The Artist's Way

I first started the Artist's Way course last summer. Alas, my library loan did not extend for the 12 weeks of the course. I purchased it last week, with a gift card, and decided this weird liminal period was the perfect time to get in touch with my artist. 

If you are unfamiliar with the Artist's Way, it's Julie Cameron's Self Help Book/Course designed to help people (any people, not just artists) get in touch with their latent creativity. There are a ton of activities and assignments, but the main elements are morning pages (three pages of long hand writing each morning) and artist's dates (meant to encourage people like me to do things other than take laps around Target). 

The course is 12 weeks, each with it's own specific goals and assignments. I'm in week one, but I plan to blog my way through the course, for both accountability, and because it's fun. I'll write about my artist dates, as well as the weekly activities. This week I'm planning on going to an exhibit on "Magic in the Ancient World" at the Penn Museum (or maybe going to a painting workshop? we will see). 

The assignments this week were all focused on people in our past who have either discouraged or encouraged creativity. It really clarified how much of my work was stifled by a few discouraging friends and teachers. In the same way, without good teachers and family members I never would have discovered my love for writing and painting. Anyway, this should be fun.