Making a Life

My heart is still wrapped up in the gorgeous, intimate, thoughtful stories told through these extraordinary creatives that fill this beautiful book. Melanie takes a deeply sensitive and thorough exploration into each creative life, sharing the vast and diverse richness that creativity can bring to the way we live and breathe. I loved reading every story and was captivated by the gorgeous images that made me want to jump into the page and start making something too. Melanie has a wonderful, accessible, inviting writing style, exploring the many layers within a creative life and witnessing how creative pursuits play an essential and crucial role in finding personal purpose, joy and fulfillment. This book is a very special gift for the world. A gift of knowing and validating how important creativity is and how making things by hand can truly make a life ~ in so many different ways & interpretations. It’s more crucial than ever that we all honor the infinite potential of our own two hands, as it defines who we are and allows us to connect with ourselves in a way that nothing else can. Each one of us can live out a creative life in the way that fills our own souls, and this book makes that feel possible and exciting! For me personally, this book has propelled me forward to deepen my thinking into my own creative life ~ what it looks like, the various roles it plays, and how important it is to making meaning in my day to day. I am compelled, called and inspired to bring forth more creativity into my days, and what a fantastic feeling that is! Thank you Melanie for this magnificent piece of art.

Oh, how I love this book. I'm only 1/3 of the way through it and have found it so inspirational reading about all of the artists the author highlights throughout this book. In a time when most of us no longer work with our hands to create and beautify, this book offers readers hope and examples of ways in which these creatives are making it happen all around the world. The book is tex heavy, but I enjoy this aspect of it as I am not just reading it to see the pictures, but to hear more about how to go about living a more creative life myself. I am looking forward to finishing it this weekend!

This is such an inspirational book! Loaded with photos of craft makers and their crafts. Lots of ideas for crafts to try your hand at. Interesting look at the lifestyles and places the wide range of artistic people do their work. There is not enough time in a life to pursue all of the various crafts in this book but, there is certainly enough time to try something new and exciting.

Interesting vignettes.

I absolutely LOVED this book. The artists interviewed offered a variety of points of view, did work in a variety of mediums, and yet all offered basically the same advice...to be true to yourself in your work. This is a book to be savored. The images are all so beautiful, and the text is beautifully written and thoughtfully expressed. I highly recommend this book, not only for the budding artist but for those who have been working for years and just need some encouragement to keep going.

Any book authored by Melanie Falick as well as the ones she edited are works of art. This book is the epitomy of her work to date. In this book her research was focused on "making things by hand" while traveling countries and interviews artists, artisans and crafters and it is an eyeopening commitment to their craft. Her tag line sums up the vision. Making a Life :: working by hand and discovering the life you are meant to live

The author shares in the importance of creating with our hands, making things for beauty and our sanity. Very inspiring, a lot of ideas and how to incorporate the creative mindset into your daily life, slow down and appreciate all the talent we are capable of.

In so many of the interviewed artists' reflections and descriptions of their lives and work, I found "red threads" that also have been "woven" into my own creative experiences and life. My grandmother was one of the most inspiring persons in the importance and meaning of making as well. She cherished any handmade gift more than anything bought. What she would always say, was: "When you make something for me, I know, you thought about me in love the whole time it took you to make it." The book also reiterated for me, how important the daily practice of making is, because it centers oneself and brings such joy and peace. Thank you, Melanie Falick for this wonderful book!

I think Melanie Fallick's book on Knitting In America is one of the very best books of it's kind. This book on the creative life and choices people have made is an insightful journey into the magical world of makers. I spent a very happy weekend absorbing it from beginning to end. Melanie Fallick reminds me of the days when my friends and I gathered to dye big pots of yarn on somebody's property in the Autumn. The air was clear and fresh, the laughter and, of course, good food, abundant. Out of those days, we built studios and made serious, beautiful things. Thanks, Melanie, for bringing that sweet magic back to mind.

Overall I enjoyed reading it and it also inspired me to reflect on how I see the world of crafting by hands. On the other hand, the parts I liked most and were more touching were the verbatim comments from the interviewees. Somehow, the text got me wanting to rush until the next quote from the artists.

A fantastic book I have dreamt of for ages. A very good collection of different stories with photographs. Lots of information. This is worth having for anyone who wants to live a more fulfilling life and create, create, create. There are endless possibilities out there for everyone. I thank the author for sharing this with the readers.

J'aurais préféré une version française mais bon...

Lovely well researched and inspirational. High intellectual content, beautiful illustrations.