your own reality" concept. However, I can see where the exercises in the book would be useful to helping an individual unblock her or his creativity in constructive ways, because they are rooted in cognitive behavioral therapy techniques (questioning why you have the beliefs about yourself that you do and getting to the root cause that spawned those beliefs and working to overcome them, replacing the negative thought patterns with positive thought patterns).
This was SARK's first book, and it offers an overview of her general philosophy. I found "Make Your Creative Dreams Real" to be more helpful when it came to figuring out what I wanted to do, and why the things I was doing weren't working anymore.
Overall, I recommend SARK's books on the creative process. To derive the most benefit from them, I recommend doing the exercises.
December 15, 2024
SARK = Creativity, and this book is a great introduction to her work. There are so many great parts of this book. I loved hearing how SARK interviewed for a job after the position had already been filled, and she somehow still got the job. SARK includes lots of great ideas for creativity and quotes:
"At first people refuse to believe that a strange new thing can be done, then they see it can be done---then it is done and all the world wonders why it was not done centuries ago." ---Frances Hodgson Burnett
"Have a picnic with only desserts."
And the call number still works: 415-546-3742.
"At first people refuse to believe that a strange new thing can be done, then they see it can be done---then it is done and all the world wonders why it was not done centuries ago." ---Frances Hodgson Burnett
"Have a picnic with only desserts."
And the call number still works: 415-546-3742.
October 15, 2023
If you have not read this book, YOU NEED TO! The illustrations are so lovely! It is such a creative read and gets me so motivated. You will feel so inspired by it! It now sits on my coffee table in hopes that someone will pick it up and get hooked on it, just as I did!! Absolutely obsessed with this book! There are also portions of this book that are interactive, and for someone like me who doesn’t necessarily enjoy reading, this is so great for keeping me hooked! I would give this book 1,000 stars if I could!
June 18, 2020
Saw this in a cabin I'm renting in the woods and was pulled to read it. I thought this was a sweet little creative manual. I love that you can open it anywhere and feel inspired, nurtured, and warm. I've never heard of SARK before, I love her spirit and perspective. This would be a good gift for a creative person in your life.
July 10, 2023
Such a charming and uplifting book! I melted into the fantasy of her creative mind and could feel the child in me come alive. Beautifully hand written with colorful illustrations, this book drew me in and all stress of the reality of climate change, or the economy, etc. drifted away. I can’t wait to read all of Sark’s work.
April 12, 2018
I Love this book. It is inspiring, colourful, uplifting and joyful. As an on again off again artist I can recommend it to anyone looking for something to get the creative juices flowing. I have owned this book for many years now and still open it every one and then for an artistic motivation boost.
March 15, 2021
This was an important foundational text for me in high school. Going back, I still really enjoyed the colorful, messy layout and the cheerful, messy text but it made me realize just how much older 31 is than 14. That part felt strange and wistful.
April 20, 2022
I read this book as a young woman, newly married, pre-kids, early career. So interesting to read it again after many years of marriage, established career, on the verge of empty nest. A good tool for shaking up the mind and remembering life’s possibilities.
March 22, 2019
A good reminder to relax and let loose. I love books with visually unique content, and I love the texture of the thicker pages. Some good food for thought.
December 22, 2021
What a story, it left me thinking.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 57 reviews