Eight weeks down and four more to go. ⅔ of the Artist’s Way completed and there have been multiple developments across my creativity.
In case you’re new here, hello and welcome to The Practise, a series where i work through different programs designed to improve creativity. This article is episode three of Julia Cameron’s The Artist’s Way.
Check out the rest of the series:
Episode 1 - The Artist’s Way: Week 1
Episode 2: The Artist’s Way: Week 4
Episode 3: The Artist’s Way: Week 8
Episode 4: The Artist’s Way: Week 12
Last we left off, Julia Cameron was accurately predicting every major self revelation I was having and my skepticism of the first couple weeks had melted away.
Super excited to dive into the third instalment. Let’s go!
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Week Five: Recovering a Sense of Possibility
Tasks: Completed
Overview:
Again, this book has predicted almost word for word my thoughts the week previously. I thought I was a unique person, but apparently not. There have been multiple times I have written ‘this woman is in my brain’ in the margins of this book.
It’s quite confronting to know that your procrastination, hesitance, nervousness, confusion, apathy and anger is textbook. But it’s also quite liberating. If it can be predicted, it can be handled. This week slightly skims into a heavier topic surrounding mental health, so depending on which way on the pendulum you are, the text for this week might be easier to read in intervals.
Favourite Quote:
“Even on our worst days, a small, positive voice says “You could still do this or it might be fun to do that…”
Painting:
Bought the biggest canvas I have ever bought and decided to paint a photo from when I surprised my friend with a surprise picnic in the park. Right now only the underpainting is completed, but I’m excited for it to go on my wall.
Also, to note - usually it takes me forever to decide what to paint, but this was such a quick decision.
Writing: 48,000 / 100,000k
3k this week. A bit slow but I think this weekend I’ll be writing a lot more. Also - almost halfway through my manuscript!
Morning Pages: 7/7
I’ve been doing this for five weeks now, and this week it was really getting to me. The first couple of days were tiring and annoying. I feel like I’ve leeched my brain of all interesting, subconscious anecdotes that have made me act and become who I am. I’m getting quite tired of introspection.
Artist Date: The Odyssey in IMAX
If you haven’t been to the movies by yourself before, I highly recommend it, it’s great - especially in the middle of the day, if your work schedule allows. And in this instance if you have a spare 3 hours.
So - my review of the Odyssey. I really liked it. I’ve enjoyed Christopher Nolan’s movies and I think this is my favourite of the ones he’s done, seconded by Momento. I think Nolan does cinematography and plot very well, I absolutely loved all the visual effects, the sets and the animatronics, the score - I think it was all masterfully done and it easily makes it into my top ten favourite films.
The pacing was very good too, despite being 3 hours long, there was no lull in the storyline and the only movie that I wasn’t looking at my watch around the 2 hour mark.
All the actors were great - obviously, they’re all household names for a reason but it would have been easier to immerse myself in the story if it had been faces I hadn’t seen before. I also would’ve liked Penelope’s character to be fleshed out more. I do recommend reading The Penelopiad by Margaret Atwood.
I have not read the Odyssey yet - but I have read surrounding texts, as well as being a loyal Percy Jackson fan.
Week Six: Recovering a Sense of Abundance
Tasks: Completed
Overview:
This was the first week of the book where I lost the message a little bit. This week was all about money, and how to overcome your ideas that your art won’t pay your bills. The book talks about ‘luxuries’ which might be fresh fruit, or a subscription to a magazine - it asks you to examine where your money goes and what you spend for your own little luxuries. One of the tasks this week was to keep a pocket notebook and write down where your money goes - and I happened to buy a pocket notebook on my Artist Date two weeks ago, so that’s another coincidence in the book.
However, one sentence in particular that threw me off was “Recently, I bought myself a horse for the first time in a decade”
I’d say up to this week, the advice in this book could be broadly applied to every person, but this simple phrase just took me completely out of it and was a stark reminder that the ‘starting point’ varies a lot for each artist.
I wouldn’t say that it’s enough to not go through the book though, and flicking through the rest of it, it seems that this is the only ‘money’ chapter. Though if similar phrasing pops up it is definitely disengaging.
Favourite Quote:
“Most of us harbour a secret belief that work has to be work and not play, and that anything we really want to do - like write, act, dance - must be considered frivolous and be placed a distant second. This is not true”
Painting:
My local library has a tiny art show and this week I gave in my piece - some small blueberries, inspired by a browse through Pinterest. Winner gets a gift pack from Officeworks, so fingers crossed.
