Clare, seeing your post got me to finally sit down and read Chap 11 & it’s one of my favorites so far because of its emphasis on acceptance, nurturing our artist selves and separating our creativity and its outcome to the market/marketability. Creative work must exist for itself: we create because we must, we are called to do it & on the best days we feel contentment & joy in our creativity. I loved your entire essay here, Clare, rich with reflections that help me appreciate the chapter even more. I so admire how deeply you are engaging with the Artist’s Way (and your walking path is so beautiful!) I love the idea of an artist’s altar. I realize however in the years that I have been living alone, post-divorce, post-caregiving, I’ve turned my entire apartment spaces into altars to being an artist. Every bookcase has shells, stones, feathers, cards, photographs. A large tray has three Buddhas of varying sizes, affirmation card decks, oracle cards. Candles and incense or essential oil diffusers in every room. I am a woman who has always wanted a room of her own for her art, and yet all during my marriage I never had that—my office was simply that. So now I am more than making up for it, with beauty and inspiration everywhere I look. It’s been important for me to constantly remind myself ‘I am an artist. I have a creative soul that needs nurturing and I will tend to it.’ I love the idea of your windowsill altar. I hope you take a photo for us. In other reflections, I know I’ve not been taking my artist on dates. Not once have I cracked open the painting set and sketch book and markers I bought. I need to remedy that this week. My suffering adult self these past months of healing from back pain (now making much progress!) needs her little girl to play. Maybe then the block I am experiencing to return to my novel in progress will lessen.
Hi Amy, I'm so happy to hear that you're feeling a little better physically. Long may it continue, my friend 💕
Your home sounds amazingly nurturing. I love the idea of having little artist's totems spread across various surfaces especially as I can imagine that previous iterations of your home involved compromising with the people you lived with. There's something so beautiful to me about women creating nurturing nests for themselves. It was so important to me when I was living alone. It felt like an important affirmation of my wholeness even if I was unpartnered, childless and petless. Before reading this chapter (& building an Artist's Altar), I didn't fully understand the value of having an environment that reflects my artistic self back to me. I am lucky to have my own creative workspace, but it's been mostly a utilitarian space. Reading this chapter has changed that for me. It's inspired me to create a place to play!
I hope you'll get to play with your paints and sketchbook this week or if you don't, I hope you might find your way toward them in the weeks ahead. Even though The Artist's Way experience will end, we'll continue to be artists and (I hope) continue to support each others creative journeys too 💕
Clare, seeing your post got me to finally sit down and read Chap 11 & it’s one of my favorites so far because of its emphasis on acceptance, nurturing our artist selves and separating our creativity and its outcome to the market/marketability. Creative work must exist for itself: we create because we must, we are called to do it & on the best days we feel contentment & joy in our creativity. I loved your entire essay here, Clare, rich with reflections that help me appreciate the chapter even more. I so admire how deeply you are engaging with the Artist’s Way (and your walking path is so beautiful!) I love the idea of an artist’s altar. I realize however in the years that I have been living alone, post-divorce, post-caregiving, I’ve turned my entire apartment spaces into altars to being an artist. Every bookcase has shells, stones, feathers, cards, photographs. A large tray has three Buddhas of varying sizes, affirmation card decks, oracle cards. Candles and incense or essential oil diffusers in every room. I am a woman who has always wanted a room of her own for her art, and yet all during my marriage I never had that—my office was simply that. So now I am more than making up for it, with beauty and inspiration everywhere I look. It’s been important for me to constantly remind myself ‘I am an artist. I have a creative soul that needs nurturing and I will tend to it.’ I love the idea of your windowsill altar. I hope you take a photo for us. In other reflections, I know I’ve not been taking my artist on dates. Not once have I cracked open the painting set and sketch book and markers I bought. I need to remedy that this week. My suffering adult self these past months of healing from back pain (now making much progress!) needs her little girl to play. Maybe then the block I am experiencing to return to my novel in progress will lessen.
Hi Amy, I'm so happy to hear that you're feeling a little better physically. Long may it continue, my friend 💕
Your home sounds amazingly nurturing. I love the idea of having little artist's totems spread across various surfaces especially as I can imagine that previous iterations of your home involved compromising with the people you lived with. There's something so beautiful to me about women creating nurturing nests for themselves. It was so important to me when I was living alone. It felt like an important affirmation of my wholeness even if I was unpartnered, childless and petless. Before reading this chapter (& building an Artist's Altar), I didn't fully understand the value of having an environment that reflects my artistic self back to me. I am lucky to have my own creative workspace, but it's been mostly a utilitarian space. Reading this chapter has changed that for me. It's inspired me to create a place to play!
I hope you'll get to play with your paints and sketchbook this week or if you don't, I hope you might find your way toward them in the weeks ahead. Even though The Artist's Way experience will end, we'll continue to be artists and (I hope) continue to support each others creative journeys too 💕
Thank you for this lovely response Clare & for facilitating today’s beautiful conversation (as well as this entire experience)💗
Thank you so much Amy. I really appreciate your kind words 💕