Sunday, October 14, 2018

How I Began Artist Dates



Sometime in the past, I mentioned that I do “Morning Pages.” I’ve done so—off and on—for twenty-seven years. This writing exercise is from the book The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron.

Cameron wrote the book to free those of us who felt “blocked” in our creativity. That is, we’d lost the impetus to create in our own way. It was meant for anyone who had a passion for something, be it planting a garden, photographing birds, crocheting, baking bread, enjoying sunsets, writing a short story, quilting, visiting all the baseball stadiums in the United States, painting watercolors, etc.

Cameron asked readers to commit to twelve weeks in which they’d do the following: write, in longhand, three stream-of-consciousness pages each morning; enjoy an artist’s date each week; and read one chapter of her book each week.

Then—if this appealed to the reader and helped her or him renew the passion that gave renewed meaning to life—Cameron encouraged readers to continue the Morning Pages for as long as possible.

So for twenty-seven years, I’ve done them. I get up, feed the cats, scoop the litter, brew my tea, and then sit down at the kitchen table to write. The stream-of-consciousness writing usually takes about forty-five minutes and helps me clarify my thoughts, make decisions, and come to resolution on things that are niggling my mind.

As I think back over all these years, several important decisions with which I’ve grappled stand out:
·      quitting the writing of religious curriculum
·      ending a friendship that was dysfunctional
·      getting a home-equity loan to do a remodeling of my Stillwater kitchen and bathroom
·      writing a cat-fantasy trilogy
·      moving from Minnesota to Missouri
·      ceasing to compare the two states to the detriment of Missouri
·      deciding to stay here
·      writing a convent memoir
·      building a screened-in porch here in Missouri
·      deciding to self-publish
·      staying positive about my health and vision.  

Each time I grappled with one of these concerns, the Morning Pages helped me make a decision. So I am committed to them.

Back in 1992-93, I did the Artist Date only for the first twelve weeks of my reading of The Artist’s Way. After that, all I did was the Morning Pages. For the Artist Date, Cameron wanted the reader to do something creative, interesting, entertaining, life enhancing once a week. Her belief seemed to be that we spend most of our time with other people. She wanted her readers to take time for themselves—about an hour each week—so as to discover once again the wellspring of child-like delight within ourselves.

That first year, I had twelve artist dates in Minnesota. Of those, I remember the following:
·      I treated myself to an English tea with scones, clotted cream, strawberry jam, and several types of tea at a “shoppe” in Stillwater.
·      I visited a 5-and-10-cent store and browsed all the many items available there.
·      I played miniature golf.
·      I visited the Art Institute.
·      I sat on the bank of the St. Croix River and watched sailboats.


I’m telling you all of this because I recently bought Cameron’s latest book. It’s for those of us who have retired: It’s Never Too Late to Begin Again. She still recommends the Morning Pages and the Artist Date. To that she has added two 20-minute walks a week + the writing of a few pages of memoir that will help us look back over our lives. She provides stimulating questions to get us started.

In the next few weeks/months, I’ll occasionally share an Artist Date with you. Next week, it will be Date #1: a visit to the $ Store!

Peace.
Photographs of St. Croix waterfront in Stillwater, Minnesota, and St. Croix River from Wikipedia.

29 comments:

  1. Hi Dee, this is such a good exercise. Writing is a muscle that needs flexing regularly.

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    1. Hello over there in Turkey!!! I so agree. Writing every morning not only helps me flex my writing muscle but helps me find inner contentment. Peace.

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  2. I like this idea of Morning Pages. I usually write in the evening when the day is over. Much better to write in the morning. I do much better if I also pray in the morning. It helps keep me happy during the day. If I wait until night time--I usually fall asleep half way through my prayers. LOL

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    1. Dear Judy, when I first began the Morning Pages, I found myself writing, "I don't know what to say. I don't know what to say" and simply repeating that. Now I zoom right in on whatever I want--what the weather is like, what I plan to do that day, where I'm going, etc. and suddenly the words just flow. I bet that's the same for you in the evening, but in the evening I'm too tired to do it. So morning truly works best for me. I hope if you try it that morning will seem right to you also. Peace.

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  3. Dear Dee--since my accident almost two years ago, I've tried over and over to come to terms with my loss of memory. My blog doesn't satisfy the loss; I'm not really writing memories. Suddenly I see how "dates" with myself would be of use. I think I will try the book. As for the Dollar Store: when they came about I turned up my nose. Now I would not be without. They are the five and dime of my youth!

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    1. Dear Joanne, those dates can be so much fun. I've done two now since I started the 2nd book--one to the $ Store and one to the Kansas City Zoo---I find they leave me carefree and also bring back memories of when I was younger and visited both often. I hope that if you do get the book (either one of them) and start the dates, you'll recapture some of that memory loss. Peace.

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  4. I purchased a second hand copy of The Artists Way but it is in my growing stack of books that need to be read. I think I need to did it out.

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    1. Dear Birdie, I've found it so helpful all these years. Living alone means that often I need to talk to someone and there's no one available at the end of the phone line. The writing down is my talking to myself and so often the words come from the deepest center of myself were Oneness dwells and I find consolation and enlightenment. If you do use the Morning Pages and Artist Date, I hope this will happen for you. Peace.

