Artist’s Way Challenge: Week 11 Check-in

:)  The money that could have been made but thankfully no one contacted me!

I think the theme of this chapter for me would be whether I was disconnected, resistant (in which case what do I need to deal with), or just making excuses to not do it.  In any event this week was SO hard to get through.  It is not a tough week emotionally, so I have no idea what was going on.   I have had to force my way through this chapter of the course.

The journaling reads:
What is the difference between disconnection and resistance? Does some work just not resonate with us? At what point does that become resistance and something that points to resistance and procrastinating and avoiding or just something that does not call to us. Is it all just excuses?

:) I suspect it may be!!

But none of that speculation has anything to do with this chapter that was actually about nurturing myself as an artist, and what that means. To continue to develop our artistic selves and grow creatively. In advocating self-care she also went into the importance of getting out of our heads and outside moving, even if only a twenty minute walk each day.

All good stuff, so no idea why I stalled on this. There was nothing confronting in what I was reading. If you have any insight while you are reading, then don’t hesitate to share!!

What is valuable, (and this did not come out this week, but maybe week 9 or 10), was going through the morning pages, looking for insights and action points. It was interesting because most of it is just blahs going through my head as it should be and is meant to, but every now and again there is surprising little nuggets in there. What is really exciting is the other side of doing morning pages, and where it is really helpful.

Everyone advocates doing them, but to go through them looking for insights and action points was a really useful exercise that I can recommend. There were surprising little ideas that came out of them, things for me to look into and follow up, things I can’t even remember writing. So I advise morning pages reflection every now and again.

The tasks this week involved recording yourself reading different things aloud so you can listen to them, wish making, assessing how you will change, and how you will nurture yourself through the changes. There was also another letter written. Task wise it was a relatively easy week, especially given how involved some of the other week’s tasks have been.

The quotable quotes from Julia Cameron this week in Chapter 11 are:

Creativity is oxygen for your souls.

To be an artist is to recognise the particular. To appreciate the peculiar.

To kill your dreams because they are irresponsible is to be irresponsible to yourself.

The stringent requirement of a sustained creative life is the humility to start again, to begin anew.

Creativity is not a business, although it may generate much business. An artist cannot replicate a prior success indefinitely. Those who attempt to work too long with formula, even their own formula, eventually leach themselves of their creative truths.

Creativity requires action and part of that action must be physical.

The act of motion puts us into the now and helps us to stop spinning.

This is the end of Chapter 11! Now onto the final chapter!!!! (Oh my gosh, that is exciting!!)

You can see my other check-ins for the previous chapters here.