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The Adjacent Possible: Evolve Your Art. From Blank Canvas To Prolific Artist.
Being an artist is about continually evolving your art. It's about cultivating your fullest self-expression and getting to the elusive deepest work your heart yearns to create.
Learn the science of creativity, the adjacent possible.
This is a revolutionary method influenced by groundbreaking research in biology and physics to guide you to embrace the unfolding of your art. Every brushstroke, every decision in your art, creates a set of possible paths that were not only invisible before, but didn't exist before you made that creative move. This is the adjacent possible.
This book will:
guide you to evolve your art
nudge you to create art that excites, scares and wows you
inspire you to move past emulating not only others, but yourself in your art.
Becoming a great artist is about the movement of coming closer to who you are and reaching the fullest expression of YOU in your art.
With one foot in the known and one foot in the unknown, you'll become aware of your creative edge where the adjacent possible lives.
At the pivot point between creation and collapse, you'll experience a state of poised instability. This is the art and science of the possible- a world of continuous creation.
Learn the science of creativity, the adjacent possible.
This is a revolutionary method influenced by groundbreaking research in biology and physics to guide you to embrace the unfolding of your art. Every brushstroke, every decision in your art, creates a set of possible paths that were not only invisible before, but didn't exist before you made that creative move. This is the adjacent possible.
This book will:
guide you to evolve your art
nudge you to create art that excites, scares and wows you
inspire you to move past emulating not only others, but yourself in your art.
Becoming a great artist is about the movement of coming closer to who you are and reaching the fullest expression of YOU in your art.
With one foot in the known and one foot in the unknown, you'll become aware of your creative edge where the adjacent possible lives.
At the pivot point between creation and collapse, you'll experience a state of poised instability. This is the art and science of the possible- a world of continuous creation.
- GenresArtNonfiction
175 pages, Kindle Edition
Published August 15, 2021
506 people are currently reading
77 people want to read
About the author
Nancy Hillis
6 books13 followersNancy Hillis, MD lives in Santa Cruz, California. She's an abstract artist, author, existential psychiatrist and founder of The Artist's Journey courses, workshops and presentations. Do you want a free training on the #1 Secret To Creating Paintings You Love and 4 Traps That Get In The Way? Go here: https://artistsjourney.com
Nancy blogs about the inner landscape of artists at https://nancyhillis.com.
Trained in psychiatry at Stanford and fascinated with all things creative, Nancy enjoys interviewing artists about their creative process.
When not painting or teaching, Nancy loves to play her cello, hike with her partner Dr. Bruce Sawhill, or listen to her daughter Kimberly sing Puccini's O Mio Babbino Caro and other operatic arias.
Nancy blogs about the inner landscape of artists at https://nancyhillis.com.
Trained in psychiatry at Stanford and fascinated with all things creative, Nancy enjoys interviewing artists about their creative process.
When not painting or teaching, Nancy loves to play her cello, hike with her partner Dr. Bruce Sawhill, or listen to her daughter Kimberly sing Puccini's O Mio Babbino Caro and other operatic arias.
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
October 22, 2021
The ideas in this book are fine (take chances, experiment, don't worry about "ugly" or failures, don't refuse to try, just start, etc.). But this is a short essay, stretched out over the length of a book with lots of white space and a ridiculous amount of repetition. I kept reading hoping that the ideas would be discussed in some kind of depth. Or something new would be added to the conversation. No such luck.
October 21, 2021
Trusting Your Inner Artist
An excellent book that invites you to explore the possibilities of trusting the inner voice that whispers, "You can do this."
An excellent book that invites you to explore the possibilities of trusting the inner voice that whispers, "You can do this."
November 6, 2022
very good
thank you great application of the psychological application to creativity. enjoyed immensely. was able to see and apply knowledge very quickly.
thank you great application of the psychological application to creativity. enjoyed immensely. was able to see and apply knowledge very quickly.
February 10, 2023
Inspirational
Primarily written for painters, I believe this is a book that would inspire any creative person. Pushing you to cast off the external influences and reach inside for the creativity inside you. The author encourages you to trust yourself and to continue working with a theme (in series) to let the ideas play out as they may and to be willing to accept good and bad (ugly) results as part of the experience and growth process. She had a whole lot more to say than that, of course. One of my favorite ideas is "One to Zero..." which basically translates to just get started. It's something I'm going to make into a small sign and post in my work space. Recommended.
