I don't know when The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron first crossed my radar. Once it did though, it kept crossing. I am a big believer in serendipity and if something keeps crossing my path makes me pay attention. The final straws that made me say "Okay, I'm listening!" were finding it in Port Townsend on my way to Artfest, and then at Artfest, a few people who listened to me explain where I am in my journey said emphatically "You need to read The Artist's Way". It took me a while to get hold of the book because of my suitcase being full (!) and then stockist problems here in the UK. I got the workbook too because I found the workbook for Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain by Betty Edwards very useful. This one not so much, because I could do it all in my morning page journal. However I will use it and go back to it to complete exercises that I didn't do the first time round.
(note from the ed. you all don't know how LONG this has taken to write, it has been open on the laptop since last night! Man, it's hard working with these flighty artist types.)
Why do I feel lonely when the postmen are on strike?
If I had remembered my camera today,
I could have shown you
the morning sun flaming along jet trails on the
horizon,
yellowing leaves branched against a mediterranean
blue sky,
school children leaning into the nippy air as they stride
to school;
But I couldn't have shown you
the feeling of autumn in the air as my feet trod long
neglected, never forgotten pathways.
If I had remembered my camera today,
I could have shown you
the comfortingly traditional facade of a London prep
school,
the eager faces of well-mannered girls on the brink of
adolescence,
rows of desks and texts and inkpens and pencil cases
and plaits;
But I couldn't have shown you
the slipping of time looking into these faces so far
from my kindergarten.
If I had remembered my camera today,
I could have shown you
the luxury of lunch eaten outdoors in October
sunshine,
the first shiny auburn conker fallen on the busy path,
the iridescent silver star caught in a crack in the
pavement;
But I couldn't have shown you
the delectable freedom of having lunch in a cafe on a
school day!
Just starting
You have to love serendipity. I have been feeling a bit lost and overwhelmed lately. New month = new chance, so I have been trying to pull myself up a little. I started "The Artist's Way", and had decided to get back involved with my 43 Things list. On the very same day, Ali Edwards posted about life lists. So there you are. The below is a blog entry generated from an entry at 43 Things, and the picture is a journal page, not a morning page.
I was introduced to The Artist’s Way last year, and serendipity made it hard to ignore. I have dabbled in morning pages, but finally I have the book and the workbook too. I have started Week 1 so far…
See more progress on: Complete "The Artist's Way"
Read More