Getting Started with The Artist’s Way
Join me in navigating a new creative adventure.
Welcome, friends, to the start of a new creative adventure here on
- for me, and for you.As I announced at the start of June, this month I’ll be kicking off my first foray into The Artist’s Way, and I’m inviting you to come along with me.
To add a little rebelliousness, and dare I argue, practicality, I’m adjusting the schedule to allow two weeks for every one week of Julia Cameron’s course, so that life can keep on life-ing while I attempt to tend to my inner artist.
A recap on what The Artist’s Way is, for anyone new to the phenomenon.
This is a 12 week course designed to induce creative unblocking.
To help students get out something stuck within.
Through the core activities including stream of consciousness journalling every morning and weekly artist dates (taking yourself out to do something fun, and not necessarily fancy), plus working through other prompts around different themes of identity, connection and power, confidence is said to grow, and ideas are said to flourish.
This may be about personal and/or professional development, or finding a new realm within ourselves that we didn’t know existed.
The course exists not online (thankfully) but in the pages of a book, which you can purchase new here, secondhand here, or in a bookshop near you.
There is a lot of talk of God in this book/course, which may or may not speak to you. I’ll tell you from the off it does not speak to me, at least not in a traditional understanding of the term perhaps. But I’ll be open to interpreting it in a way that feels aligned to what I’m seeking, or gloss over when it doesn’t sit well.
Take what serves and leave the rest.
If you’ve got your book already, you might have had a peak at the structure and have some ideas on how you’ll work through it. Here’s my plan for some inspiration.
I’ll be running my weeks starting on a Sunday, and landing on the prescribed check-in the following second Saturday. I’ll read the dedicated chapter first, cuppa and notebook at hand, and try to map out when and how I’ll spend time with the various activities and prompts, aiming to dedicate roughly 30 minutes a day. I’m still figuring out if morning pages sits in this time slot, and how and where I’ll bring in the artist’s dates - but for some things I must learn to go with the flow, which is surely part of the whole journey!
Then, after undertaking two weeks of the course across four weeks of the month, I’ll be sharing an update with you on the first Sunday of every month with insights from those check-in sessions, other revelations and resolutions that have cropped up through the activities, and inviting you to share and reflect how it’s going for you in the comments too, where I hope we can have some encouraging and fun discussions.
For all the behind the scenes of this new venture, and for a welcoming and friendly atmosphere in which to share, I’m inviting you to upgrade your subscription to be part of this journey.
You can still make use of the 50% discount, for a saving that you might want to put towards buying your own copy of The Artist’s Way, and in addition I’d love to gift you a book from my shelf to yours!
Take a look at the selection here and just let me know what takes your fancy x
Here’s my schedule, should you wish to follow along exactly, but course you’re welcome to adapt as you navigate your own journey with this:
👩🏻🎨 Week 1: Sunday 6th July (today!) - Saturday 19th July
👩🏻🎨 Week 2: Sunday 20th July - Saturday 2nd August
🧭 An update and check in here on The Navigation: Sunday 3rd August
👩🏻🎨 Week 3: Sunday 3rd August - Saturday 16th August
👩🏻🎨 Week 4: Sunday 17th August - Saturday 30th August
🧭 An update and check in here on The Navigation: Sunday 7th September
👩🏻🎨 Week 5: Sunday 31st August - Saturday 13th September
👩🏻🎨 Week 6: Sunday 14th September - Saturday 27th September
🧭 An update and check in here on The Navigation: Sunday 5th October
🎉 We’ll be half way through!
👩🏻🎨 Week 7: Sunday 28th September - Saturday 11th October
👩🏻🎨 Week 8: Sunday 12th October - Saturday 25th October
🧭 An update and check in here on The Navigation: Sunday 2nd November
👩🏻🎨 Week 9: Sunday 26th October - Saturday 8th November
👩🏻🎨 Week 10: Sunday 9th November - Saturday 22nd November
🧭 An update and check in here on The Navigation: Sunday 7th December
👩🏻🎨 Week 11: Sunday 23rd November - Saturday 6th December
👩🏻🎨 Week 12: Sunday 7th December - Saturday 20th December
🧭 An update and check in here on The Navigation: Sunday 4th / 11th January - not yet sure of my Christmas break schedule!
If there is appetite from those of you following along and nurturing your inner artists, along the way, I may open the chat for some more sharing, and perhaps even a zoom or two if anyone has the energy for more screentime. It might be fun? If you’re in London and fancy getting together for a coffee to chat about how it’s going, I’d love to hear from you!
This feels like something that could be frivolous to do, to set this intention to spend time every single day for the next 6 months or so working on this project. I am already thinking about all the other things I could / should / ought to be doing.
But why? Why not? Why not dive into this course for no other reason than I want to, that I’m intrigued by what I might get out of it, and make the most of something that is, aside from the cost of the book, free to immerse myself in?
Step one of nurturing the artist within might be letting go of the guilt she harbours.
I’ll get to work on that.
Will you join me? 👩🏻🎨
And now a little extra note for those who are already in…
Why The Artists Way, and why now?