#4 book

[str4ng3-dr34m3r]

Do you think Dabos will ever make a 5 book? even just a small epilogue just to give everyone (or almost) the ending they deserved.

[fftffffghmjj]

I hate you.

[mausketches]

3. Pumpkin Because yeah, I'm totally in the Korra fandom, and I never made a picture about that, so... x"D Here's the pumpkin theme from the 31 Day of Halloween challenge, and Korra, what will return Today, yayyy! Who waiting for this too? *_* Korra by Bryke

[kellys50-50challenge-blog]

The Artist's Way

Book #8 of 50 was The Artist's Way [1992] by Julia Cameron.

I'll start by talking about the book.  It's a 12 chapter book about getting over creative blocks and enhancing your creativity.  I think that it's effective to read one chapter a week along with all of the other activities.  There are activities at the end of each chapter, daily writing called "Morning Pages" and weekly outings called "Artist's Dates".  Morning Pages are like writing in a journal every morning when you first wake up to "spill" all of your thoughts on the page and clear your head.  Julia Cameron suggests writing 3 pages each day.  I found that writing for 20 minutes is effective if you keep the pen moving and don't get distracted.  The writing is not fun and it was difficult for me to do on a consistent basis, but when I was getting it done I was feeling really good about myself.  The Artist's Dates focus on doing something fun/artistic/relaxing/interesting/different/etc. once a week and usually it's something that you normally wouldn't do.  It can be anything big or small, as long as you are doing it by yourself and not letting anyone else get in on your plans.  It can be as simple as taking a quick walk around the block, getting your nails done, stopping in to an art gallery, or going somewhere fun.  I found that Artist's Dates make me think about taking care of my mental health and living a balanced life.  The twelve chapters of the book are all very different and take you through many practical topics of life.  It's a very emotional process but really worth taking the journey if you commit yourself.  The actual writing is good, but not excellent.  Julia's stories don't always speak to me and her references to God don't work for everyone... she says you can substitute God for "good orderly direction" if you're not religious in that way.  Since the book was written in 1992, there are some things in there that are outdated and questionable for today's world.  It would be interesting to ask Julia if she thinks it's okay to write Morning Pages on a computer.  I personally didn't, but it works for some of my classmates.  It would also be curious to see how she uses technology now to enhance the creative process, be more efficient in life and make more connections with people.

I read this book cover to cover during my 12-week class taught by good friend Rachel Moore and her business San Diego Creative Connection.  She has facilitated the class many times and always does the tasks along with the group so that she is more of an equal than a "leader".  The past few years she has done 2 sessions that start in September and January.  She has also started teaching an online version of the class.  I'm not sure how that works, but you can contact her via her website.

Those of you who know me personally might be saying that I'm cheating by counting this book towards my Fifty-Fifty Challenge.... I disagree and am adding it to my total!  I had taken this class last year, but I was not the best student.  There were a lot of weeks that I skipped the reading and a few of the weeks that I didn't attend class.  This year I am extremely proud of myself that I read the book cover to cover and had PERFECT ATTENDANCE!  I was very good about doing my weekly homework assignments, did my "Artist's Dates" and homework problems about 70% of the time and wrote my "Morning Pages" only about 30% of the time.  I'm focusing on my latest mantra of "progress, not perfection" and I'm celebrating my accomplishments in this class.  It was an absolutely amazing journey over these 12 weeks and the 10 women in the class were all so supportive and inspiring.  I haven't felt this connected to a class in a very long time.  I am very thankful to my classmates for enhancing my growth and sharing their own experiences.  We all were able to be open and vulnerable when discussing our insecurities and going through the bumpy process.  But we did it!  I'm looking forward to getting together for a reunion we have scheduled on June 28th.

The Artist's Way (the book) = 4 stars

The Artist's Way class facilitated by Rachel Moore = 5+ stars

--KRG