Writing: 52,000k / 100,000k
4k this week and officially past the halfway point - this is the point where I actually start to lose momentum in my manuscripts so we’ll see how the next couple of weeks fare.
I’m aiming for 100,000k for draft one of my manuscript, which is Book 2 of a series I’m writing. Book 1 is being sent to an editor at the start of October so another thing on my radar before I send it off is to do a couple of passes of editing. So that might halt my word count, but hopefully, we will still make steady progress on both.
Morning Pages: 7/7
Again, I really struggled this week. I really did not want to write. For one of my journals I just wrote the word ‘yes’ for half a page because it was really not coming to me.
Artist Date: Rollerskating Lesson
Do I know how to rollerskate? No.
Did I cling to the wall for all of it? Yes.
But it was super fun! Apart from a long forgotten kids birthday party I attended as a child, I have no experience rollerskating, so it was fun and interesting to go to a session. I think I would have been embarrassed if it was only children there, but luckily, there were the parents of a kid that was in the class and they graciously adopted me for the majority of the lesson which was great. I’ve been recovering from an injury for the greater part of last year, so it was a big mental hurdle to go and do an activity that pretty much guarantees at some point you will fall over.
I’m quite envious of people that can glide easily in the rink, so I think this might be a fortnightly activity for me. I’ll check in on the next couple weeks to see if I go back and if I gain a little bit more grace than looking like a giraffe on ice.
Week Seven: Recovering a Sense of Connection
Tasks: Completed
Overview:
This week focused on perfectionism and jealousy. We’ve begun shifting our perspective from discovering what our subconscious thinks about the creative practise to to making the right attitude to begin creating. I think there will be a big difference between the second half of the Artist’s Way and the first.
Favourite Quote:
“Art is an act of tuning in and dropping down the well. It is as though all the stories, painting, music, performances in the world live just under the surface of our normal consciousness”
Painting:
This week is voting week for the Tiny Art Competition at my library, so fingers crossed. Two winners and around 30 people have submitted canvases, so a 1/15 chance if my maths is correct. The politics of the Tiny Art Show has become the most talked about subject in my friend group, which gives you a glimpse into the riveting worlds of our lives.
In other art news, I did a couple of random oil pastel drawings. Put the timer for 10 minutes and just doodled. I always wanted to make a range of cards, but always get stumped on what exactly to put on them. There’s a couple friends’ birthdays coming up at the end of this year, so I’d like to make something for them.
Writing: 53,000k / 100,00k
Unfortunately, I got sick this week! So it was three days of being completely out of it. The writing definitely took a hit but I managed to put a book on editing on hold at the library and I’ll be going through that this week. Funny how 100,000k by Week 12 seemed so doable 2 weeks ago and now seems way too little time.
However, as I work through the book and shift some chapters around, I think the final count for Draft 1 may land somewhere between 90,000k and 100,000k, so I might just be on track.
Morning Pages: 5/ 7
5/7 due to getting sick. More than a few of the morning pages where done mid morning but regardless they were done - I’ve found myself suddenly infused with ideas about my manuscript. I’ll be writing about my life and then suddenly start writing about the decision my main character makes in chapter 3.
Artist Date: Dungeons and Dragons
Over the years a couple of people from different friend groups have said that I’d enjoy D&D, so I looked up games in my area and found one that runs every 2nd and 4th Saturday of the month. I wasn’t as anxious about this Artist Date as I was rollerskating and I had a lot of fun.
For those who don’t know, D&D is a role-playing game where players create characters that exist in the world created by the Dungeon Master. Characters can roam freely within the confines of the game, completing quests, defeating enemies and adventuring.
As it was my first time, I was given a character type, I believe it’s called and I was an Elvish Solider called Grace - why ‘Grace’? because I had recently re-watched Project Hail Mary (5/5 amaze, amaze, amaze). We ended up defeating a bad guy for the whole session and it was a lot of fun.
There was a lot more maths and acting that I anticipated, everyone around me was pulling grammy award winning dialogue at the drop of a hat. It was overall a fun experience but I’m not sure if it’s my thing. The sessions went for 5 hours, which I think is a standard session for D&D and I don’t know if my attention span allows that. Still, I’m so glad I checked it out and everyone I met was super lovely. I also gained 350exp and a flaming sword, so, a great Saturday night.
Week Eight: Recovering a Sense of Strength
Tasks: Completed.
Overview:
This week - revolved around the actions that you are taking - or not taking. The chapter talks about ego deaths, the survival of the inner artist and the roadblocks that you’ve subconsciously digested over the years, especially since you were a child. One of the tasks consists of you filling in the blank on role models you had as a child and how that affected your view of creativity.
