Some thoughts on Artists Way

Our hearth

So… this session of Artist’s Way is over, although hopefully the warm, rich community created will continue. So what have I gained from doing Artist’s Way in this online group?

Well, the group, mostly. I’ve certainly enjoyed seeing all the creativity, reading people’s stories and seeing so much inspiring artwork. I’ve enjoyed sharing some of the art I have done, and some of my other thoughts as the weeks have progressed. I didn’t do morning pages every day, but did them most days, and have gotten a lot further in my progress towards art journaling. I’ve discovered lots of great art journaling resources, lots of great artists, and started taking voice lessons, which is very exciting for me. Considering I haven’t done voice lessons in 30 years, that’s quite an accomplishment.

I didn’t always think about really having an artist’s date, although I did take some good ones. But even my ordinary outings became artist’s dates, as a new way of seeing the world opened up for me. To explain the photo in this post, for instance, one of the places I frequent sometimes for lunch is my local Panera. It has a large print on one of the walls of a painting with the word “Hearth” in it. I started to see all the words within that word – hear, ear, heart, earth, and of course, ART. I would sit and meditate on that painting at times, and listen to the voices around me, hearing snatches of conversation. One time I was reading Bruce Babbit’s book “Cities in the Wilderness” which is all about revising our national policies to preserve our watersheds and resources, when I noticed the word “earth” in hearth. It made me think about how our homes, our hearths, relate to the earth and the way the earth is our home, our hearth.

I didn’t do all the exercies in Artist’s Way. I did a few, but for me, having come through the journey I have, a lot of them felt redundant, and I am introspective enough to have considered already my past, my childhood, the many things and people that have led to where I am now, and to be at peace with all of it. I don’t have a lot of the issues that block other artists. For me, the main block is probably lack of space, even though Cameron says that is an excuse. But to not have a dedicated place to create art is limiting, for me.

I found my other big block is probably jealousy. I would often feel some jealousy about what others were doing, or the friendships they had, or silly things like how many comments they would get on a post. I felt jealous of those who had a studio space, or those who didn’t have limits created by family, or those who were already professional artists with a following. Now I find myself getting amused when I feel that jealous flare-up, and realize it is about my own ego and the idea that I “should” be doing that. And I can usually let it go pretty quickly.

I’ve had anger flare up at times – at my husband for limiting the time I felt I could spend journaling or doing art, at my lack of studio space, at myself for not creating something. I came to realize how deprived my little artist child really was, how much more indulgence I need to spend on myself. Having lost friends over being called selfish, I find it difficult to do that sometimes. I don’t like to feel selfish, but I know how cranky and out of sorts I can get without enough time to be by myself, and know it isn’t selfish of me to take that time, it’s necessary. What I’m finding now though, is that the space I need is also necessary, and it will be a challenge for me to figure out how to create that space or find space to rent or borrow. But, it’s something I’m going to have to do.

And lastly, I need to figure out where my next focal point will be. I have Camerons other books, “Walking in this World” and “Vein of Gold”, but feel I need a break from her process. I’m thinking I will work with Gwen Diehn’s “The Decorated Journal” and try a lot of different art journaling techniques to find what works well for me. One thing I’ve done while doing artist’s way is a lot of collage work, so I’m curious to try some of the layering techniques and other collage and mixed media techniques Diehn demonstrates.

And I need to work on my drawing skills. I find I’m comfortable with painting, but not drawing, and I tend to move towards doing the things I’m least comfortable with. I guess that’s different from the approach most people take, but to me, the joy is always, always, always in learning and challenging myself. And the one challenge that always continues to fascinate me, no matter what, is the journey within, and how to express that journey and help others to make it. And so, that journey, as always, continues.