This is a nice little book that encourages us to take in more of the temporal, sensory world around us– the sights, sounds, smells, textures, tastes, shadows, atmospheres– to have more to bring to your art making practice.

There are a lot of exercises I found interesting, which are ways to be more present and play around with, realize, and own what your preferences are and how they combine into your individual aesthetic. It makes you want to get back out into the world and snap a lot of photos with your iPhone of little details, and go places you’ve never been before, to take in new aural and olfactory cues. As someone already very mindful, I got some ideas how even I can up my game.

Here are some quotes and ideas from the book that I tabbed to share with you:

• While waiting somewhere, count how many things you can see around you of just one color.
• Photograph reflections in sunglasses.
• “If your observations aren’t topped off regularly, your ideas can start to feel stale, repetitive, bland and derivative. Spending time taking in your surroundings and consciously collecting new observations should be a fundamental and enjoyable part of your process… otherwise your creative mojo will almost certainly become starved.”
• A few methods of looking that will enhance our observation include: 1) abstraction [I do that], 2) matching (look for shapes or forms that visually match others) 3) color identifying (very specifically rather than generally, warm or cool, intense or neutral, tending which way on the color wheel) 4) pattern spotting (actively look for patterns, analyzing and comparing them).
• Find things that are rough, smooth, spiky, furry, sticky, crumbly, flaky, shiny, soft, and matte.
• “We all need a bit of empty space to clarify and focus the world of possibility ahead.”
• “As silence proves the sound and pausing proves the act, it is always darkness that proves the light.”

I give Conscious Creativity 4 stars, largely because the print is way too small. It is an excellent tool, however, if you really utilize it to become more mindful.