It’s interesting to note that creativity - the actual act of creating has been framed as a side effect in this book. At no point so far as Cameron instructed the reader to spend 30 minutes a day on their craft, or set a goal for a crafting business. All the work is intrinsic, aimed to get into the core root of your relationship with art. And I think it was an excellent decision to frame it that way. I’ve picked up a paintbrush more times these past couple of months than I have this year.
This chapter had a lot of tough love as well, it asks us to remember times we betrayed or shut down our creativity and allow ourselves to firstly grieve and then move on.
Favourite Quote:
“Because I asked “How?” instead of “Why me?”
Painting: Bad news friends, I don’t think I’ve won the Tiny Art Show at my local library. Winners are apparently contacted this week and my phone has stayed silent. I know it’s devastating news, but hey, we took a shot, it was a fun time and I got a free canvas to paint on.
Writing: 55,700k /100,000k
Slowing down with my writing this week, I really have to put it into gear for the next coming weeks if I want to make my 100,000k limit in 4 weeks. By quick maths estimation ~ 44,000 words / 4 weeks is 11,000 each week, which is…rough. Don’t know how that happened.
Morning pages: 7/7
Back in the flow again this week and also nearly finished my notebook!
Artist Date: Spa
Used a gift card from my birthday months ago and booked a spa appointment. 10/10.
Final Thoughts
I think the biggest change I can see is my feelings about the Artist Dates. I think I’m going outside my comfort zone a lot more. I’m also much less anxious than I was before, which is interesting.
I think I’ve been looking at creativity through the output - how do I measure creativity, through a word count or a finished painting, but I’ve been implementing it in other aspects of my life. I’ve been wearing different combinations of outfits, going to see different things. I’ve also ventured out to different items off the menu whenever I go to restaurants. A couple weeks ago I tried coffee and now I’ve started drinking it. My morning and evening routines have been switching up too.
This week - as a self proclaimed night owl - I woke up extra early just so I could eat breakfast and watch an episode of The Mentalist before starting my day. These little things don’t seem like such a big deal, but they’ve been little tests against the invisible structures that guard my day - I’ve never watched TV before 12pm my whole life, because that was just something I never did, or questioned. I’ve always chosen a hot chocolate over a coffee - it’s just interesting to note how creativity infuses throughout the rest of my life.
My writing consistency has stayed the same, but my scrutiny of my work has lessened. I used to re-write specific scenes in my drafts over and over because I didn’t like how unpolished they looked, even though that was the point of the first draft. Now I’m happy with the imperfections, happy enough to leave them and continue on with the big picture changes rather than fussing over every single little detail.
Something else I’ve been toying with is maybe selling some art. I quite like the business aspect of it, but I always fell flat at what I’m actually going to paint. I tend to paint things for people in my life, rather than just create art for art sake. I also shunned away from the idea because I don’t really paint that much, I also don’t hold it to such high regard as writing. I think of myself as a writer who paints, not a painter who writes. But maybe that descriptor is good, maybe it lessens the grip of perfectionism. I’m not sure. I guess a couple more weeks of The Artist’s Way and some more morning pages will help me figure out what I want to do.
But I do have a new goal - create some greeting cards! I think that’s a nice chill activity I can get into. They’re also easy to create too - make a print and send it to either an Officeworks or Kmart (or canva!). So we’ll see how that goes.
Goals:
80% finish editing Book 1 Manuscript
Finish Draft 1 of Book 2 (90,000 - 100,000k) (currently at ~55k)
Make x2 paintings for myself to put on my wall.
Create x5 greeting cards.
Artist Dates so far:
Week 1 - Local shopping centre.
Week 2 - The Nutcracker Ballet
Week 3 - Aimless driving
Week 4 - Bookstore
Week 5 - The Odyssey in IMAX
Week 6 - Rollerskating Class
Week 7 - Dungeons and Dragons
Week 8 - Spa
Week 9 -
Week 10 -
Week 11 -
Week 12 -
I’m excited to see what I get up to in the next 4 weeks. Hopefully, my writing amps up so I can make my goal, and I’ll know more about what I want to do with my paintings.
Next week is the final instalment, and I will officially be an alumni of The Artists’s Way so make sure to check that out, and I’ll see you in another month for Ep 4 of The Practise.
Catch you later,
Kaye
Ready for more?
Read the last issue of The Practise: The Artist’s Way: Week Four
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