Artist’s Way week 3
Posted on | January 24, 2006 |
I’ve been meaning to check in about The Artist’s Way, which I’ve taken up along side a hundred or so other bloggers, with encouragement from the wonderful Kat, but I never had a moment’s pause. Today however, the rhythm of things seems to have settled somewhat, and I returned to writing morning pages (I did them only twice last week—though a full seven the week before.)
Like several other AW bloggers I Cameron’s emphasis on ‘recovery’ does not resonate with me. Rather, I wanted to do this ‘workshop’ to nurture my muse, to hone my artistic ability, and to develop some creative momentum.
Cameron often seems to be writing for the artist who has left herself behind. She writes: Name five lives you would live if you could do anything. I balked at this. I am still young and carefree enough to be in love with my life—even when I hate it. Even when I come to the page day after day and can write nothing. When there is only pith and rind and no fruit at all.
Yet I also find that there is also great deal of truth for me in many things Cameron writes. Taking time for myself without feeling guilty—and being fully present in the time I do take (without listening to that internal voice that tells me to hurry up, or spend my time better), is something I need to practice, and the Artist’s Way is making me do this. Cameron calls this ‘developing some autonomy with your time.’ That rang true for me. Also: ’show up at the page and pay attention.’
Some things that I have enjoyed doing this week:
• Writing notes in the wide margins of the book. This makes the process of reading interactive. I begin to form my own thoughts in response to the text, and give them validity by putting them down, right away, on paper.
• Being okay with not writing morning pages. I have enough voices in my head making me feel guilty about the things I don’t do every day.
• Bringing a new attentiveness to little segments of time by myself: mini artist dates to the grocery store fruit section, on a walk about my land with a camera, an evening with a cup of tea and collage materials. I think other mothers will relate to this: time for oneself comes in small lurches when the baby is asleep.
• Instead of thinking about imaginary lives, I’ve been thinking about the lives of people that interest me. I’ve been asking myself what interests me about these people. Why do I admire them? People whose lives interest me this week are: William Stafford, Robert Bly, Peekaboo Street, Lynn Hill, Ansel Addams, Martha Grahm, Barack Obama, and Sofia Copola.
• Part of the way I am nurtured creatively is to be learning. I want to make small artist dates with myself to research some aspect of each of the people I listed this week. I want to know: how do they live their lives? What makes them who they are, unique, distinctive, creative?
And I want to know: what makes YOU unique, distinctive, creative?
My answer: I am messy. I get paint on my hands, and glue on my jeans. I am drawn to color. I use bold lines. I am fascinated by language: how it captures the essence of things, how it changes by region by country, how it holds thoughts and love and spirit. I love looking up the origins of words. This helps me know each word’s secret. When I take photographs, my eye searches for texture. When I write, my inner ear searches for a certain cadence that flows naturally. I have a thing for good pens. I use a molskine journal. I eavesdrop constantly. I am each day entirely filled with wonder at the beauty of things in this world.
Your turn.
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11 Responses to “Artist’s Way week 3”
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January 24th, 2006 @ 2:52 am
miss c ~
thank you for being bold and honest enough to say you don’t always do the morning pages. i have attempted to do the AW 3 or 4 times now (the most recent being a few weeks ago) and ALways get hung up with the pages. i’ll be good for about 5 days and miss a day for some reason…usually just PAINfully tired…and feel so (for lack of a better word) bad about being ‘imperfect’ that i give up and tell myself i’ll ’start over’ when i’m rested. after reading your post i am reminded and encouraged that ‘imperfection’ is ok. i can do (or not do) the pages…and i can skip a day and continue w/o feeling as if i need to start from square one. deep breath. thank you…
January 24th, 2006 @ 3:23 am
yes, thanks for admitting about the morning pages; I had to shake off guilt for not doing them all, myself. And to answer your question: I’ll save it for my blog, that’s a great topic to ponder. Being Mom, I forget the details of me; the AW has brought me closer to seeing my soul beneath the maternal musculature.
