Artist Spotlight part 3: Diana Trout book review

In her book

Journal Spilling

North Light Books

Diana Trout

writes:

"I wrote, "Admit that I am scared and do it anyway." "It" was something that I began to look at more carefully and ask myself what would happen if I did "it" and failed? As it turned out, failure didn't seem to be earth-shattering. So attempting "it" became exiting. I began to truly understand the truth behind courage - being scared and doing it anyway.

If you've read my writings you will understand why I'm drawn to Diana's work and to this book. My soapbox is all about overcoming your fears and just doing the work. I love that she says it right there in black and white. What is so earth shattering about failure? Not much. Most of the time it is just one step that you need to make on the road to success.

In working through this book you will take a journey through the world of the soul, the space where your wishes and dreams are freed from shadows and let out into the light of day. Diana gives prompts, asks questions, and gently guides you along the path of creative self exploration. My favorite part? She keeps it real. Nothing too schmarmy - just real life experiences and down to earth words that tell it like it is.

Along the way you will learn many different techniques - most of which I hadn't tried before as they are all about the paper arts. Suminagashi is the one I'm most attracted to. It's a japanese form of marbling and she makes it look effortless. Diana also covers using resists of all kinds, different ways to use different paints, a few bookbinding techniques, and several image transfer methods. This is a book that I wish I had time to very slowly, step by step, work my way through.

So. Anyone care to come along for the ride? 

Leave a comment and tell me what "IT" might be for you. 

What are you afraid of? What keeps you from trying? Is there really anything earth shattering that might happen if you fail? One lucky commenter will with a copy of Diana's book. I'll compile the comments from this post as well as  this one and this one. Check back here Friday to see if you are the lucky one!