EG Books

I'm so glad I bought this book. It is one of those I take down regularly. The author thoroughly understands monotype in many mediums. A previous reviewer mentioned how well the toxicity issue was dealt with. Lots of good color illustration.

This book gives a thorough overview of Monotype printing. It starts out with materials needed, then goes on to talk about hand transfers, press transfers and doing monotypes in acrylic, watercolor, oil and printmaking inks. It covers mixed media and stencils, masks, etc. It has much practical/useful information in each section on both techniques and materials. There are examples of each type of work covered, athough I would have liked to see a larger "gallery" of work by different artist. A very good book if you are interested in monotypes.

This book answered many questions that other artists and I were asking regarding monotype. It gives you permission to proceed in any direction, using any materials you choose.

I agree with the previous reviews - if you're creating monoprints, and particularly if you're looking for non-toxic methods, this is a great book. It's full color with many inspiring illustrations, and full of useful, practical information written in a friendly, down-to-earth manner.

Re. recommended paints: I recently had the pleasure of taking a monoprinting class with Julia Ayres and her daughter Gail Ayres (at the Art Methods & Materials Show in Pasadena, CA, Oct 2004). The Ayres now recommend using the new Akua-Kolor waterbased inks by Rostow & Jung (www.waterbasedinks.com) which I assume were not invented at the time this book was originally printed. The advantage is that these inks are non-toxic, clean up easily, and they stay moist for days. You then print to DRY printmaking paper, and the inks dry instantly once they hit the paper. Now you don't have to worry about the inks drying on the plate, or handling fragile, wet paper. (I shoved my Createx paints in a bottom drawer after the workshop!)

(If you get the opportunity, take a class with the Ayres if you're just getting started, as there's nothing quite like seeing the process in action and the book will make even more sense! They also teach using the PinPress Roller for making monoprints by hand; very useful if you don't have access to an expensive printing press.)

There seems to be very limited information available on the technique of monotype. This book fills that void by demonstrating the incredible variety of effects possible using the monotype method. There are no projects, per se, rather it teaches techniques that help you create your own masterpieces. Many pieces of example artwork are found throughout the book.

A monotype is a one-of-a-kind print made by transferring a painted image to paper. The book starts out with an introduction to materials including plates, mediums, solvents, panting tools and paper as well as hand and press transfer equipment. It also covers studio safety and finding workshop facilities.

Techniques are next including working into a light or dark field and both hand and press transfer.
These include step-by-step instructions accompanied by demonstration photos. Working in specific mediums including watercolor, acrylics, water-soluble writing instruments, monoprint paints (Createx), oil paints, water-based oils and alkyds follows. A section discussing special oil-based printing inks for lithography, etching, printing and serigraphy is also here. There is even a chapter on special techniques including using masks & stencils, embossing and creating collages.

The final chapter gives an overview of monoprints, which combine monotype with other print making processes, and mixed-media monotypes. This includes intaglio, drypoint and engraving, as well as linocut and collagraphic monoprints.

There is a nice list of suppliers as well as interesting biographical notes on the artists featured in the back. This is a great book that displays the great diversity in mediums and results available with monotype.

I know nothing about music theory and have read five to six books on this subject. Most of them are written for seating in the ABRSM's examinations or just enough for playing one musical instrument. However, this book is tailor-made for layman, which is very detailed written in academic and professional style. To me and those who know nothing about music at all, it is very good "road signal" to get into it.

I picked up guitar about 3 year ago and wanted to understand music theory. This book started simple, used lots of examples and built to an advanced level. I have a solid grasp of musical concepts that used to mystify me. I've really enjoyed it and look forward to studying volume II!

I used this textbook (as well as Vol. II) when I was doing my Musicology and Composition studies. Since then, I have devoured several other Theory textbooks, but this set remains the greatest yet written. Were I teaching, I would swear by it.

I never played any musical instruments or even sang extensively using sheet music, and therefore knew nothing when I arrived at college to take my first music theory class. With this book, I went from knowing nothing to being at the top of my class! Turek is just phenomenal with how genius this book is! I now tutor kids in music theory who have had it all their lives, it is that great! Thanks Dr. Turek!