January 24th, 2006 @ 8:36 am
I have leared so much about myself, and where I want to go, from reading your blog and seeing your amazing art. I can’t thank you enough. However, I see the morning pages differently than you. I need a place to “dump” out all the random thoughts, and clear my mind of what Natalie Goldberg calls “Monkey Mind.” They are helping me tremendously. We went to a dinner party last weekend, and felt that getting that junk out of my head has helped make me a better listener.
Finally, I love your idea about thinking about people who interest you! I know I’ll be thinking about that a lot this week, and I’m eager to read about a couple people you mentioned that I am unfamilar with.
Great-fully, Nicole
January 24th, 2006 @ 11:39 am
I like that idea–that morning pages make you a better listener. I imagine that is probably very true.
I didn’t mean to convey that they are not helpful to me. I find they are an amazing source of ideas that I wouldn’t have intentionally thought of, if that makes sense. They certainly make me aware of undercurrents in my thoughts, and this helps me to refocus or to deal with them.
That said, I’ve also just taken a pragmatic stance to them: if I can’t get them done,no point beating myself up about it. Life happens. Some days are too full. Then I come back to morning pages when I can. Maybe this isn’t the ideal, but it is my ideal for now. I’m still navigating this interesting thing called being a mom, and finding time for myself is sometimes immensely challenging.
January 24th, 2006 @ 1:15 pm
oh my goodness.
you have just given me so much
to take in
all in one entry…
i have to go back and reread it
to totally absorb it
but i found myself nodding and a-ha-ing
as i read it…
i love the way you think.
January 24th, 2006 @ 3:43 pm
i’m messy too. i have ink stains on my fingers and a lump on the 4th finger of my right hand from where my pen rests. i always have my journal and my camera with me. i’m a bag person. i love words…the way people choose to use them and string them together. i love the smell of books. the best part of a new cd is reading the lyrics for the first time. i love the tiny details of things. i love to watch people. i’m quiet but there is a whole other world operating in my mind. i’m constantly constructing poems but very few of them ever get written down.
January 24th, 2006 @ 3:46 pm
I love the idea of thinking of the lives of people that interest you and researching them and what makes them who they are, unique, distinctive, creative.
Let’s see…what makes me unique? I look forward to the mailman coming each day. I can’t wait to see what wonder may arrive in my mail box. I adore fabric and texture. I love quirky, whimsy things. I like to make home made rag dolls. I’d rather call myself and artist than a scrapbooker. For some reason a “scrapbooker” sounds so sterile to me. I see nature as a work of art. I love the smells, the colors, the rhythm of the seasons. I’ve always wanted to live out in the country and lead a subsistence life. I see my children as my greatest creations:)
January 24th, 2006 @ 5:01 pm
great post christina!! i think it’s great that you are taking in what’s helpful and discarding what’s not. the journey will be unique for each of us. and yeah, the guilt thing has no place here, it gets the boot!
what makes me unique, distinct, creative?: i love texture, i can find beauty almost anywhere, i see patterns in numbers and woodgrain, i like the feel of paper, especially blank, untouched paper, i love the smell of new books, my hands are currently stained with black paint and matte-medium from last night. i’m messy. i keep a boot box full of paper scraps. when i see a neat paper scrap on the ground somewhere i’ll put it in my pocket. i’ve thought about organizing my scraps, but it’s just not my style and half the fun is rummaging through the box to see what catches my eye.
January 24th, 2006 @ 11:49 pm
I found TAW some years back, attended one of Julia’s workshops, did the morning pages all of it … and it changed my life in subtle ways but most importantly it helped me create a regular practice of writing and I have not stopped.
January 25th, 2006 @ 10:32 am
I love it when I get to your site and see art right off of the bat. I usually check blogs in the mornings and it’s such a nice way to start the day, your blog. I love this piece — I absolutely love it.
What makes me unique? Besides the fact that I can eat my weight in homemade pies in one sitting? My writing usually focuses on things happen throughout my day. I have the ability to recognize the things that will make good material for me to work with.
January 25th, 2006 @ 2:36 pm
Love the art on this post. I just started reading a book called The Muses Among Us–it’s by William Stafford’s son. As with Artist’s Way, I will pick and choose what inspires me and let the rest go. Thanks for the inspiration today.