Artists of Athena doing a dance
Mission of the Artist is a story that Barbara needed to tell. Many years ago she had a vision of a beautiful planet of artists and an ideal creative world – but then something went awfully wrong. She saw that many artists have compromised their creative goals or just weren’t creating at all. She contrasts this ideal world with the existing one, and what happened that caused this destruction. The book gives hope for bringing back some of the magic that once existed.
Mission of the Artist was completed and first published in 2000. Barbara went on to promote and sell it to many people. She took it on a trip she was taking, and did her first book signing at a Barnes and Noble in West Virginia and Taylor Books. Then she did several more signings at Barnes and Nobles in California. She also sold it at local fairs she participated in. It is now in its third publication and currently sells online at Amazon as a soft cover book and also in Kindle format.
"The book was adventure, romance and truth, all piled into a story." Garry Reed
“I'm LOVING this book - I'm only halfway through - at the point where Rhianna discovers the Knights intrusion into Athena! Hmmmm ..... they've intruded our world too! Gotta get 'em!!!”
Judy Taylor
“I am a teacher and we get students in many fields of art. When my students read “Mission of the Artist” it strengthened their desire, and their activity level as artists. It is the most amazing thing! They got very enthusiastic in the area. When I read the book, my desire to help make artists went out the top! It is a great teaching tool!” Cheri Hall
“My sister gave me the book to read because she thought it would inspire me. I'd recently told her I wanted to stop painting as I was finding it increasingly difficult. I found it so packed with vital truths that I kept thinking "everyone should read it!" I know my viewpoint about art has been helped by this lovely book. Thank you.” Christine Sargent
“This book was entertaining and it was also enlightening. The story is about how the mission of any artist is to create beauty. Art is the forerunner of our culture. Whether you like the exact piece of art or not, it does inspire. A great book, very entertaining!” Cathy Morfopoulos
Mission of the Artist is a veritable Book of Genesis of the true creative forces of the universe, complete with an Adam, an Eve and an insidiously-clever serpent, depicting what it really takes to create an entire universe and world against forces that oppose it. As the artist that I am, I feel like I achieved a much higher state of spiritual awareness just from having read it.
What a monumental testament to the value of Art and Aesthetics and their close approximation to pure spirituality itself, their influence on the society as well as their importance in being the bona fide make-break of entire civilizations, especially this one.
And, as far as I am concerned, the irresistible and godlike force a team of artists operating at their true potential is clear, a view of mine which was solidified by this compelling story.
I realized Mission of the Artist was more than mere “enjoyable fiction” from page one, and I couldn’t put the book down until I finished it over the ensuing three days!
This story is brilliantly spun around what gives you an instant impression that you’re not just reading some intriguing fantasy, but an accounting of events that had actually transpired over the history of the universe. And this is no exaggeration.
While I always held that aesthetics were what actually builds great civilizations, that they were behind every salvage, resurgence and renaissance, that without them some societies may have never reached greatness or even have existed in the first place, Mission of the Artist hit home, deeply and personally, reminding of me what I had forgotten, for way longer than I can explain to be one lifetime, again from the first page of the first chapter.
I see that even the most successful artists in their fields are operating far from their ultimate potential. And I suspect Mission of the Artist will make this clear for any artist of any kind who takes to reading it.
But this isn’t a story of horror, of oppression, of dismal ruin of the creative instinct of Man. To the contrary, it is a sort of historical accounting of awakening, of reorientation to true purpose and of infinite possibility.
Exposing who the true, singular enemy of the Arts really is, revealing the true methods that are used to manipulate artists and the easily-recognizable profile which makes it impossible for them to hide, it is a story of inspiration and hope. And, beyond hope, it is kind of “Mission Manual” covering how to unblock and tap the full potential of this planet full of artists who have been unknowingly in the grips of such oppression, working independently, if competitively, to continue to exist.
I came in wanting to create a renaissance in the performing arts when I picked up the book, and left with a renewed sense of being as an artist and a new outlook of my (and the society’s) true potential, far beyond what any of us have imagined for a VERY long time.
I’d say “do yourself a favor” but I really mean “do planet Earth a favor” as the artist that you are: Read Mission of the Artist and get as many others to read it as you can. Once you read it you will naturally want to get everyone to read it. It is the answer to everything you see not resolving around you, and I think you will find your true purpose as an artist and even achieve it as well! Frank S., Performing & Recording Musician, Songwriter