Make It Anyway: More essays on creative living (Danny's Essays)($19.99Value)

Description

What if you stopped waiting for perfect—and made something anyway? In Make It Anyway , bestselling author and artist Danny Gregory offers an honest, encouraging look at the creative process and what gets in its way. With warmth, humor, and insight, he shares essays from a life spent drawing, writing, and teaching others to make art without fear, doubt, or perfectionism holding them back Whether you draw, paint, write, or simply want to bring more creativity into your days, this book invites you to quiet the critic, embrace imperfection, and make it—anyway. (From the intro) Ever since I was a kid, I've made stuff. I wrote short stories I knew would never get published.  I made drawings that would never be framed. I learned to bind books, to throw pots, to make stop-motion animated films — just because it seemed interesting.  I started writing regularly online back in 2003. I had no readers, but I liked seeing my words out there.  I had a busy job, but I found time on planes and in hotel rooms to squeeze out a few paragraphs whenever I could.  I wrote about my first wife's death, being a single dad, and my decision to quit advertising. I wrote about drawing and painting, and not drawing and not painting. I moved to California and wrote about my new life with my new wife. Then I moved back to New York and wrote about teaching art, my dogs, and tuna sandwiches.  I've written essays that fell flat. I've made drawings that were terrible. I've posted YouTube videos that got zero comments and Instagram posts with a single like.  I've painted watercolors flat on my back with Covid and wrestled with ideas that refused to make sense.  But every Monday since 2020, I've asked myself what I should write about next.  Some weeks I've been brimming with ideas; other Mondays, I've come up dry. I've argued with myself that this would be a good week to skip — that I was busy or bored or exhausted. That no one seemed to care. I'm so glad that, every week, no matter what,  I convinced myself to make it anyway. Now I have this book to share with you. What if you stopped waiting for perfect—and made something anyway? Make It Anyway is a creative companion for anyone who's ever talked themselves out of making art. Through a series of personal, funny, and deeply honest essays, Danny Gregory reminds us that creativity isn't about talent or perfection—it's about paying attention, taking risks, and finding meaning in the mess. A reminder to reject perfectionism, quiet the critics, and rediscover the joy of seeing the world through your own eyes, this book will inspire, delight and get you making. I didn't start drawing until my mid-thirties, but once I did, it reshaped my life. It helped me pay deeper attention, travel differently, and see everyday moments with more curiosity and delight.   For the past two decades, I've been helping adults rediscover creativity through drawing. Not to become professional artists, but to make art a natural part of daily life again—something relaxing, meaningful, and personal.   I began sharing my own creative journey on my website, which eventually led to co-founding Sketchbook Skool, an online community that has welcomed more than 50,000 students from around the world. My books—including The Creative License , Everyday Matters , An Illustrated Life , Art Before Breakfast , How to Draw Without Talent , You Do You , and Shut Your Monkey —are for anyone who wants to pick up a pen, make something, and enjoy the process. I live in Phoenix, Arizona, with my wife, JJ, and our two pugs, Twiglet and Clover.