Artists Way

One year after doing the workbook

Hello, dear reader

If you’ve been reading my Substack for a while, you might remember last spring I did the infamous Artists Way.

In case you’ve never heard of the Artists Way it’s a workbook style twelve-week self-led way back to your inner artist by Julia Cameron.

I love the concept. The idea of digging deeper to find your inner artist and create fearlessly sounds amazing.

And that might be my issue with it.

It’s more about marketing the authors ideas (and I am not saying they won’t work for some) than actual help.

So here’s my look back on the year and what stuck with me—and what I gave up.

Two main things you are thought during those twelve weeks are morning pages and artist dates.

I had my grievances with the morning pages. I don’t think they work in the way our society is set up today. The book was written a while ago, I understand. However, to write 3 pages every morning sounds like something you can manage, then go ahead. I do think it can’t harm.

But as someone who barely gets seven hours of sleep, I can’t get up half an hour every day just to journal my thoughts. Because one, I would only write about how much coffee I want right now (okay, maybe I actually tried it and that’s what happened) and I worked hard on getting somewhat of a regular sleep pattern. Raise your hand if you are a fellow recovering insomniac.

What I have stuck to, is writing half a page. Is the perfectionist in me yelling every time because that’s not the three pages I was supposed to write? Yes. But my mental health and sleep are more important than to stick to something someone wrote years ago.

The second one, going on an artist date with yourself, is something I keep in the back of my head. But once again, nothing I really stick to.

I don’t regret having done the twelve weeks. But I don’t think the book lived up to its hype for me. It’s praised to be deeply changing you and your art. And if it did that to you, I am happy for you.

In case it didn’t—here’s how I’ve been trying to get my writing spark back.

Immerse myself in art. One thing I started doing this year is to listen to one EP or album a week that’s new to me. And I just sit there and listen. Sounds boring. But it has truly helped me feel more connected to lyrics and the artistry behind certain music projects.

I’ve also gone to the art gallery multiple times. It hasn’t fully helped with my writing but it has calmed a part of my creative mind. Just to see beauty done by other human hands. In a world flooded with AI (don’t get my started on the use of generative AI in the arts… few things get my rage going as fast as that.) it’s beautiful to see what a mind came up with. How colour palettes were chosen and brushes kissed canvass.

And nature. I’ve made it a habit of going more often for a walk in the woods or sit by a lake.

Of course these are all things not everyone has available to them. I can only share my journey. Maybe it was the frustrations I had with the Artists Way that set me up to do these things. And in that doing those twelve weeks a year ago weren’t a waste at all.

I want to breath, see, feel and hear art.

I truly believe art is where our souls go to be understood.

With Love,

Ella