The Artist's Way in New Orleans

Ongoing: The Artist's Way Weekly Book Study

What:   The Artist's Way Weekly Book Study (Facebook)

Who:   Anyone who wants to strengthen creativity using the principles of The Artist's Way book

Why:   To study and practice The Artist's Way with the support of a group

How:   Buy the book, read the current chapter, do some exercises, share with the group

More How:  Do your Morning Pages and Artist's Date in between meetings

When:   Tuesdays, noon to 1 p.m.

Where:   New Orleans Healing Center, 2372 St. Claude Ave., Fourth Floor (map)

What chapter are we on? Check here

A Vision Board for 2012

On Saturday, Dec. 31, 2011, five friends and I gathered at my house to make Vision Boards that represent our hopes for the coming year. Above is my creation. (See last year's Vision Board here.)

Perhaps Vision Board is too flowery a term for what we're doing. It's basically poster board with pictures from magazines glued to it.

The idea is to think about what you want the coming year to include. You could do a Vision Board for a season, or for an upcoming event like a wedding or new job. In this case, we wanted to help our goals along for the coming year with some visual representation.

For me, I'm not initially sure what my Vision Board will include. I just start cutting out pictures that appeal to me, and then pretty soon the images I want to use and their placement on the board come together. In this case, I added some paint with a sponge brush, and a single strand of Mardi Gras beads.

Here's what the elements represent:

• Running figure — That represents me, running in the park, remaining fit, being happy. The "not what she expected" wording represents the fact that earlier in life, nobody expected anything from me. I believe my life was destined to be a failure. So this amazing creature I have become is quite unexpected.

• Colorful clothing — I really want to step up my wardrobe. I would LOVE to wear outfits like these. I've got my sewing machine ready.

• Was born for waffles — I don't actually eat waffles (carbs are killers for me), but this represents the idea of creativity. For instance, my husband and I started our monthly Waffle Sunday gathering a year ago (see the Vision Board that helped launch it here), and it was a creative thought turned into reality. I was born for creativity.

• Pot pie, kids, stove — Those represent the fact that my husband's daughter and her two young kids are moving near us this month, and my upcoming year will be filled with lots of kid-type family stuff. Plus, we need a new stove!

• Painted elements — That was purely experimental, but eventually as I added the colors and the horizontal bits, I realized they represent forward movement. The idea: keep going!

Overall, the Vision Board encourages me to keep my health and vitality and development as my central themes, and enjoy family stuff as well.

FAQ: Is The Artist's Way only for artists?

A reader of this blog recenlty asked a very good question:

Do you have to be a visual artist to join The Artist's Way Book Study, or can you be a writer?

I'd like to take that question a bit further? Do you have to identify as any kind of artist or writer or actor or anything else creative to join The Artist's Way Book Study?

The answer is empahtically NO! NO! NO!

The Artist's Way is for anyone who wants to wake up and strengthen their own creative juices. We can use creativity in all parts of our lives:

When I add a touch of cinnamon to a recipe that doesn't ask for it, that's creativity. When I create a menu for guests, that's creativity

When I put two tablecloths together and top them with baskets of fruit and a beautiful bowl, that's creative living.

When a woodworker or hobbyist chooses a piece of rosewood for a shelf, that's creative living.

And if one already identifies as a writer or sculptor or painter or poet, all the better. This book and support group helps the creative urges arise and manifest.

For me, I was afraid of my creativity for most of my early life. Why did these images and words and ideas keep coming to me? I tried to shut it down out of fear. Now, I know that is the divine working through me. I'm not in control of the ideas that come to me, but I am in control of how I respond to them and for keeping that channel open. Some ideas I bring to reality. Some I file away. Some I forget. But I no longer feel the need to stop the flow.

Bottom line: Anyone who wants to live a more vibrant, creative life will benefit from the principles, exercises and practices of The Artist's Way.

An Awakening: Nature is my lighting director

During my 29 years as a journalist, I've often proclaimed that "I am not a photographer."

Why do I keep saying that even though I take photos and have had my photos published in newspapers, magazines and blogs? Several reasons:

1. Exposure to Experts — As a journalist writing mostly about home remodels, I've been fortunate to have some amazing photographers shoot the houses I'm writing about. As you can imagine, the photos really "make" a story like this. The best photographers were those at the Santa Barbara News-Press, where I wrote more than 400 features over the course of seven years. Writing for the Los Angeles Times for 19 years, I was equally lucky to work with world-class photographers. So how could I be a photographer?

2. No Training — While I majored in journalism at California State University Los Angeles, I never took a photography class until about a year ago. So how could I be a photographer?

3. No Major Assignments — If National Geographic has never paid me $20,000 to photograph the migration of wildebeests on the African savanna, how could I be a photographer?

4. No Aptitude for Artifical Lighting — This may be the biggest reason of all. I do know anything about lighting indoors. I have tried and I'm not good at it. I don't like it. I don't want to do or learn about it. So there. I guess I must not be a photographer.

All these logical reasons were cursing through my mind this morning just after I took the photograph above during my morning walk through New Orleans City Park. There I was, jogging along, listening to Fresh Air on my iPhone and planning  my day when, suddenly, I saw my shadow on this tree, which was magnificently lit by the low morning sun.

And that's when hit me: You know what makes a photographer? Someone who sees something meaningful and responds with a camera. I saw this light. I saw my shadow. I switched my iPhone from iPod to camera and pressed the button. Done deal.

The seeing, that is everything. If we can see those magical moments created by nature just one time in all of eternity, and respond with a device to capture that moment, that is a photographer.

And I realized that I don't have to learn lighting design. That great higher power and source of all that matters — the sun — is my lighting designer. And for that, I am deeply grateful.

Artist's Way Book Study — Chapter 3 — Regaining a Sense of Power

Next meeting: Tuesday, Dec. 27, noon

Here's the great thing about The Artist's Way weekly Book Study at the New Orleans Healing Center: You can begin anytime and come as you are.

Unlike a formal 12-week Artist's Way Workshop, the Book Study is ongoing and lends itself to just dropping in to check things out.

If you seek a deeper, more personal experience of your own life, of tapping more closely into what makes your own life meaningful, you will probably like this one-hour meeting.

The format is:

• Opening readings from book
• 1-minute check-in on Morning Pages and Artist's Dates
• Moderator shares about current chapter
• Sharing around the room using talking stick
• Artist's Share (10-minute focus on one person's artistic path) 
• Art-related announcements
• Closing with 1 minute of silence 

The Artist's Way — Chapter 3 — Regaining a Sense of Power

Sections

Anger
Synchronicity
Shame
Dealing With Criticism
Detective Work
Growth

Exercises

• Describe your childhood room
• Describe five traits you like in yourself as a child
• List five childhood accomplishments
• List three obvious rotten habits of today
• Make a list of friends who nurture you
• Call a nurturing and supportive friend
• Follow your inner compass
• List five people you admire
• List five people who wish you had met

______________________________________________

Sidebar quote

"Take your life in your own hands and what happens? A terrible thing: no one to blame."

 — Erica Jong

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What next? If you get the book, read the chapter before each meeting, and do a few exercises, you'll get great benefits from this. See you there. 

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Note: Here is a listing of upcoming meetings and the chapters we will be on:

Dec. 13 — Chapter 1 — Safety

Dec. 20 — Chapter 2 — Identity

Dec. 27 — Chapter 3 — Power

Jan. 3 — Chapter 4 — Integrity

Jan. 10 — Chapter 5 — Possibility

Jan. 17 — Chapter 6 — Abundance

Jan. 24 — Chapter 7 — Connection

Jan. 31 — Chapter 8 — Strength

Feb. 7 — Chapter 9 — Compassion

Feb. 14 — Chapter 10 — Self-protection

Feb. 21 — Chapter 11 — Autonomy

Feb. 28 — Chapter 12 — Faith

March 6 — Chapter 1 — Safety

March 13 — Chapter 2 — Identity

And so on . . .

Buy the book here

My Artist's Date — A column under the Claiborne Overpass

One of the joys of The Artist's Way lifestyle is treating yourself to a weekly Artist's Date. The idea is that you take yourself, by yourself, on a date, and you have an enriching experience.

This week, my Artist's Date was to go see one of the painted columns under the Claiborne Overpass. The particular column is pictured above, with other painted columns in the background.

I've driven under the Overpass for years, and noticed the painted columns, but I didn't really know anything about them.

That changed about a week ago when I was attending a home weatherization conference at the New Orleans Convention Center. It was catered quite nicely with lavish coffee services outside the seminar rooms. At one of these stations, a middle-age man in formal waiter's attire, yelled out: "Coffee! Tea! Get your coffee and tea here!"

I looked over at him and laughed. I said: "Are you going to sing for us?"

Most the attendees around me were geeky govenment types from across the country, mostly from northern states, and they seemed surprised that I was talking to the coffee guy. That's something visitors to New Orleans don't understand: When you live here, we're all in this thing together, and you pretty much greet and make eye contact with everyone you pass by.

The coffee guy said: "No, I won't sing. And I won't dance. But I can paint you a picture."

Ah, I thought, that's interesting. I asked if he did oils or watercolor or what? He said he did acrylics and that he did a public artwork, which was one of the columns under the Claiborne Overpass, the one closest to the Conoco station where the Overpass intersects with Esplanade.

He said he was depressed after 9/11 and his girlfriend told him that doing art can relieve depression. So he set about to paint one of the columns. He said it depicted the entire history of African-Americans and the story was told in scenes that wound around the column and that if I was to go and look at it, I should go very slowly and it would take me four rotations to see the whole thing.

He told me his name was Robert Palmer but he needed a memorable name so his professional name is Robert Aquarius. I shook his hand and said I'd try to stop by but that I was nervous about all the panhandlers in the area. He said: "Oh, they won't bother you."

So, on Tuesday, on my way to The Artist's Way weekly Book Study, I pulled my car under the Overpass, drove up to the column and got out.

My fears of panhandlers descending upon me, like the geese at the park lagoon looking for bread, did not transpire. They stayed at their stations on the corner and I was free to slowly circle the column, taking in the story that Robert told.

It starts on the top, with images of the day-to-day activities in an African village. Moving on, the images capture the forceful taking of Africans from their homes, their perilous journey across the ocean, with dead, dark bodies thrown overboard and skeletons settling on the sea floor. Then came the slave auctions, and toil in the cotton fields. One scene shows a white master at the door of a slave woman's cabin. Later came beatings and lynchings and rewards for runaway slaves, then freeing of slaves and more violence, and the Civil Rights movement and more violence, and finally some progress as children enter schools. The last scene is an African-American girl holding up a diploma.

Wow! That's a lot of painful history when you see it all in one place with just four rotations around the column. I could imagine the power and intention of Robert as he decided on these scenes of his history and then put the paint on the column. It touched me.

I noticed so many other painted columns nearby. And they all have stories, and passion, and someone's fierce intention to say something, to be heard, to be seen. I hope someday to learn those stories.

Artist's Way Book Study — Chapter 2 — Recovering a Sense of Identity

This week, at the Tuesday noon Book Study at the Healing Center, we discussed the readings and exercises from Chapter 2 of The Artist's Way.

One topic was staying away from negative people who are uncomfortable with our creativity and who try to shame us and diminish our artistic impulses. The book suggests drawing out a circle of safety, putting those things that need to be protected inside the circle, along with those people who love and accept and support us. On the outside of the circle goes threats to our creativity. It's good to be reminded who is supportive and who is not supportive. There's nothing worse than sharing your creative vision with the most negative, pessimistic person you know. There just won't be a good outcome, so it's best to avoid that interchange.

Another theme was reconnecting to who we really are, tapping into our imagination and yearnings and memories of the past.

For one of my exercises, I chose to make a list of 10 things I like to do, especially those I have not done in a while. At the top of the page: Horseback riding.

So, I ask myself, why have I not ridden a horse in three years, ever since I moved from the ranch in California to New Orleans? (That's Bill, my beautiful, late Thoroughbred you see above. What a kind and magnificent creature!)

I have so many great excuses why I haven't ridden a horse in a long time! I live in a city now. I no longer have my own horse. I'm not that good at it.

