The Artist’s Way

Yesterday marked the beginning of a new chapter – a fresh page to explore. Quite literally. I’ll explain in a moment.

It’s been 10 days since I decided to move on from Hawk City Pizza. There was a transitional period where I walked around in a fog and collected heartfelt texts from friends. They were all gratefully received but I found myself parrying them with “heart” and “prayer hands” reactions. I filled the paperwork to dissolve my LLC. I emailed thanks to people who helped me along the way. I photographed the mixer to post for sale. The first few days I carried a solemnity that trailed my thoughts, tugging like an impatient child who wanted acknowledgement. Last weekend I was greeted by the taunting aroma of sauce each time I passed through my garage. The 20 pizzas in the trash can wafting up like the telltale heart under the floorboards, not allowing me to forget. Tuesday morning came and the garbage truck gobbled up the evidence, shaking with joy as it did.

So where to go now? The pivot I teased at the top of this post comes from my “mid-life guru” aka my sister Sarah. She recently completed the 12-week course called “The Artist’s Way” by Julia Cameron. It is billed as a “spiritual path to higher creativity”. I did a modified version of this course in college when I was in a creative writing class, but my memory has faded on the process. Essentially, there are two totems that must be observed in addition to interstitial writing assignments. They are Morning Pages and The Artist Date.

Morning Pages – Every morning, upon rising, you must empty your thoughts in free-association, stream of consciousness writing for 3 pages. No pausing, no editing, no crafting a perfect paragraph. This is a full-scale brain drain. This is also non-negotiable. You must do this 7 days a week for 12 weeks during the course. This practice removes many of the blocks that stagnate your creative process and inhibit flow. It takes roughly 45 minutes, makes your hand cramp and is extremely cathartic. These pages are not to be read by you or others, they are meant to be excised from your consciousness as soon as they are created.
The Artist Date – Once a week, you must carve out 2-3 hours of time to do an activity alone with your thoughts. Think of your brain as a two-way radio toggling between receive and transmit. If Morning Pages is your time to send out your thoughts, the Artist Date is an opportunity to “open yourself to insight, inspiration and guidance.” You are essentially taking your inner-artist on a date to commune with your creative spark. Complete a paint-by-numbers painting, find a cozy coffee shop nook to read a favorite author, go for a hike or shop for and cook an extravagant meal. Do this alone and free from devices and distractions.

I began my Morning Pages yesterday and will be going on an Artist Date to Biscuit Run State Park on Friday evening. I’ll be posting here weekly with my progress and impressions. The first task is breaking up my life into five-year increments and listing by name my major influences – both negative and positive – to my creativity. The goal is to turn the “Censor” that roams my subconscious into an ally, flipping my negative statements into affirmations. That’s right, your boy is going full Stuart Smalley.