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  5. Many years ago, I read that book and did the morning pages for a short while. I think something distracted me and I stopped doing them. I am so glad this works for you, and I'm curious enough to get a copy of her new book and see if it might be something I'd pick up again. I sure like your list of "dates." Thank you for keeping me abreast of these interesting projects! :-)

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    1. Dear DJan, I'm eager to do the 12 dates with this book because I've become somewhat of a recluse and doing the dates gets me out and about with a friend or family member with whom I can enjoy all that the date place has to offer! You are with friends nearly every day--maybe every day--but I still bet there are places in Bellingham and the nearby towns and countryside that you haven't visited! Peace.

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  6. The 'artist dates' sound like a very good experience. I especially like your Minnesota excursions.

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    1. Dear Bea, now that I don't drive, I need to find someone to take me to places around Independence and Kansas City--places they might like also! So this is going to be a new adventure! Peace.

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  7. It seems Cameron's books have been good for you!!

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    1. Dear Fishducky, they have been. Just today they helped me sort out how I was going to deal with re-introducing exercise into my life. Peace.

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  8. Ohh, I did not know about this book, going to grab it now. I do the morning writing thing but no longer timed and committed by pages. Perhaps I should get back to that place?

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    1. Dear Barbara, thank you for stopping by. You know, when I say 45 minutes that's just the average time it takes me. I don't time it. I do however do the three pages unless I'm pressed for time. Then I do only what I have time for. I need the three pages, because I sort of ramble for a page and then by page 2, I sort of get to something that I'm considering, and then by page 3, I usually come to some sort of conclusion or decision. That's just how the pages work for me. Peace.

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    2. How great that you come to a decision. I tend to write randomly on a varity of topics for nomore than five minutes at a time.I do go back once a week and read what I wrote though to see if it helps me for planning or decision making.

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  9. The Morning Pages has been a wonderful tool for you. I'm so impressed that you've kept them going for so many years.

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    1. Dear Jean, I've been off and on faithful. Sometimes I've taken a few days or weeks off. Back in 2006 and '07, I took 18 months off because of Meniere's Disease. With it in the worst stage it could get, I could not read or write during that time. So I've missed some time during those years, but mostly, I've been faithful! Peace.

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  10. This seems to have worked very well for you. I have never tried stream of conscious writing--will give it a try. Thanks.

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    1. Dear Patti, that type of writing really helps me as I tend to get muddled and just writing, writing, writing as thoughts come brings me clarity. When I do this, I do not go back and correct spelling or punctuation or anything. I just write the thoughts and continue on. Peace.

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  11. Wow, that's a long time to stay committed to a practice. I read this book a long time ago and wrote for awhile. Funny enough, I just came across the notebook I used recently. I didn't know the author had a new book out. Thanks for the heads-up. I'm going to look for it.

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    1. Dear Cynthia, basically, the new book is a lot like the old. BUT, the examples she uses are of older adults and the anecdotes and problems she describes are of older people also. I found myself in her writing! Peace.

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  12. Very interesting and I'm glad you found something that works for you. I think that's the key. I decided to go places once the weather cooled. To town, but not for errands or shopping. Just exploring. So far, I've been to the Visitor Center, the new library, a to me new thrift store, and even to a new Subway, as I got gift cards for my birthday to spend there. I think it is important, if we can as we get older to do something just for us.

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    1. Dear Inger, yes, I plan on going to some new places up on the Independence Square (the place where the city started back in about 1811. I want to see the Three-Trails West Museum (California, Oregon, and Santa Fe--Santacaligon!) and also the old jail and maybe go on one on the horse-drawn carriages to see the old houses. Peace.

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  13. We worked through Cameron's first book at our library creativity group a few years ago. Now we're working on her new one, since we've all grown older and still need a push! Your persistence obviously paid off. I need to be like that instead of getting depressed at what a load of rubbish my morning pages were! No-one's critiquing though so it would be worth it to persist, for the occasional germ of a decent idea that sometimes results. Thanks for the encouragement!

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    1. Dear Molly, much of my writing is also rubbish--lots of times the repeating of stuff I wrote the day before--like plans for the week or a grocery list or how I'll declutter the garage. But the truth is that there is that "occasional" gem! Peace.

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  14. I had written my comment on this post and it never appeared. I have been having problems with this lately. Many of those that I answer on my iPad go to Google and are never seen again. My comments seem to work on my computer, but it is so slow and my Retired Man is usually sitting in front of it and it is hard to get time on it. I need to figure out how to fix my beloved iPad.

    I am a note person. I write them at night and plan things for me to do the next day/week. Without them, I would waste my precious time vegging out. However, There are times when I need to do that also.

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    1. Dear Arleen, I get so flustered and frustrated when technology doesn't work well for me. I'm at a loss always as to what to do. I hope you work this out.

      Like you, I write myself notes and lists. I get a great feeling of satisfaction when I check off something I've done! I hope this week is going well for you and that there is a burst of joy within each day. For me, that often comes when I see one of the cats--sleeping or lying in the sun or lying with his/her belly up awaiting a rub-a-dub-dub! Peace.

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