This is an excellent book for gaining a good fundamental knowledge of music theory. I picked the book up at a university bookstore where it is used in a formal music department instructional setting. However, the mature, disciplined musician who can set aside study time to work through this book for self instruction will enjoy it and greatly improve their musical ability. In particular, I found the selection of musical examples useful, enjoyable and fun. Overall a great book.

This book took my jazz improv to the next level. After practicing scales and standard patterns in all keys I needed ideas to craft more sophisticated solos. This book offered a lot of insight into the nitty gritty of creative, melodic soloing. The text is comprehensive and the exercises are easy to master. Transcriptions from recorded solos by many Jazz greats show the validity and heritage of the licks and principles described. Certain licks and treatment of common chord progressions should be ingrained in one's playing so that one can fly over them without having to think. This book will show you tricks, examples and deliver insight on how to achieve this. I would recommend this book to anyone who is proficient on his/her instrument and wants to get a better understanding on how to play bebop. I am glad I bought this book and I believe no serious Jazz musician should be without it. You can't go wrong with Jerry Coker :-)

If you go through this book and put in the practice time you would no doubt be one bad mamma jamma at jazz no matter what instrument you play.

This book comes with 2 CDs and the chapters are structured to show you the most commonly used elements in improvisations. It shows you real licks from the great according to what a particular chapter is about and has exercises that pertain to the material that you can practice. You can incorporate the licks into your own playing and make up your own. Lots of helpful material and good for hearing characteristic sounds found in jazz improvisations.

This book is an excellent book on the music language of jazz. It's not a method book on improvisation but it can be used as one. Jerry Coker points out that all of the jazz great musicians are not pulling musical notes out of the air to improvise. Their solos are truly well thought out music compositions. Jerry Coker points out that in order to create or play an improvised solo you do need to know what you are doing. Throughout the book he has shown excerpts from various solos of very great jazz musicians, such as Charlie Parker, Bill Evans, John Coltrane, Kenny Dorham just to name several. He has also shown analyses of full solos by some of these great musicians. What Jerry Coker has done is taken this book to explain the various elements of any jazz solo and presented them in a way that any intermediate level musician (possibly a beginner) could understand. I think this book is for the musician that is at an intermediate level in music or jazz music theory to benefit from it. Mr. Coker has identified many improvisational elements that goes into creating musical jazz solos from aural and written analyses of solos. For example, the number patterns, scalar patterns, 3-b9 melodic motion, target note enclosures, 7-3 melodic resolutions, linear harmonic generalizations, the difference between musical quotes and musical licks, bebop scales and more chord related scales and why they work for certain types of chords, bar-line shifts of linear harmony. Mr. Coker tactfully explains each element and how they can be connected to make good melodic sensical jazz music. He has created exercises along with a play-along CD to help the aspiring jazz musician.
This book takes the mystery or mystique out of the solos of the jazz greats. It IS possible and probable for any dedicated musician to reach that stature. In the past my lesson teacher would always tell me to play my scales and chords for solos...and I did. But nothing was making any musical sense. After studying this book, my solos now make jazz musical sense because it has musical shape and substance.
My final word is that I believe that no musician will be disappointed after studying this book.

This is not a method book but a useful text laying out essential elements of jazz improvisation, and an excellent reference particularly useful for the aspiring jazz improviser seeking the scope for practicing.

The double CD contains numerous examples to illustrate each of the improvisational elements which the famous jazz educator groups into 14 chapters. Moreover, perhaps the serious jazz fan who wants to learn appreciating jazz music in a deeper context, could also benefit from this work. Highly recommended.

I was thrilled to have the opportunity to read this book! I was Kim's Kindergarten instructional aide and met her from the early beginning of her schooling. As a person who was actually there, I loved how Eileen captured the day to day discoveries of Kim's gift. I always believed Kim would do wonderful things with her life. She was like a tulip unfolding and we just got to see one petal open at a time.

I feel so lucky to have been able to share time with Kim. I always told Eileen that I learned much more from her than she from me.

