On April 22, 2010 Beauty Muse: Painting in Communion with Nature won a Silver Medal in the motivation/inspiration book category of the Living Now Book Awards.
“Authors and publishers all over the planet are helping readers sense the need to slow down, see and feel the natural world around them, and to find balance in their lives. The Living Now Book Awards are intended to recognize and promote newly-published lifestyle books that help us keep ourselves, our families, and the Earth healthy – today, and for future generations.”
“These days children spend less and less time outside and more and more in front of a TV or computer screen. They desperately need to reconnect with Nature and what better way than through art. I hope a lot of teachers and parents will find this book.” -Author, environmentalist David Suzuki
Beauty Muse is “an engaging, affirming set of tools and activities for awakening to Nature through our own creativity.” -Starhawk, eco-activist, writer and pagan witch
“Lisa Lipsett has created an inspiring and informative guide to the new field of art ecotherapy. As we open our senses and spirit to the rest of Nature we are rewarded with both beauty and healing. “ -Ecotherapist Linda Buzzell, co-editor of Ecotherapy: Healing with Nature in Mind
“Lisa Lipsett demonstrates a full knowledge of the higher purposes of art, the deeper meanings of the relationship between humans and all the rest of creation, and how artistic processes can bring a more profound communion between the two.” -Art therapist and educator Peter London, author of Drawing Closer to Nature
Review in Winter 2009-2010 issue of Green Teacher Magazine
Beauty Muse: Painting in Communion with Nature describes the journey of an environmental educator to reconnect with the natural world in order to find new meaning and energy. Her “Natural Painting” method- painting how a natural object feels emotionally or spiritually rather than how it looks- is intended to create deeper bonds between the painter and the object. By expanding beyond their intellectual and sensory perception of nature, students connect to the natural world more holistically and record their experience of it in a new way. Teachers who use journaling as a means of recording nature experiences will find many techniques to engage students of all ages. For students and teachers of psychology and art therapy, the book provides a framework to help clients connect holistically, both with themselves and their world.
