Susan Oliver

That Spark of Life - Susan Oliver

A self-help book for healing issues around artistic frustration. It consists of a series of reflections that encourages the reader to become aware of what they love and enjoy rather than trying to be "good," which entails judgement and comparison. Art is the perfect environment to find love. You don't need another person and there's so much to love because using colour and form is FUN! Unconscious judgement is biggest thing to heal when over-coming artistic frustration. We have layers and layers of judgement and this book looks on judgement from different angles including dealing with disappointment and jealousy, focusing on materials, getting caught up in detail and other "cloaks" that judgement disguises itself in. The author asks the reader to change one's perception rather than becoming "better" at art. The desire to do art is about focusing on love, not about being "good." This is a manifesto for healing based on the author's own experience.