This book is a must read for anyone in the educational field or associated in anyway with autism. Poignant inspiring and fascinating.

Aspiring story that all things are possible for a child with Autism. A must read for families raising a child with disablities.

This book is a very interesting read. It shows the never give up attitude of a mother and a family who goes through much adversity for a child with autism. This happened before much was known about the condition. This mother gives her insight on how her family and especially her handled
this condition. She would not let society shun her daughter and she worked with professionals and her duaghter responed to her love and became a poductive person by communicating with her art. This is a very informative read and an insight into some of the things parents with autistic children go through.

this is a very interesting book very well written the message is very good to all people interested in autism the statement from kim is very powerful loved it lots mary

I have a personal link with the author and Kim, having worked with Kim for 7 years in the schools. As a result my review is likely to be more critical than some. I have to say that Eileen's book meets and exceeds my hopes and expectations! It is a powerful and moving narrative report, yet written in a style that makes it pleasurable reading as well.

This book tells of the challenges, frustrations, progress and triumphs for both family and ASD child. It is written from the personal experiences of a mother of an ASD child with all the insight and details that only personal experience can give. I encourage both professionals and parents of ASD kids to read this book, not once, but many times.

If you have a child with Autism Spectrum Disorder, READ this book. If you work with a child with ASD, READ this book. It will help you to better understand Autism Spectrum Disorder, the child and the problems faced by parents/family. It will also inspire you to persist, advocate for and help the ASD child to succeed academically, personally, socially, emotionally and professionally.


It's quite simply a wonderful book, rich in information and inspiration. A must read.

This book is lavishly decorated by Bewick's works, with such a quality that it can serve as a little Bewick anthology. In fact the quality of printing is better than the Dover edition of his works (which you can get at Amazon), and this collection of his vignettes that I also own (Scolar Press, 1978). It's worth the money just for the illustrations. By saying this I'm not depreciating the text. Mrs Uglow certainly writes gracefully. But bear in mind that Bewick was a honest, though quick-tempered, craftsman. His life was not that eventful. There're no scandals to expose (well, Bewick actually ripped off his clients, when he felt like to). As a result, the book is at best lively, but not exciting. Chances are that you won't finish it in one sitting, especially when you're not particularly interested in 18th-century England. But get it anyway, if you care about art history at all.

I appreciate the years of hard work that authors put into their books. Their mountain of effort allows me to learn more about their subject through a few hours or days of careful reading. However, some books are greater gifts than others. Jenny Uglow has given me two of my very favorite reading experiences. Her "Hogarth" was a revelation to me. She opened up Hogarth's world and provided such a rich context for his life that my understanding of his time and context made his life and work much more meaningful.

With this book, on the life, work, and world of Thomas Bewick, I experienced that delight again. I took my time savoring this book and examining the beautiful reproductions of his work with a magnifying glass (since my eyes can no longer pick up all the detail). Frankly, I had never heard of Thomas Bewick and wanted to read the book because it is by such a wonderful author. He was an engraver who specialized in engraving in boxwood. Again, a subject I knew only in the barest outline.

Bewick was from an established but not wealthy family in the Tyne valley in northern England. He apprenticed as an engraver and demonstrated talent enough to found a shop with a partner. His work goes beyond the usual artisanship of wood engraving into a realm of artistry that sets him apart into a world that is still shocks in the effect and composition. This wonderful book provides a large number of his works in their actual size. Boxwood was used because of its hardness and ability to stand up to the number of prints commercial reproduction of the time required. However, the wood was small in diameter and the pieces tend to be small.

Yet, they demonstrate a full range of emotion. Bewick is able to capture the images of his time and the countryside he loved. There are pieces that are quite funny and make a point such as the man driving his cow across the river to avoid paying the toll at the bridge, but losing his hat that was more costly than the toll would have been. He also shows us the drama of storms, shipwrecks, and all kinds of vignettes from life.

