Tuesday, January 8, 2013

SLOW LOOKING--FINALLY!

Well, today I can announce the availability of that book I've been mentioning slyly for a number of weeks now on The Buddha Diaries.  It's launch date.  Now titled Slow Looking: the Art of Looking at Art, the book is available at http://www.peterclothier.com/shop/ and I'd count it a great favor if you'd click on that link right now and order a copy.  "The Buddha Diaries" is a giveaway--one that proves an unending source of joy and satisfaction to its author.  But I'm thinking that those who enjoy reading the blog, whether daily or just from time to time, might like to have some physical thing, a book!, in their hands, to read, for a change of pace.  It's a mere $10 expense and I offer the unprejudiced opinion that it's worth every penny of the cost.  But you don't need to trust me on this, you can judge for yourself by clicking that link.

(PLEASE BE PATIENT WITH THAT CLICK.  NOT SURE IF IT'S A PROBLEM WITH WORDPRESS, BUT IT SEEMS TO TAKE A WHILE TO ACCESS.  YOU MIGHT HAVE BETTER LUCK WITH THE LINK IN THE RIGHT-HAND SIDEBAR.)

Apologies for the crass commercialism.  But here's the thing: it's common knowledge that any book is a hard sell these days.  Your help is truly indispensable in getting the thing to move, in spreading the word, in starting the buzz.  You can pass the link on via social media, accompanied--or not!--by your thoughts or comment.  You can post a response on Goodreads or Facebook.  You can post a few words on your blog or email a referral to friends on your mailing list.  And the effort is minimal, amounting to little more than a click-click here and a click-click there (with apologies to Old MacDonald.)

Will you help me?  I hope so.  It's not about making money.  Truly.  I'd consider myself fortunate indeed if I broke even on this venture.  No, it's about getting the ideas out into the world.  The "One Hour/One Painting" experience which is the subject of the book, and which I have been offering for some years now in museums and galleries, is available inevitably only to a restricted number of people, in places where I manage to offer it. Slow Looking is available to anyone, anywhere.  The book comes with download codes to audio and video demonstrations, which will make the experience readily available to anyone who wants to give it a try, whether individually or in groups.  I hope that will happen.

More broadly, though, Slow Looking is about paying attention--not simply to works of art but to everything of value in our lives.  Our culture, these days, is such that we are encouraged to rush through our lives and we have un-learned the art of slowing down and paying attention.  My wish is that my book should arrive in the hands of a few people who actually need it; and then maybe more...

So please, if you can, click on that link now.  I'm sure you won't regret it!  Along with my apologies for today's commercial, my thanks to you for reading!

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