Primarily written for painters, I believe this is a book that would inspire any creative person. Pushing you to cast off the external influences and reach inside for the creativity inside you. The author encourages you to trust yourself and to continue working with a theme (in series) to let the ideas play out as they may and to be willing to accept good and bad (ugly) results as part of the experience and growth process. She had a whole lot more to say than that, of course. One of my favorite ideas is "One to Zero..." which basically translates to just get started. It's something I'm going to make into a small sign and post in my work space. Recommended.
Read
March 13, 2026This is an excellent book for any struggling artist. It is actually an excellent book for anyone who wants to be more creative in any part of their life.
“The old belief is I am not a real artist… the new belief is I am an artist, and I am the one who decides this.”
I loved all the exercises and inspiration. “Zero to one” is a mantra I will repeat to myself often.
“The old belief is I am not a real artist… the new belief is I am an artist, and I am the one who decides this.”
I loved all the exercises and inspiration. “Zero to one” is a mantra I will repeat to myself often.
September 17, 2021
Inspiring
Found some insight in this one. Will be keeping it in my list to revisit. Has the stuff to fight the echos of my negative thoughts.
Found some insight in this one. Will be keeping it in my list to revisit. Has the stuff to fight the echos of my negative thoughts.
February 4, 2023
A breath of fresh air
A feel good understanding of what art is and how it made. Her language and direction gives me inspiration to work harder to fine my art. Thank you
A feel good understanding of what art is and how it made. Her language and direction gives me inspiration to work harder to fine my art. Thank you
March 23, 2024
This is a good book for anyone who wants to stop copying others and learn to make your own, unique, authentic art. That requires getting in touch with your deepest feelings, knowing what you love, trusting your own intuition, and just doing it. The book focuses mostly on painting, but includes ways to apply the principles to other arts as well — anything from cooking to quilting to sculpture or photography. Hillis is both an M.D. (psychiatrist) and an artist. Moreover, she’s studied the science of creativity and is good at translating its lessons so that anyone can understand and benefit. None of the principles here were really new to me. But it always helps to hear them again in different words. I enjoyed it.
May 30, 2022
This was a quick and interesting read. If you are struggling with your art, looking for a new direction or want to shake things up a bit, the author offers some simple exercises and advice to get you moving again. You definitely feel the author’s passion for helping people find their inner voice and translating that into their art whether it’s painting, dance, music or some other creative pursuit. She is a bit repetitive but overall I enjoyed the book and will read more by this author.
February 12, 2023
An invitation to risk New Creations
Dr. Hillis,in this book, has provided an environment of acceptance AND challenge.......stating the fact that we are all artists AND guiding us to new levels of Art. She has us risk creating something new, something different from our last work, and thus freeing us of ideas of "right and wrong" we might have struggled with in our past.
Thank you, Dr.
Dr. Hillis,in this book, has provided an environment of acceptance AND challenge.......stating the fact that we are all artists AND guiding us to new levels of Art. She has us risk creating something new, something different from our last work, and thus freeing us of ideas of "right and wrong" we might have struggled with in our past.
Thank you, Dr.
January 28, 2023
A lot of rah rah, a lot of repetition, a lot of psychobabble, a lot of the same stuff from the first book, which was better in my opinion. This drug on forever. This could have been condensed into a motivational pamphlet.
April 10, 2024
Virtually No Pictures !
I’m using “Virtually” here in The prosaic, secular sense, in that there are a few completely unrelated images sprinkled within The book, but certainly Not The quantity that The cover suggests disingenuously !
I’m using “Virtually” here in The prosaic, secular sense, in that there are a few completely unrelated images sprinkled within The book, but certainly Not The quantity that The cover suggests disingenuously !
June 19, 2022
A Place To Start
Some good nuggets of getting your mind in the right place as a creative. But it was touch repetitive and could be refined into something more succinct.
Some good nuggets of getting your mind in the right place as a creative. But it was touch repetitive and could be refined into something more succinct.
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March 16, 2023I went back several times to keep reading, but maybe because I don't do art as a staple in my life or for a living, I lost interest.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews