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.

Comments

[Daya Naef]

Hey Kathy,
I am so glad you started this up again. I am going to come this week and see you.
Much love!
Daya

[Kathy]

That's so awesome, Daya! I'm so looking forward to seeing you and catching up with you!

[Jen Tem]

How do we join? Do we need to buy a book before we come? Can writers come, or just visual artists?

[Kathy Price-Robinson]

Good questions. Yes, anyone can attend the meetings. The only requirement is a desire to study the principles of The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron.

It's for all artists and non artists. It's for anyone who wants to deepen a connection with their creativity. We've had writers (I'm one of those), painters, dancers, photographers, cooks and even people who haven't done anything overtly artistic but who want to feel more alive and creative.

It's best to get the book before you come to the meeting so that you can study the chapter we are on. But it's not required. We'll try to have some books for sale at the meeting ($18) and I understand you can find them at used book stores for just a few bucks.