Sherry mcDonald Stewart on fri 20 jun 97
Have any of you read this book? ( The Artists Way) I can't help but feel
that it is true that we get what we want in life, and that as creative
beings, the universe cooperates with us when we commit to something. I
have too often seen in my own life, not only creativity needs being met,
but eventually anything I set my mind on, whether I think about it or
not, eventually it seems to materialize.
I would like to hear responses to this, if this is considered pertinent
on Clayart. This book is Julia Camerons, and is also available on tape,
but it is meant to get people unstuck. She has apparently had great
success with her approach, and workshops are offered in many places.
Sherry
Jaine & George on sat 21 jun 97
Sherry, I agree that we get what we want and work for in life. Ms.
Camerons' book has helped many towards that end vis-a-vis their
creativity, partly by presenting specific exercises and routines to be
followed.
There was a certain amount of 'group' success with the book/approach a
few years ago: Ragnar Naess worked the program through with one of his
92nd St Y classes, all reading and doing the exercises at the same pace.
This worked [as reported to me] best for those most open to 'sharing'
their feelings with a group of relative strangers. The group approach
was also good for those needing to 'report' progress to make any [or was
that just why those people needed it?].
One difficulty some potters - and other visual artists - have had with
the method stems from its emphasis on writing. It was, after all,
developed to help Hollywood writers overcome writers' block. You need
to be willing to write a lot to follow the plan as written.
On the other hand, you could also read it as more of a philosophical
work, devising exercises of your own to fit your creativity and needs.
That way, you'd have a customized plan to guard against whatever might
block your creativity from time to time.
Is that the info you were seeking?
Jaine
Sherry mcDonald Stewart wrote:
>
> ----------------------------Original message----------------------------
> Have any of you read this book? ( The Artists Way) I can't help but feel
> that it is true that we get what we want in life, and that as creative
> beings, the universe cooperates with us when we commit to something. I
> have too often seen in my own life, not only creativity needs being met,
> but eventually anything I set my mind on, whether I think about it or
> not, eventually it seems to materialize.
> I would like to hear responses to this, if this is considered pertinen
> on Clayart. This book is Julia Camerons, and is also available on tape,
> but it is meant to get people unstuck. She has apparently had great
> success with her approach, and workshops are offered in many places.
> Sherry
Kathryn Whipple on sat 21 jun 97
Sherry,
My partner and i got involved with a group of people who were working
throuh The Artist's Way. We met every Monday for over two years! Hwever we
junked the book quite early on in favor of drawing sessions (we rotated
posing for each other), poetry nights, and field trip like resaurantts, open
mike nights. Most of us are struggling to find a way to pay our bills ansd
still save some time and energy for art. There was some uneasiness along
chapter 6 or 7, when Cameron suggested that if you want a studio so badly,
why not turn that extra bedroom into one? (Most of us were living in cramped
squalor at the time...) and Then in Chapter nine, with the advice about
forgoing
that "house in the Hamptons" to simplify your life, well we all showed up at
that meeting with our lower lip poking out and one by one agreed that this
book was not written for the likes of us! But by then we had formed a very
close group as friends, and we all enjoyed each other so much! We renamed
ourseves "The
Artist's Bloc" and continued meeting for another 120 or so mondays.
Most of us continued writing the daily pages for quite some time, and i
still remember a great many ideas and new depth of understanding coming from
that work. Writing every day like that, without any attempt to structure
yourself, just begins to reverse the flow--we are saturated with information
going in, and it is the task of an artist to urn that around and let it all
flow out. One of our group is a dancer, not a verbal person, and she chose
to dance on half hour each morning according to the same priciples as the
daily pages. She said her ideas and enjoyment in her projects greatly
increased as a result.
Ina way it was these people, and the projects we engaged in as part of the
ARtist's Way that emotionally enabled me to make a decision to buy myself a
piece of land and build my studio, which, two years later, is very nearly
ready to work in. So i encourage you to go through with the book, try to
find some people who with go through it with you, a diverse group if
possible, for the collaberative project that become possible.(our crowning
achievement was a sweat lodge: we never could agree on whether to do a
sculpture or a vidoe after that).We were comprised of :a potter, a dancer,
two writers (one poet, one fiction) several musicians, and one excellent
draftswoman.
I find i have typed so much that i will be late for work!
I would like to know how this turns out for you.
Kathy Whipple
Brooker Fl
Carole Rishel on sat 21 jun 97
Sherry,
There are workshops all over the place based on this book - check around. I
attended 2 series of workshops and really got a lot out of them (although I
really have a hard time doing the morning pages!) There's also a new book
"Vein of Gold". I haven't read that or taken the workshop - yet.
Carole Rishel
Bastrop, TX
CaroleER@aol.com
Clayphil on mon 23 jun 97
Hi Sherry, and others,
The Artist's Way is a useful reference for working through blocks, etc.
It would be a useful component to an art and /or self development classes.
She has another book out which I've yet to look at. There is another book
in similar vien by Pat Allen, MA, ATR, "Art Is A Way Of Knowing", which
looks at the emotional/psychological underpinnings of artistic expression.
Pat is an artist and Art Therapist who has developed some interesting
concepts including The Open Studio Project in Chicago. The OSP is
designed, I believe, to promote self-expession, self-development as a
constructive, healing sort of activity for anyone who feels the
inclination to use art as a way communicating there inner experience.
Phil in Chicago
Sherry mcDonald Stewart on thu 26 jun 97
Well, you were very creative about how to use the book. I like what you
all did. Very interesting. Yes, it would be intimidating, her suggestion
about turning the extra room into a studio. I don't have an extra room
either. I change my work to fit my space, and it may work well for me. I
have always written stream of consciousness every day, for years, so it
wasn't hard for me to continue in that vein. Unfortunately, there is
more to it than that. The interesting thing is the spiritual aspect of
the universe meeting your needs. I want to try that, because through my
writings, I see a pattern, that seeds sown, come to fruition. I have
enough examples to believe it is so, but I have to take small steps
towards this, even as a risk taker! I hope it is true, that the universe
will see me through this life to live to express who I am, cause I sure
don't fit in corporate America! Later, Sherry
Sherry mcDonald Stewart on thu 26 jun 97
Hi! Well, I used to drive through Bastrop regularly some years back. I
live in Washington now. Bastrop is a nice place in TX. Do you like it
there?
There was a workshop on one of the islands here, a few years back. I
was interested, but I had a child I couldn't take along (she is an
artist) and I would have had to take the ferry over. So I bought the
book, did the pages, I had always written 3 pages a day, so it didn't do
anthing else for me other than what it had been doing which seems to
have built a stronger immune system. (studies show that writng about
your problems increases the strength of you immune system) Later, I quit
for some reason, and I did indeed get very sick, Interesting...anyway,
it has an interesting spiritual orientation, I see, now that I picked
it back up. And I think there is alot of validity to what she says. I
wanted to se if anyone took long walks towards the universe, and had the
universe take longer walks towards them. And hear the stories. I wanted
stories , do you have any? Sherry
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