A Beautiful Anarchy: When the Life Creative Becomes the Life Created

by David duChemin

Overview

A Beautiful Anarchy is a vulnerable, honest, and insightful book about the human longing to create, whether you’re creating a family, a business, a book, or a photograph. Your greatest creation can be an intentional life lived on your own terms. What is our life but a chance to make the greatest art of all?

If you already identify as a creative person, this book is an invitation to more intentionally explore your creative process. If you've ever said, “But I’m not really creative,” it’s a call to exhume a part of yourself that desperately needs to get out and breathe.

This is an honest discussion about creativity and the obstacles that stand in your way on that journey. It’s an invitation to consider the creative in all of us, and to recognize that your best work will always be done when you colour outside the lines and listen first to your own voice. Truly exceptional, authentic lives have never belonged to the talented or the fearless, but to those who find the courage to do their work, and to be themselves.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781681982342
Publisher:	Rocky Nook
Publication date:	12/02/2016
Pages:	184
Product dimensions:	5.00(w) x 7.90(h) x 0.50(d)

About the Author

David duChemin is a world and humanitarian assignment photographer, best-selling author, and international workshop leader whose spirit of adventure fuels his fire to create and share.

Based in Vancouver, Canada, David chases compelling images on all seven continents. When on assignment, David creates powerful photographs that convey the hope and dignity of children, the vulnerable, and the oppressed for the international NGO community. When creating the art he so passionately shares, David strives to capture the beauty of the natural world. Find David online at davidduchemin.com.

Table of Contents

Foreword ix

A Beautiful Anarchy 1

Life Is Short 11

Ex Nihilo 17

The Artist's Journey 25

An Act of Creativity 31

This Might Not Work 37

Choosing Your Risk 47

Living Above the 45 53

Pretending to Be Brave 57

Listening to Voices 65

Inspiration 81

Incubation 85

Begin 89

Embracing the Constraints 97

Process Vs. Product 101

More Bad Ideas 105

The Starving Artist 111

The Art of Exclusion 119

Waiting for the Knock 123

Know Your Rhythm 129

The Myth of Originality 133

Ruts & Grooves 139

Winning at Yoga 143

Art As Gift 149

Now 153

Toward Mastery 159

I Will 163

Ripples 171

About the Author 173

Interviews

“David believes, as do I, that we are made to create. Not some of us. Not just a select few. But all of us. A Beautiful Anarchy is a book about being free. Free from that lie of ‘I’m just not really creative.’ And it’s about what it looks like to be there. How we can choose to live life on our own terms, to live intentionally, and make art with our lives. My favorite idea from the book is the idea of your life as a canvas. You’re free to paint the canvas with whatever you want. But, as David says, ‘Don’t you dare let it be blank.’”

~ Chris Creed

Editorial Reviews

Every once in a while a book comes along that isn’t just informative and interesting but actually opens up possibility where before there was none. A Beautiful Anarchy by David duChemin is that book. This candid manifesto for the creative goes beyond philosophy and invites the reader to reconsider how they relate with what they fear and to systematically reinvent that relationship in order to create a remarkable life. Highly recommended.”

~ Dane Sanders, Author of Fast Track Photographer

“I knew in the first few pages that David has done it again. The literature of photography and creativity has just been changed, once again, in a profound and beautiful way. This is not a book just for photographers. It’s a book that anyone with a desire to lead a better more creative life should read. There were times when, without exaggeration, I felt as though I was reading what might be considered the Bible of Creativity. I’ve never felt so proud and happy to already be living the creative life, and so empowered and inspired to continue to forge ahead to new and hopefully higher ground.”

~ Martin Bailey

“David duChemin’s A Beautiful Anarchy is more than a book. It’s a call to be truly alive! The powerful stories and principles shared will teach you how to create personal freedom, make your mark, and live with passion. Read this book and do something brilliant with your life!”

~ Richie Norton, Author of The Power of Starting Something Stupid

“A Beautiful Anarchy is raw energy bundled up in a book, and opening its cover is like lighting a fuse. This isn’t an ordinary book. Its message is challenging and liberating at the same time. What I like best is that David’s words are grounded in a life that is well lived. Reading it is like gaining access to the mentor and friend I always wished I had. Read this book if you want to make more meaningful photographs and live a more complete life.”

~ Chris Orwig, Author of The Creative Fight

“David believes, as do I, that we are made to create. Not some of us. Not just a select few. But all of us. A Beautiful Anarchy is a book about being free. Free from that lie of ‘I’m just not really creative.’ And it’s about what it looks like to be there. How we can choose to live life on our own terms, to live intentionally, and make art with our lives. My favorite idea from the book is the idea of your life as a canvas. You’re free to paint the canvas with whatever you want. But, as David says, ‘Don’t you dare let it be blank.’”

~ Chris Creed

From the Publisher