However, his masterworks consumed more than twenty years of his life. The first was his Quadrupeds, which provided wonderful images and interesting text on animals both domestic and exotic. He then produced two magnificent works. The first volume was on the Land Birds of Britain and the second on the Water Birds of Britain. His presentation of the birds transcends mere illustration and were used and loved by naturalists for many decades. Even the great Audubon paid homage to Bewick's achievements. I find their beauty still has the power to stun and invite long and close examination.

Uglow provides what is known about his life, his apprenticeship and those who apprenticed with him (a list is provided in the back). We learn about his business dealings, his lack of skill in handling money, but his generous spirit with friends. His somewhat prickly nature also caused strife and ongoing difficulties that were needless and destructive. Yet, the work remains. And we are all enriched from Bewick's rich talents and Uglow's masterful and magical writing.

You owe yourself a trip through Bewick's life with Jenny Uglow as your guide. It will be an experience you will treasure.

Reviewed by Craig Matteson, Ann Arbor, MI

Here is Uglow's magnificent biography of Hogarth:
Hogarth: A Life and a World

Thomas Bewick was a hulking six foot tall, in the eighteenth century when such stature was remarkable. His realm of interest was the broad Tyne Valley, the region around Newcastle in England. His art, however, was of the miniature, woodcuts of astonishing detail about the size of a calling card. You might think that the life of such a rural artist in a medium that was dying out even when he was perfecting it could not hold much interest, but Jenny Uglow who has written biographies of others from that era has made Bewick's life, art, and world quite fascinating in _Nature's Engraver: A Life of Thomas Bewick_ (Farrar, Straus, and Giroux). This is a beautifully produced book, with scores of Bewick's engravings, most reproduced at the same size as he originally made them, often humorous tailpieces that were to fill the blank of a page at the end of a chapter, as well as serious reference illustrations of quadrupeds and British birds. Get out your magnifying glass. Each tiny vignette, composed only of minuscule blobs of black ink, is more full of details than you would have thought possible.

Bewick was born in 1753, and drew compulsively as a child. He was apprenticed to an engraver, and took up woodcuts when engraving on copper was becoming more customary. After his children's books, he spent nine years studying animals, live (sometimes in traveling menageries) or as preserved specimens. _ A General History of Quadrupeds_ appeared in 1790. He thereupon took on the task of documenting all the birds of Britain in _A History of British Birds_. An admirer was Audubon, whose big and colorful bird portraits were of a completely different branch of art, but who traveled to see Bewick in 1827, finding him, despite his age, full of life as "he delivered his sentiments with a freedom and vivacity which afforded me great pleasure... when I parted from Bewick that night, I parted from a friend."

The attention did not change Bewick in the least; he remained a plain, bluff, down-to-earth engraver. Uglow brings him to life. He was often irascible, and was not the easiest of businessmen to get along with, especially as he kept imperfect records. He chewed tobacco constantly, and might get into heated discussions over his pint at the pub. He loved music and angling, although he was no hunter, having killed a bullfinch with a stone when he was a boy; he remembered the bird long after, thinking that if it could have spoken "it would have asked me why I had taken away its life." He was a soft touch, constantly giving money away, to the consternation of his wife. He put feed out for wild birds, and he was much ahead of his time, as such eccentric behavior did not catch on until the mid-Victorian years. He was something of a conservationist. He sympathized with the Americans in their revolution, and he always felt that working people deserved representation in government. He disliked organized religion, and scoffed that the Bible's doctrine of original sin didn't "come within the scope of either rationality or justice." He could be classed as a deist, insisting that reading nature was the best way to understand its creator and to obtain a "perpetual cheerfullness". He was loyal to his family, and having been an apprentice, he took his own apprentices, and his relationships with them remained among the strongest of his life. One of his last woodcuts, included here, shows an ancient horse, and is titled "Waiting for Death". When death came for him, he was still at work on the impossible task of getting all the birds into his great work, and he was loved by almost everyone who knew him. He was an admirable man, Uglow plainly shows. Her book, full of Bewick's miniature masterpieces just as he would have printed them himself, lets him show what an admirable artist he was.

