To be an artist you must learn to let yourself be. Stop getting better. Start appreciating what you are. Do something that simply delights you for no apparent reason. Give in to a little temptation, poke into a strange doorway, buy the weird scrap of silk in a color you never wear. Make it an […]
FAQs: An Interview with Julia
– What made you write The Artist’s Way? JC: I had a profound desire to help other people. I shared the tools from my own spiritual practice. – Is this book meant for all artists? JC: I believe the tools of The Artist’s Way will help all artists, whether they are just beginning or much […]
The Inner Censor
THE INNER CENSOR During our work lives, we customarily received criticism from our bosses and sometimes our colleagues. Many of us endured yearly or quarterly reviews, and we took in their frequent negativity as part of our job. Retired, we find ourselves continuing to receive negative feedback, but instead of coming from our employer, it […]
Art Is Therapeutic, Not Therapy
When we are blocked creatively, we often experience ourselves as miserable—and we then wonder, “How neurotic am I?” Thinking that therapy will supply that answer, or at least alleviate our misery, we often turn to therapy only to find that our misery continues unabated. Of course it does. We are miserable not because we are […]
The Bedrock Tool of The Artist’s Way: Morning Pages
Morning Pages are the primary tool of a creative recovery. From my perspective they are the bedrock of a creative life. Three pages stream-of-consciousness writing done before the day “begins,” Morning Pages serve to prioritize, clarify, and ground the day’s activities. Frequently fragmented, petty, even whining, Morning Pages were once called “brain drain” because they […]
Artists Don’t Retire
As Picasso remarked, “Every child is born an artist. The trick is remaining one as an adult.” Passion, commitment, and most of all, the courage to be a beginner, are the qualities that it takes—and qualities that are well within our grasp. Recently I had dinner with an artist friend. Now sixty-seven, he still works […]
It’s Never Too Late to Begin Again
The term “senior” officially applies to those sixty-five and older. But not everyone who is called a senior feels like a senior. And not everyone who retires is sixty-five. Some retire at fifty, some at eighty. Age is a relative thing. Most working artists never retire. As director John Cassavetes put it, “No matter how […]
It’s never too late to offer–and find– support
One of our chief needs as creative beings is support, and seldom is this more true than when we are beginning a creative endeavor. Especially if we are new to practicing our creativity, it is paramount that we consciously build relationships that can serve as support for our projects and an outlet for our own […]
Ego, Fear and Humility
It is the ego’s dicey proposition that as artists we should always be “special” and different. The ego likes to be set apart. It likes to look down its nose at the rest of humanity. Such isolation is actually damaging. It is like the reverse of the Midas touch turning everything golden into a problem. […]
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