This is the story about how it all began. 

On pre-COVID Winesdays (which if you didn’t know is exactly like it sounds…Wednesday where we drink more than our fair share of wine) Cara with a C started stopping by at the end of the night with a Pop Pie and an update. She was reading this book called the Artist’s Way with a small class of strangers (and the meeting spot was next to the Pop Pie Co). She told us about her class and she would always say to me “I’d think you’d really like it” and I didn’t really understand what she was talking about…Is it a book? Is it a class? What are all these art projects on the shared patio? I’m confused. 

Fast forward a few months later to COVID times and shockingly, we were out on the patio drinking wine one night and the conversation turned to Artist’s Way. Cara with a C had completed the class and always spoke highly of it. I still didn’t understand. But several people in our friend group were undergoing some life changes and I think the Artist’s Way piqued their interest. Then all of a sudden, Artist’s Way was everywhere. Danielle started reading it with a handful of her friends from home. Then Allison starting it with her best childhood friend. And I’m looking around feeling very left out, because after all, even though I still don’t really know what it is, Cara said I’d like it, I said I wanted to do it, and now everyone is doing it without me. 

Fast forward a couple weeks and we are out on the patio drinking wine and everyone is talking about how much they love Artist’s Way and what week they are on and is super excited and happy. And I was just sad and left out. That night after everyone left, I decided to order the book online and I was just going to read it by myself because you don’t have to do it with a group. The book arrived a couple days later. Around the same time, E.G. came by for something and said “Oh and by the way I ordered that book everyone was talking about.” “Artist’s Way?! Me too. Let’s do it together.” #synchronicity Leanna joined us and caught up the second or third week in. Then there were three. 

So what is the Artist’s Way? It is an amazing and unique book by Julia Cameron to connect (or reconnect) with your creative self. It is broken up into chapters with one chapter for each week. Each week/chapter has a different theme that is the focus of the week’s short reading and list of recommended tasks to complete during the week. The two additional tasks are Artist’s Dates which are recommended to complete once a week and Morning Pages which is a daily free-form journaling. Artist’s Dates have become my favorite thing and it is making time for yourself by planning a special date for just you. I would say Morning Pages are the biggest commitment. It is three hand-written pages of stream of consciousness journalling each morning, first thing after you wake up. For me, I really latched on to Artist’s Dates, I would say the other two are better at doing Morning Pages. The task list at the end of each chapter are quite a range of things to complete. It’s recommended to do as many as you can. For each of us, we found that some spoke to us and some didn’t, so we did the ones we wanted to and had time for, and it turned out we would usually have some overlap between us as well as some items that the others didn’t choose that week. We finished the book several months ago but have still been meeting weekly and checking in on our Artist’s Dates, Morning Pages, and other homework that we assign ourselves and want to be held somewhat accountable for. I truly believe if you read the book and commit to the associated self-work, it can be life-changing. 

At this point, I’m definitely drinking the Artist’s Way kool-aid. Give me a bottle of wine and I will tell you about the Artist’s Way for an hour. Don’t say I didn’t warn you. The three of us get together for a weekly Book Club which is secretly a Drink Wine and Talk About Our Week Club. Good things always happen when we open a second bottle of wine. Lezz be honest, the last time that happened, we decided to start a group blog project. 

At first I was sad that I was left out. But reading the book helped me realize that it was supposed to happen this way and I learned from it. Artist’s Dates have made me so independent which was crucial during quarantine. And I think the others have also grown and learned from the work we’ve put into our daily and weekly assignments. 

The moral of the story is that the Artist’s Way will come to you when it’s your time. It has affected us all differently and each of us has grasped on to different aspects of the books and it’s teachings to help us grow as individuals. And we are lucky that we also get to enjoy it and share our experiences together as a group. 

This week, we are starting the Listening Path, also by Julia Cameron. Stay tuned. 

- Kara