Artistic Growth

I just wanted to share what I am working on that is not in my art journal per se. I am in the midst of working my way through Julia Cameron's book, The Artist's Way.

                                            

 It has taken me a while to get into it because I wanted to have a good handle on working on the morning pages and artist dates. Journaling on a regular basis ( forget daily) has never been my thing. I go through spurts where I do consistent work and then it drops off for whatever reason and eventually I pick it up again but nothing where I feel I can say I have a habit of journaling. So I committed to the morning pages for 30 days and found a good set of parameters that I could live with. Julia says you should complete 3 handwritten pages. And that it doesn't matter what you fill them with but they are daily. My personal standards are 30 minutes or 3 pages which ever comes first and my goal is 5 out of 7 days a week. Weekends are difficult since my normal routine doesn't exist when Randy is home. I also chose a slightly smaller journal rather than the notebook paper size. These seem to work nicely for me and most days I fill more than 3 pages and I have even managed to journal on weekends more often than not. I must just need to have that freedom to blow it off when I need to. Since there is no guilt to it it is easy for me to jump back in there and pick up where I left off.
This week I began working through Week 1 assignments. I won't bore you with all the details but will say that it is imperative that we as parents and adults look for those children who are creative (every child!) and go out of our way to encourage them to pursue their creative interests. Provide the materials, encouragement and support they need to keep going. Sometimes all that is needed is a kind word or praise for their work to keep them doing what they love. Esteem artistic pursuits as valuable and meaningful and as possible careers and not merely as hobbies or simple past times.

I am also working through Diana Trout's Journal Spilling; Mixed Media Techniques for Free Expression.

                                                          

 I have been through it before but far more haphazardly than this time around. I have used it as a reference book but really wanted to go through it slowly and savor all the wisdom and nuggets she imparts in the writing. Here is one nugget I found that should not be missed: "(A journal) is wabi-sabi: beautiful and dying; ugly and living; a perfect vessel with a crack. It has a true, deep beauty like a woman over 50." The woman is pure genius!! *L*   I have done 4 double page spreads based on her instruction and am about to begin playing with resist.