I'd seen Thos. Bewick's illustrations for years in NY Review of Books and elsewhere; they'd always seemed to me mysterious for their silent detail and concentration. So it was quite refreshing to find out that he was a loud, warm, confident man. He spent his life and career firmly rooted in one place, so unlike myself and many others of us in this "globalized" age. He devoted his career to appreciating the minutiae of life all around him, and innovated new techniques for portraying them. These circumstances, together with the author's calm, clear and often bemused style of writing, create a very cozy experience -- almost like reading a non-fiction fairy tale. I read most of this book in small bites of a chapter or two over the course of a couple of weeks of evenings, and found it a wonderful escape from the pressures of the day.

Though the book is very well-researched and surprisingly long (nearly 400 pages), it never drags. I'd been pretty ignorant about late 18th-early 19th Century English history other than a few names and dates, so it was also interesting to learn about the grass-roots resentment of government policies and wars, the government's tendency to turn dissidents into political prisoners, and much other historical context. But this learning is conveyed with a light touch. The illustrations are not only wonderful, they're as numerous as raisins in a cake, yet placed with great taste. A very outstanding book.

This is a very well written informative biography of the influential wood engraver Thomas Bewick. The author places Bewick and his artistic contribution in the context of his times describing the artist's rise to success at the beginning of England's industrial age and during it's wartime eras with France and America. Uglow is passionate about the artist and his work and the book is beautfully illustrated with well chosen examples of Bewick's phenomenal tiny woodcuts. His work has endured for 2 centuries and this book helps you understand why.

After looking through this book for a short time I'm impressed. It is just what I have been looking for. There are many, many ideas! Easy to read. I would say buy it if you are looking for art therapy ideas!

This book is so helpful if you do therapy groups. It has many creative ideas, which will help any type of counselor or therapist. It is my art therapy bible. I carry it to work every day. Any time I need a quick and creative idea I have one at my fingertips. The directions are easy to read and the ideas are vey good and thought provoking. I definitely recommend it.

I LOVE this book. The entire book is FULL of different art directives and activities to use with students/clients. Almost everything can be easily adapted to suit people of all ages. I am currently planning a group for teenage girls and all of the planned directives have been adapted from this book. This is really a wonderful book to own for anyone interested in Art Therapy!

The author does a wonderful job of listing projects and exercises that can be used 1:1 or in groups. The writing is concise and informative; crucial for those of us who don't have the time to filter through a lot of rhetoric to find useful and meaningful material. The projects utilize a variety of mediums, but remain cost effective. Great for opening up a dialogue on a variety of subjects, and has proven invaluable for my clients with schizophrenia (especially the group projects.) Highly recommended!

Excellent resource. Clear, concise information and techniques that work for kids and adults. Good rationale, easy to find information in book. A must read for therapists!
- Sarah (MFT Intern)

I realy liked this book.
It made me think about how art really helps people.
Including me.

This book is an inspiration! On every page, in every section there is something to draw on to expand one's spiritual and artistic expression. The mandala information is very good. The pocket shrines are also wonderful to make with or for children. They really respond to them. I was encouraged, uplifted, and inspired to create more art, and as a result learned more about me in 40 days, than I have in 10 years. If there was one art/spirituality book (that wasn't a single technique) that everyone needs for their bookshelf...it is this one. Don't miss it!

I loved this book! It's a fast read, but rich - full of great advice and suggestions for art activities that tap into the inner self. The author tells of her Catholic upbringing, but shares information on a variety of faiths and how they explore self through art. I'm teaching art to adults, and found it a very relevant resource. I also recommend it to anyone seeking to explore art in a playful, low-pressure way.

