Many people long to fulfill their creative potential yet don't know how. Using the stream as a metaphor, author David Ulrich takes readers through the full range of creative activity and shows that creativity is accessible to everyone who wishes to nourish and develop their artistic spirit. In Part One, he explores the seven stages of the creative process, from Discovery and Encounter through Responsibility and Release. In Part Two, he discusses the three guiding principles of creativity. Each chapter in Part One includes questions, exercises, and suggestions to help readers achieve each step in the process. The book also includes anecdotes and quotations from many artists, writers, and scientists.

"Ulrich has written an important and readable book that offers usable insights and answers to the question he poses: 'What is the nature of the creative process?' Both inspirational and practical, the author has many useful things to say to the art student, the professional artist, and all those with an interest in knowing more about the creative process, which Ulrich shows to be 'a metaphor for life itself.'" -- — Nathan Goldstein, author of The Art of Responsive Drawing

David Ulrich has taught and investigated the creative process for over thirty years. As a photographer and writer, his work has been published in numerous books and journals including Aperture, Parabola, MANOA, and Sierra Club publications. Ulrich’s photographs have been exhibited internationally in over seventy-five one-person and group exhibitions in museums, galleries, and universities, including The Art Institute of Boston and The Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts in New Delhi.