Image courtesy pixabay.com
Are you an artist? If so, how are you feeding your artistic soul? This is a question you probably don’t ask yourself or get asked very often. Still, it is valid. Most of us have heard the saying, “What you feed, grows.” This is as true for your artistic self as it is for your body. The more you feed your artistic soul, the fatter and healthier it will become. Are you reading the right books?
We may not want our bodies to be fat, but our artistic abilities are a different story! We do want our skills to grow and our capacity to create to become large. Guess what? This can happen when you are regularly reading the right books.
A Few Books Every Artist Should Read
There are hundreds, perhaps thousands, of books that enliven the artistic soul; here are just a few suggestions:
1) The complete works of William Shakespeare – Be it sonnet or play, reading Shakespeare is a quick way to go from artistically stuck to artistically struck.
2) Letters to a Young Poet by Rainer Maria Rilke – If you’re an artist and you have yet to read this amazing work, get to it. It has touched the lives of many and changed the lives of some. Letters to a Young Poet is a book that could easily provide the artistic oomph you’ve needed lately.
3) The Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling – Sometimes the best thing artists can do to strengthen their gifts is to get out of their head and enter the realm of the heart. As you know, nothing captures the heart like a good story. The Harry Potter series has been engaging readers, young and old, for years. If you haven’t read the series, what are you waiting for?
Image courtesy pixabay.com
4) The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron – No artist can afford to not read Julia Cameron’s classic The Artist’s Way. This book has a way of reaching deep within a person and pulling out the artistic gold in him or her. If you are on a journey of self-discovery (and what artist isn’t?), get to your local library and check this book out pronto.
5) Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein – Reading children’s books is a wise way an artist can nourish his or her spirit. Children’s authors like Shel Silverstein are geniuses at appealing to the young soul. Truly, we are all children at heart, and we all deserve the luxury of reading a great kid’s book every now and then…especially those of us privileged to call ourselves “artist.”
Reading books like the ones mentioned above is a great way to become a stronger artist. So is playing art-based mobile games that are as good for your brain as they are for your soul. One option is SegPlay mobile, a digital paint-by-number game for iPhone, iPod, iPad, and Android. Learn more about SegPlay mobile here.
How do you nourish your artistic self? Let us know in the “comments” section below.
Read more Segmation blog posts about art and color:
Artists, Here are 3 Tips for Stopping Self-Sabotage
Your Favorite Artwork Bares Your Soul
Artist Pamela McDaniel Demonstrates the Power of Confidence
Be an Artist in 2 minutes with Segmation SegPlay® PC (see more details here)
SegPlay® Mobile available for iPhone and iPad