This is a great book for tapping into that inner voice, taking some time to be quiet with ourselves and just plain have some artsy-craftsy fun. The book sarts with some intro chapters that provide short stories/examples of the healing power of art through the ages - from Buddah to present day folks. From there it talks about "being mindful" - here there's discussion of drawing things from your dreams, using your imagination, etc. I love the section that talks about the difference between "curing" (where you remove all evidence of the disease) and "healing" (a more spiritual transformation of repairing and connecting, gaining a peace.) Again, there are lots of stories andexamples within the text which makes it interesting reading. The next few chapters go into getting in touch with your soul's palette - rediscovering what you see as "art", remembering your own personal history as an artist,paying attention to symbols. Next there's a whole chapter on different mediums to play around with (water color, clay, pen & ink, chalk, etc. Then she gets into playing around with art, being creative, letting ourselves free to create. There are short exercises throughout to help get you rolling and there are great discussions on things like howe to talk to your images/embrace them and create meaning around them. Then there's the healing aspect - one excerise is "paint or draw your emotional response to illness" another is "use color to sooth your symptom." There's also a section that talks about keeping a journal. Overall a really excellent book that I've enjoyed. Its fun, and there are so many interesting ideas/information woven in. Symbols have always been of interest to me and there's some interesting info on that in here too.

The chapters in the book are as follows:

- Rediscovering the Soul's Palette
- Creativity as a Healing force
- Knowing materials and creating space
- Visual symbols as messengers, guides and friends
- Letting your images tell their stories
- Images as a path to physical well-being
- Art as reparation and restoration
- Nuturing the sacred
- Sharing the Artist within

I definitely recommend this book for someone looking to open up/get in touch with that quiet voice. I have a clay cup that has a saying written on it - "When in doubt, listen quietly to yourself." This book helps you listen to that quiet voice.

I have read all the books on art and health and this one surpasses all of them. The author writes beautifully and sensitively about art making and why it is helpful to one's well-being. The exercises suggested in this book are easy to do and have great results, for both the beginner as well as more advanced. While I loved No More Second Hand Art by London and Trust the Process by McNiff, this book is much more clear in its writing and message.

The book is particularly useful if you are going through a physical illness or emotional distress-- you will find that the author offers many creative strategies to help. And if you are interested in spiritual aspects of art making, you can buy no better book on why art and spirituality are closely connected.

There are a lot of really good, creative ideas in this book. The one thing I wish was added was just a quick statement at the begining of each activity that identifies what age group and what general problem the activity is most appropriate for. Such information allows me to decide, right away, whether to invest the time in reading further about the activity if I think it would be relavent to a particular child I am working with.

This is an invaluable book, especially for people who are just starting out and want a few techniques up their sleeve for sessions. It could also be good for therapists who have been around for a while but want to shake things up a bit. Great interventions by many respected practitioners in play therapy. Worth the money!

This book is a wonderful tool to use in developing groups for children and adolescents. Some of the activities are therapeutic in and of themselves, and others are useful for generating discussion on a number of topics. Innovative and easy to follow, I highly reccomend this book.

I have ordered the book, and although it will take while to come, I have recieved exerpts of activities from this book and I find it EXTREMLY helpful! The other volumes of this book are just as helpful. There are plenty of ideas and some work well with all different populations and ages.

This was my main textbook for my first tonal counterpoint course, and is probably the one I still refer to most - clearly explains contrapuntal rules in composition, starting from basic polyphony to four-voice fugal writing. The emphasis is on tonal counterpoint, rather than specie counterpoint, and most of the examples cite Bach works, though Kennan provides a variety of them, for the student to have as reference. I remember his tonal and structural outlines of a fugue's organization and explanation of tonal and exact answers to be especially helpful.


Also recommended: the Counterpoint exercise book by Kennan, which I found particularly useful, the two counterpoint books by Gauldin, and for historical significance, Fux's Study of Counterpoint.

George Oldroyd's book The Technique and Spirit of Fugue is the best book on fugue composition but it's out of print and VERY expensive. So, by default, Kent Kennan's book is the best reference book a composer can buy for a basic overview of counterpoint. If you already have a year or two of music theory (you know about modulations, sonata forms, and basic part-writing) you can,literally, just start working from this book with Bach as a companion text and start teaching yourself how to write fugues.

Kennan's book is helpful because while mostly covering Baroque counterpoint he covers the topic in a way that lets a student expand on the contrapuntal principles into other styles. If you're going to get just one book on counterpoint make this the book.