But it turns out the biggest reason is that I know people who are really into horses, who own a bunch of horses and go riding all the time. They pretty much know just about everything.

So I have a habit, when confronted by someone else's expertise, to just take that big chunk of my passion and set it aside as if it's not worthy. The subtle agreement I've made with myself is that I won't do anything that someone else can do better.

Of course, that eliminates just about all the joys of life, doesn't it?

So my task is to contact the Equest Farm stables in New Orleans City Park and sign up for some horseback riding lessons. It starts with a $45 evaluation lesson to determine how skilled or unskilled I am and then to set up a series of weekly lessons.

I could cry I'm so happy about this.

Again, the Artist's Way program works its magic as I start to reclaim the wholeness of myself. It's a sweet, sweet journey.

Chapter by Chapter: Key Concepts

From Julia Cameron, author of "The Artist's Way," here are the Key Concepts for each chapter (or week) of the program:

 

Chapter 1: Recovering a Sense of Safety

Key Concepts: Shadow Artists, Core Negative Beliefs, Affirmations

 

Chapter 2: Recovering a Sense of Identity

Key Concepts: Poisonous Playmates, Crazymakers, Nigel the Inner Critic and the Act of Attention

 

Chapter 3: Recovering a Sense of Power

Key concepts: Syncronicity, Shame and Criticism

 

Chapter 4: Recovering a Sense of Integrity

Key concepts: Writing Prayers and Media Deprivation

 

Chapter 5: Recovering a Sense of Possibility

Key concepts: Limits, Wishing and The Virtue Trap

 

Chapter 6: Recovering a Sense of Abundance

Key concepts: Money, Luxury, Counting and God’s Will

 

Chapter 7: Recovering a Sense of Connection

Key Concepts: Perfectionism and Thinking ideas up vs. Getting ideas down

 

Chapter 8: Recovering a Sense of Strength

Key Concepts: Age, Time, Creative Loss and the Ivory Power

 

Chapter 9: Recovering a Sense of Compassion

Key Concepts: Enthusiasm, Creative U-turns and Blasting Through Blocks

 

Chapter 10: Recovering a Sense of Self-Protection

Key Concepts: Competition, Work, and Finding Balance

 

Chapter 11: Recovering a Sense of Autonomy

Key Concepts: Movement and Defining Success

 

Chapter 12: Recovering a Sense of Faith

Key Concepts: Escape Velocity and a Final Prayer 

The Artist's Way in New Orleans — Book Study vs. Workshop — What's the difference?

Now that we have begun our ongoing weekly Artist's Way Book Study, you may wonder about the difference between this Weekly Book Study and the Workshops I offered in the past.

So, let me explain with this chart:

Weekly Book Study	Workshop
Ongoing	Formal, set period from 6 to 12 weeks
No leader, run by group with rotating leadership and group is open to all who want to study the book together	Facilitator runs group, which is open to registered participants only
Donation ($1, $5, or? per week)	Fee ($100 to $300 and up per workshop)
Do reading and exercises from book between meetings, then share about them during the meeting	Do exercises and art projects during class

 As you can see, a Book Study is ongoing, working through the 12-chapter book one chapter per week, and then starting over, indefinitely.

A Workshop, however, goes through the book one time, and then the workshop ends.

The biggest difference is that everyone in a Book Study does the exercises in the book in between meetings, and then shares about their experiences during the meeting.

In a Workshop, you simply show up and the facilitator takes you through a series of exercies and art projects over a 6- or 12-week period.

I love the Book Study model for myself because I want ongoing exposure to the principles and practices of the Artist's Way program without having to commit to 12 weeks in a row. In the Book Study, one could miss a week or two and then start attending again. As you know you'll be going through the chapters over and over again, it relieves some of the pressure of feeling you have to be there each week.

Of course, there's nothing wrong with regular attendence. I find that when I have a one-hour weekly support group meeting in my schedule, I tend to take more chances in my artistic pursuits, knowing that I'll be able to share those with other creative, risk-taking people.

And I become more aware of the artistry of my life and the world around me for the same reason.

