The Artist's Way: Week 1

As promised, I will be blogging lessons and activities from Julia Cameron's "The Artist's Way" every week to help you (and ME!) unleash the artist trapped underneath work deadlines, household responsibilities and the new fall TV lineup. So often we allow outside stressors keep us from finishing that script or novel or blog post, even though, out of everything we do all day, it's the one thing we want to do the most. Cameron's workshop is not a cure-all, but rather a way to get in the habit of putting your creative life among the other immediate priorities on your list.

I'm hoping you've all picked up a copy of the book, read the introductory chapters and signed your Artist Contract, because now it's time for the real work to begin. You need to start your morning pages and plan your artist dates; jump into the deep end of the pool, feet first. Got it? Good.

Now, I've already skimmed through the Week 1 section in order to give you an overview of what you can expect:

1- Cameron begins by guiding you through a way to create a safe space for your creative self to thrive during the next few weeks of the workshop. You're asked to dig deep and find the point in time when your inner artist was squashed, come face to face and then throttle it. Not really, but that's the gist of it.

2- "Remember that in order to recover as an artist, you must be willing to be a bad artist. Give yourself permission to be a beginner." You are not to judge your early works and especially not your morning pages. This is a no judgement zone!

3- Dispel all the negative beliefs you have about yourself or your art and replace them with positive affirmations. We don't have to be Hemingway to tell a good tale (although that drunk-ass mofo sure could write a good story!), we can be sober and sane and happy.

4- Don't freak out but in Week 1 Cameron assigns 10 different tasks aimed at protecting the creative self and creating a safe space for all the work ahead, but I promise you they're not excessive. Some of it may make you cry because you'll have to touch a few nerves within, but it will be very cathartic, I promise.

5- Our workshop week is from Wednesday (today) to Wednesday, so Cameron suggests checking in the day before "deadline." On Tuesday, take a minute to evaluate how you managed with the course- did you do your morning pages? Did you complete all the tasks? How was your artist date?

I must admit here that all the soul searching in this first section, especially because it is my PMS Week, is going to be very emotionally charged for me. But I understand it's a necessary evil. All of those bottled-up feelings are keeping me down. I can't move forward until I lay down those burdens and address my fears. Besides, I know y'all are right there beside me in the struggle. Right?

xoxo,
Raquel Ivelisse