Description from Amazon.com:

Artists and creatives of all kinds who are looking for new ways to liberate their artistic imagination will love this book. Readers are invited to playfully explore various aspects of visual art, such as light, color, texture and design through a series of imaginative art projects. Artists will experiment hands-on with dozens of techniques and mediums in new and unconventional ways including: * Capturing whites with crayon and wax resist * Glazing and floating colors * Portraying the patterns of nature with sedimentation and precipitation * Loosening up with gesso painting and printing with plastic * Constructing a new piece of art from old work * Experimenting with three-dimensional assemblage * Creating a street map In addition, artists are prompted to challenge their imaginations by building new painting surfaces, creating their own personal symbols and more. Further inspiration can be found in a gallery of work by more than 30 contributing artists. Celebrate Your Creative Self is a fun, no-fail guide every artist should have.

Review from Art Books Reviews:

Dec 19th, 2008 | Reviewed by Susie Jefferson

Written by an artist FOR artists, every detail has been considered, starting with such practicalities as a book with a rigid, wipeable cover and interior ring binding.

This book will stay open whether laid flat or propped up on your workstation, so that you can follow along – with the page in question open right in front of you (how many of us are driven absolutely wild with frustration when trying to follow a particular technique we haven’t tried before – only for the book to flop closed – usually right at the crucial moment!).

Each chapter leads you into a new technique which is clearly explained in language I can understand, and with absolutely loads of full-colour photographs including stepped How To’s as well as finished pieces – by herself and other artists, so that you can see each technique from a different point of view.

Although Mary is essentially a Fine Artist, this book would also serve well for anyone interested in other branches of arts and crafts, from collage, mixed media and journaling to calligraphers, altered book artists, quilters etc.

The techniques incorporate many different mediums including watercolours and acrylics, along with items you may never have thought of (eg: shelf liner, aluminium foil). Mary covers subjects such as resist (used in a way I hadn’t seen before) and creating surface texture, how to find your own personal voice and streamline and strengthen your own designs. She also deals with personal symbolism, something I had never really thought about.

Mary Todd Beam’s use of colour is truly inspirational and will definitely encourage you to work out of your “safe” colour zones. She also suggests layouts, and shows actual examples of paintings using those layouts, which is really helpful. Every style is covered, from figurative and virtual (photographic) style through to truly abstract.

Mary’s techniques also cover practical problems you might encounter: how to make realistic rocks that have weight; really wet water; rough, grainy sedimentation; a leafy, loamy forest floor – not just in colours of paint but also in use of texture so that you really FEEL your subject (quilters and embroiderers especially will love this).

I highly recommend this book, and hand on heart I think anyone would gain a tremendous amount of information from it. It is true eye candy from a deservedly highly successful artist, who not only talks the talk but walks the walk. An essential for any artist’s book shelf.

Summary

• Each section very clearly explained and easy to follow
• Tons of full colour step-by-step photographs
• Truly inspirational use of colour
• I really felt encouraged to try these projects

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Description from Amazon.com:

In this follow-up to Celebrate Your Creative Self, Mary Todd Beam demonstrates how to take your creativity to the next level by further exploring ways to use color, design, metaphors and symbols to bring that creative edge to your work. New techniques focus on expressing life experiences and recording the world around you in addition to insights of artistic expression from Beam and a host of contributing artists.

Review (5 stars) from Amazon.com:

Extending Creative Repertoire, August 16, 2009

By S. J. Bockett, Palmerston, N. New Zealand

Mary Todd Beam's follow-up to her first book expands both creative repertoire and creative experience. I have seen books on creativity that, while fun to explore, have little application for serious works of art. "The Creative Edge" does both. Many of the techniques are new, not just a rehash of all the old ones. Each technique can be used as the focus of a single art work, but the same technique can be combined with others in the book, or with techniques learned elsewhere. For example, it is possible to use her "sparkling ice" technique to create a fascinating abstract, or use it as part of a larger, more representational work.

The section titled "Have a Look: Observe" opens our eyes to looking at familiar objects in a different way, for example the interior of a derelict car, to create interpretive abstracts. I particularly like the section "Finding Figures in a Foil Print" as it not only shows a unique way of using black gesso and foil (the result looks almost like a lithograph) it could also be developed in so many ways - as an abstract, like the examples, or to add texture to a landscape or even a still life. Examples of other artists' use of the techniques provide inspiration as well as additional ideas.

Most of the artwork is done on illustration board. If this is difficult to obtain, or if you do not like the shiny surface, it is possible to use matt board, although this is a little lighter. It does need to be gessoed on both sides and the edges sealed with wax. For a more matte working surface, I find a thin coat of fibre paste on top of the gesso works nicely. (Golden produces an excellent one.)

As usual, Mary Todd Beam uses her famed palette of only three colours with amazing success: Quinacridone Crimson, Quinacridone Nickel Azo Gold and Turquoise Pthalo). These create wonderful secondaries, as well as interesting tints and shades when mixed with black or white. It is worthwhile setting aside the old pallette you are comfortable with, and trying something entirely different. The results can be quite exciting.

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