Art Saves

Book excerpt: Discover it for yourself. Inside Art Saves, experience the stories of 20 artists who found that artistic expression and the artistic process is worth living for. Whether you are a calligraphy/graffiti artist like Lisa Engelbrecht, a metal artist like Michael DeMeng, or digital collage artist like Susan Tuttle, art has a way of giving you beauty, meaning, spiritual richness, community... even salvation. The stories in this book come from every medium, because the power of the creative process can be found everywhere. Hear from: • Drew Emborsky, a crochet artist, provides comfort through his creations by donating his work to hospitals and shelters. • Rebecca Sower puts craft materials—and hope—into the hands of Haitian women through Haiti By Hand. • Marie French who, through art, creates personal miracles of healing. • Suzi Blu, who discovered the real, therapeutic effect of art-making, shows you many simple, effective ways you can give back. INSIDE ART SAVES, YOU'LL ALSO FIND: • Mixed media techniques and projects. Throughout the book you'll find practical ideas to put you on the art-making path. Karen Michel shares instructions on creating prayer flags, Lynn Whipple shows you how to construct a permission plaque, Susannah Conway gives advice on revealing the soul of a place though inspired photography. • Inspired Lessons. Each artist lists the lessons they have learned about living life artfully. • "When the Going Gets Tough..." Sidebars suggest ways you can remain strong, even when things get challenging. Hear how different artists deal with difficulty head-on. • "In the artist's own words..." Advice and wisdom shared directly from each artist to you. The act of art-making is an act of life. So thread a needle, lift a paintbrush, put pencil to paper, focus the camera—find salvation.