Having taught counterpoint for about twenty years, I can honestly say this is still the best textbook available on the subject. Along the way I tried a number of "newer" texts, but my classes always met with more success using Kennan. The workbook that accompanies this book is a must for anyone who wants to master the art of eighteenth-century counterpoint. To be honest, you also need a teacher to evaluate your progress.

This is the most practical and efficient counterpoint textbook for class room use, the textbook I would use if I were to teach counterpoint in the class room. It is clear and concise and to the point. To gain a broader understanding of counterpoint, I recommend this work be supplemented with Walter Piston's COUNTERPOINT. I also recommend PENTATONIC SCALES FOR THE JAZZ-ROCK KEYBOARDIST by Jeff Burns.

The first musical example for Chapter 3 should be an excerpt from Bach's Two-Part Invention, No.11. It is not, as the reader will quickly discover when the text talks about a "lower voice" that simply doesn't exist! This is not a huge problem, since the correct measures are shown soon after (in Example 5). But it could be confusing at first.

John Graham-Pole, M.D. is authentic. His writing will be most beneficial for those (and their families) who are just now or will or perhaps already have learned what it is to be "ill". Listen, Read, Believe.

I believe everyone can benefit from this book because during our lives we will experience pain and grief in many and different ways. This book takes me back about 13 years. I recognize much of what I learned then, and (now) understand more fully some of what I didn't. G-P's subject is real. Understanding allows Peace, Thankfulness, and Blessings. God is Good.

When going through dread disease; chronic/acute;life-threatening, devastating illness; and/or depression, we often feel totally alone. We feel that others simply don't understand what we're thinking, experiencing, or feeling. Dr. G-P's authenticity shows he does understand. We are also shown another choice: Creativeness from within (and we all do have something to "say").

G-P listens and learns, observes and acts. I personally know he cares very much for his patients and his work, and I'm grateful every day of my life that Dr. G-P was our daughter's attending physician some 13 years ago. Today, I'm grateful for learning of this book and having the opportunity to read it, to share this book with others who want to be a creative, self-expressed person regardless of the circumstances of their lives or the lives of those they hold dear. This book is authentically written, gratefully received, and will be beneficial to all who read it.

Dr. John Graham-Pole's new book, "Illness & the Art of Self-Expression" is a long-needed primer on self-help for both the healthy and those receiving medical care. The author summarizes nicely the benefits of art in healing, whether it be visual art, music, dance or writing, and goes on to make the process easy for those who are new to the concept. He stresses the importance of relaxation, playtime and laughter. Whether enjoying the art of others, or expressing emotions through one's own creative art, the rewards are endless. This book can be of great value to those facing serious health problems, health professionals, or anyone with an interest in health and healing. It would be a valuable addition to every table in every waiting room in any health facility.

This is a unique, easy to read, well written self-help book that teaches the reader practical ways to use "art-making" to achieve greater health and happiness. It is written primarily for the person with a serious health problem, but it is useful reading for professionals caring for seriously or chronically ill persons. It teaches both groups of people how to bring art and self-expression into their lives.

The author has developed exercises to bring out the creative self-exppression each person possesses and to teach people to live for the moment, let go of negative thoughts or the pressure to achieve, and to enjoy the hidden artist within. The author's writing style is appealing because it is so rhythmic, flowing, and conversational that one feels as though one is sitting across from him and conversing. His style is direct and warm,and as one becomes engaged with the text and its exercises for self-expression, one comes away with a deeper understanding of,and a renewed appreciation of, the creative self-expression we all have hidden within us.

The author's writing is optimistic, hopeful, sensitive, and empathic. It is as if he has crawled into the skin of the person with an illness and is able to feel or think what he or she feels and thinks. He presents a holistic, integrated approach (using artistic or self-expression exercises) to help people take hold of theis lives, and in the face of serious illness, to feel in command. It is a moving and absorbing book with special insights into the world of people with serious illness.

We are using John Graham-Pole's book in the adult art therapy classes at the Lombardi Cancer Center at Georgetown University Medical Center, Washington, DC. Patients and staff participants alike have found inspiration and encouragement from the practical - and cheerful - application of creative self-expression to increase patient-staff communication and to reduce stress. I recommend it highly.