As part of an endeavour to improve and explore my creative practice I am taking on the twelve week guided creative program The Artist’s Way. I am so excited to see where this journey takes me, what challenges it will bring up, and how it will ultimately make me into a better artist.
THOUGHTS & MUSINGS
I received The Artist’s Way for Christmas, and I’ve been itching to get started. The first week has brought around a whole host of emotions: I’ve been more inspired by the morning pages than I thought I would be; they’ve truly revolutionised my mornings. I’ve found it so much easier to wake up feeling brighter and more ready for the day, and it has sparked some truly creative ideas.
Doing the exercises, which prompted me to reflect on who has put out negative energy towards my work, and conversely, who has championed it, led to some rather negative feelings. Facing head-on your internalised feelings of low self-worth is never fun, but journalling about it through the morning pages definitely helped.
Week one has left me very much intrigued by the rest of the program and I can’t wait to delve deeper.
MY ARTIST’S DATE
Each week of The Artist’s Way brings an artist’s date: a time set aside to spend with your inner artist. In other words, time spent by yourself doing something that you truly enjoy.
This week’s artist’s date saw me heading out into Sutton Park and reading a book of Mary Oliver poetry – my favourite poet. Her poems, which explore our relationship with Nature and spirituality, felt so fitting to the setting. I was surrounded by such beautiful nature, and starting such a personal, spiritual journey, it was simply the perfect place to make time for her work. Though, let’s be honest, it’s never not a good time for Mary Oliver.
WATCH WEEK ONE
As a teenager I loved recording my life and creating YouTube videos so, in an effort to reconnect with my inner artist child, I wanted to pick this hobby back up, and document my Artist’s Way journey. I’m going to create weekly video diaries of my artist’s date, creative sessions, and exercises, so that I have it all there to reflect back on once I’ve completed the programme.
Roll on week two!
Love Chloe x
