The Trickster's Hat: A Mischievous Apprenticeship in Creativity

This is the best work on creativity I've ever come across. It's both light-hearted and profound, which takes real skill (or blind luck) to balance. The artwork is fascinating, and the inspiring exercises I've tried so far provide just the right amount of challenge and encouragement along with spring boards to toss you about and rivulets to carry you sideways. A delightful ride! (But then where will you go? That is the question.) This is just a wonderful book!I've always been inspired by Nick Bantock's work--which has actually been life changing for me--and so I was very excited to learn of this book. I find his artistry, amazing and his ideas, fascinating. I love his brain! His spirit and insights too. In his work, I find wisdom along with playfulness and wry humor, beauty aside the grotesque and grisly, the monumental and the beauty of quiet and considered ordinariness, the sensual and the coldly cosmic. I'm not really trying to get down a set of oppositions here--or even be complete--but my point is that, for me, his art and his writings--beautiful and/or compelling, etc.--often expose, in an interesting or affecting way, how things really aren't just "this or that," but both, individual and neither all at the same time--complex and not. Or often his work reveals something unexpected and that something is "something other"--or could be. And on... Who could be a better guide into creativity and inspiration? And so when this book came out, I pounced.And I love the "participation" of the Trickster. I love this so much! Who else could be so perfectly suited as a "helpmate" (and mischief-maker) for these adventures as the Trickster is the boundary crosser, the one who mixes up all the lines and more? Too many things to say about Trickster and the wonderfulness of this motif--Lewis Hyde's book, "Trickster Makes this World," is one of my very favorite books of all time, and Bantock's appropriating the Trickster as the "familiar" for this book and these endeavors is brilliant.The book, itself, is beautifully put together. As art- and workbooks generally go, it is a small book (not saying thin at nearly 200 pages, but 8 x 6 inches), and because of this, there is something so lovely and accessible about its size that wouldn't feel the same in a large book. (Plus I can tuck it into a small bag and easily take it with me wherever I go.) The production is of high quality. It is a delight to touch and to hold. As with all of Bantock's books that I've seen, it is a book of incredible craftsmanship. As an example, the title alone is emblematic of considerable thought and craft. There is Bantock's exceptional artwork throughout--I love that anywhere I open the book, there is something wonderful to see.Best, this book is something that I will enjoy forever, a gift that will keep on giving--which is partly why my introduction to Bantock's work several years ago was so life changing for me both in terms of my own art, but also in other ways for my life. I look forward to this delightful and beautiful little book giving me more access to the Trickster within and without again and again.Further, it is just a beautiful little book--even if one never exactly "uses" it for the exercises. It is a treasure to look at, touch, contemplate and enjoy a little ride with ideas, amazing artwork, little Trickster journeys and wonderful stories within. Sooooo recommended...

I am a HUGE Nick Bantock fan! This is a step by step book of many exercises to loosen up your creative self. Some are art, some are written. Do them! I found myself surprising myself with projects or ideas that I never would have had otherwise. These are not precious little crafty ideas like a lot of other books have. Bantock is a serious artist who has a gift for teaching, inspiring and illustrating what might go into his inimitable, wondrous work.

Your imagination will thank you with surprise after surprise when you buy this book and begin to play with all of the tools, techniques and inspiration that Nick Bantock has packed within the pages of The Trickster's Hat. Get ready; you will never be the same nor able to ignore the calling of your soul. Be prepared to play, then spark, then fly . Ah, but toward that end, you must buy.....this witty, wonderful book that puts Nick Bantock at your table in the corner coffee shop giving you the wise counsel in the creative life that is his gift and purpose. Thank you, Nick, and Perigee, who had the great wisdom to publish this important work on creativity.I suggest you buy an armload as this is a great gift book for all of those in your tribe that could use a spark for their imaginative fires.

Like Bantock's other books, there are many drawings in this one that lend to the exercises.

The Trickster's Hat. What a wonderful title! I'm working my way slowly through Nick Bantock's 49 exercises in creativity and posting the ones I can on Instagram (some are simply exercises just to help you access the creative part of your brain and aren't really Instagram-worthy). Bantock provides a roadmap to creativity that involves many creative exercises, including writing and physical arts. I'm finishing my stamp and postcard for my imaginary country, as I contemplate what my own crazy board game is going to end up looking like. (I cheated and looked ahead.) One thing I did discover is that I do not like working on posterboard. The collages I made using posterboard as a base ended up curling, so I would recommend a better material than that.

I find the 5 minute art warm up exercises Bantock describes fun and helpful. They inspired me to start a painting. The step-by-step instructions for starting a collage intuitively are easy and fun. I like also his suggestions for an autobiographical collage and it is the first collage I have made. It got me started. For people who enjoy writing there are many free standing exercises as well as suggestions for writing based on your collages. I would like more collage exercises. But certainly I have gotten my money's worth from the inexpensive book.

This short little book outlines a bunch of activities and methods Bantcock uses to inspire creativity or snap out of writer's block. Not everything worked for me, but enough of the methods were successful that I can give it a 5-star review. Fantastic advice. The book has his usual inventive and striking visual design. Plus, Bantcock explains some of his own creative methods -- gives away a few secrets, so to speak. Or perhaps they were never secrets to begin with...

Lots of creative fun activities. I loved doing a picture out of stamps for example. I bought it for my sister and we are going to do the projects "together". She lives in a different state than me.The projects list all the ingredients needed. What I like most perhaps is the time frame. The author is not asking you for a day to complete a project - some are just a few minutes!This book gives you permission to be totally creative!

This is a wonderfull book that gives you an inside how an artist goes about to create works of art.

Well, worth waiting for...

So many books of creativity tips are filled with activities I wouldn’t approach with a barge pole because they’re just too weird or too involved or too pointless. The activities in this book are an exception. There are a few too many writing ones, but that’s a small point. The art activities are great. I especially liked directed collaging.

The book is mainly for a younger audience. When a person is older they have been through many experiences and survived and often do not want to contemplate "things turning out differently".The book will be donated to the library and will get lots of use.

If you enjoyed Griffin and Sabine, if you're an illustrator, artist, writer - this book is great, it kind of takes you behind the scenes into the world of Nick Bantock and his creative process. This book is rich with imagery, a visual feast, and has the ingredients too, for inspiring your work. The author/illustrator takes you through a series of lessons and creative exercises to spark and enrich your creative flow.