I may offer a formal workshop sometime in the future. But for now, I'm so darned busy in my writing and video work that I just don't have the energy to do that. Still, I want to keep the artistic journey fresh to improve my current work.

So, the ongoing Book Study works best for my needs! How about you?

We meet Tuesdays from noon to 1 p.m. at the New Orleans Healing Center, 2372 St. Claude Ave., Fourth Floor (map).

Artist's Way Book Study — Chapter 1 — Recovering a Sense of Safety

(Note: In keeping with our policy of confidentiality, of not revealing who we see in the meeting or what they say, I will only share own personal experiences in these updates. —KPR)

We held our second Artist's Way Book Study this week and I am in the midst of another artistic awakening.

I've seen this happen during the two Artist's Way workshops I faciliated. Participants get very stimulated and feel so alive and connected with their inner artist in the first few weeks. It's really extraordinary! Of course, we can't expect to sustain this level of excitement, and it will all simmer down in the next few weeks.

But the meeting was perfect! We started with some readings from the Artist's Way book, including the Rules for a Sacred Circle. We are still working out the format and will meet after the last meeting this month to make suggestions.

We did our 1-minute check-in on our Morning Pages and Artist's Dates. I have been doing Morning Pages for years and years, and cannot imagine my life without this grounding journaling experience. We NEVER show our Morning Pages to anyone, and we don't even reread them. The idea is to do a stream-of-consciousness for three pages. Full instructions are in the book. I usually do one to three pages, and even if I only do half a page, it's very valuable.

For my Artist's Date, which is a creatively or spirutally enriching experience we do BY OURSELVES, I went to the fabric store and picked out trims to use for some Christmas gifts I want to make. The others in the group shared about their Morning Pages and Artist's Dates, and it's always inspiring to hear about others' journeys.

After that, we read a portion from Chapter 1: Recovering a Sense of Safety, and then we shared about the chapter and any exercises we did from the chapter. I did the one where you blurt out negative thoughts about being an artist. I thought I'd gotten that out of my system, but sure enough, I had negative feelings about what it means to be an artist — selfish, self-centered, spooky, not-quite-here, etc. I then matched those negative concepts up with a more positive way to look at it — self-regard, self-protective, mysterious, focused, etc.

The last thing we do in our book study is to have an Artist's Share, where all the focus goes to one member as they share their art. We first discussed three methods for responding to art. They are:

Descriptive Response — What do you see?
Emotional Response — How do you feel?
Artistic Response — What kind of art would you like to make in response?

This frees us up from having to say the art is good or bad, or if we like it or don't like it. Rather, how does it make you feel?

I was going to bring some of my video pieces, but as I was collecting them, I realized I really need to put together a "demo reel" to show the extent and variety of my work. And I have not done that yet.

So, instead, I realized I needed some advice on the Christmas gifts I am going to sew. Without going into detail, I had some mixed feelings about it. So I laid out my fabric and trim and showed them to the group and explained my mixed feelings and asked for their feedback. (They would not have given any feedback unless I specifically asked for it. We are really big on that.) And they gave me loving and compassionate feedback, and afterward I knew exactly how to proceed and had a much better frame of mind.

At the closing, we passed the basket to make our donation for the beautiful space we are using, and we asked for volunteers for next week to moderate the book study and to do the Artist's Share.

Next week, Dec. 21, we are on Chapter 2 — Recovering a Sense of Indentity.

It deals with the people we surround ourselves with in life and how they exert positive or negative influence over our creativity.

Our homework is to read as much of the chapter as we can, do one or several suggested exercises from the chapter, do our Morning Pages and do our Artist's Date.

If you want to join us, we meet Tuesdays from noon to 1 p.m. at the New Orleans Healing Center, 2327 St. Claude Ave., Interfaith Spiritual Space, Fourth Floor.

Where to get your book? Maple Street Book Shop

Did you know that you can order "The Artist's Way" book online from Maple Street Book Shop and pick it up at the New Orleans Healing Center?

Ordering it from Maple Street Book Shop and picking it up will cost you $16.99 plus tax. This is much less than ordering it from Amazon, which will cost you $26.40.

Order it here.