Your Creative Mix

There was a joke going around Twitter about this eBook from Craft and Vision. I said I would review it, and the response was 'Don't take as long as Corwin did to write it!'. I think it must have jinxed me, because this has taken a while. My Bad. Your Creative Mix, by Corwin Hiebert, is essentially a look at making ways for your creativity to grow, along with getting involved in collaborative work. It does this by starting with your internal creative process. First it looks at what you do, and then throws in great ideas like having creative hobbies that are removed from your work as a photographer. These low stress additions to your life help keep your creativity going, adding to your main work.In some ways it's a hard book to read because Corwin is really coming in from the left field with his ideas. One comment that struck me early on was in the Pitfalls of Creative Work section. I see this and can be guilty of it: 'It's easier to criticize than it is to actually produce creative work'. Really, we need to think more on our own work and less on that of others. And when we look at others it should be for inspiration, not fault finding. Logs in the eye and all that. Corwin also warns about selfcenteredness and the defensive that can come from it.The rest of the first half of the book focuses on process to grow your creativity, from establishing a workflow and a workspace, to creating curiosity.Part two of the book is on external creative process, specifically collaboration. It begins by talking about what collaboration isn't, a wise start. As creatives we tend to be loners, so sharing and working together is a process that has to be learned. I think some people fear that collaboration is something where others can steal your ideas, but in truth working in collaboration can yield ideas you'd never have come up with, both in the collaboration itself, and outside it.There is solid and practical advice for getting involved in collaborative work, from working with someone else's project initially, to your own. Even the types of groups, like single person led, or all equal get covered. None of these are good or bad, they just are, and once the people involved are happy, then that's all that's required for it to work.Throughout this section we see the process in action, by way of example. From an interview with Heather Morton, to the work of Ramberg & Roth, and even Craft and Vision author Dave Delnea, we get to see their thoughts on collaborative process.By way of overview, this book is 39 spreads long, and wins at being the ebook I've taken the longest to read recently. There's a lot to absorb, and while I don't necessarily agree with all of Corwin's ideas, they all do one really important thing. They make me think. And that is the value in this book. Because Corwin is only a fledgling photographer, most of the photos in this book come from other people, meaning that there is a large and varied style of imagery in the book. Itself a joy. As well as having great content, Craft and Vision books have another thing going for them: great design.I've taken so long to write this that the discount period is over... sorry. But at $5, it's a bargain anyway! Get Your Creative Mix by Corwin Hiebert.