"An artist date is a block of time, perhaps two hours weekly, especially set aside and committed to nurturing your creative consciousness, your inner artist...."
"Yes. Your artist needs to be taken out, pampered, and listened to..."
"Spending time in solitude with your artist child is essential to self-nurturing."
"...we begin to hear solutions. Perhaps equally important, we begin to find the creative reserves we will draw on in fulfilling our artistry."
Julia Cameron, The Artist's Way
If you're familiar with Julia Cameron and her book, The Artist's Way, then you know about artist dates, and how they can benefit us as creatives. The quotes above help define what artist dates are all about. And, yes, it includes not just art events, but nature too. It could be a visit to a gallery, a craft fair, taking an art class, or simply sitting in nature or hiking. Artist dates are meant to be done by oneself, and yet I find going with someone who shares my appreciation can give me a wider perspective. Ideas come up, they may see something I had missed, and vice versa.
Having spent a few days in nature last month at a provincial park, I realized just how much that time in nature was what I needed. My soul had been seeking out the inspiration, relaxation, and healing powers that nature can provide. We stayed at a local resort, our every need catered to. My creative well was being re-filled. I took loads of photos and we even visited a couple of art galleries in the area.
Visiting galleries and art shows was something I had gotten away from the last couple of years, but did get to a couple with my BFF several weeks ago. I was so inspired by the innovative work I saw, as well as my trip to the provincial park, that I'm now noticing two things happening:
- A deep desire to enter more work in shows. My focus has been on teaching the past few years, not on entering work in shows, but I'm now feeling this shift. I actually think this desire started late last year as I joined a group in the area simply so I could enter some art into their shows. This is an area I definitely need to pay more attention to.
- Secondly, I'm noticing I'm leaning toward more experimenting with my art. My process is typically planning out what art will look like, often based on a photo, then trying to follow that plan, while shifting as needed as I pay attention to the materials and techniques. Yet I've started noticing my best art isn't planned, but begins with an object, or idea, or technique I wish to use. I'm learning to simply take that object/idea/or/technique and just let it play out. No rushing, letting it unfold naturally. Going with what feels right. Not forcing anything. Asking "what if....".
