Artist Date

In the Artist's Way, Julia Cameron suggests a weekly Artist Date. I've been doing Artist Dates off and on since 2000. In February this year I took Julia's 12 week Artist's Way course in Santa Fe and started regularly making time for a weekly Artist Date. Julia recommends at least an hour per week doing something fun. She prodded us to "get out of the house and have an adventure." Artist Dates fuel our creativity. Several times now I've taken a whole weekend dedicated to an Artist Date.

A couple of weeks ago I experienced the best one so far. It all started in Jemez Springs at the Highway 4 Coffee Shop when I noticed a flyer for a July painting workshop in Albuquerque. My artistic attempts incorporate a little doodling here and there. Although on previous Artist Dates, I had purchased some water colors and brushes hearing my artist muse whispering something about how fun it would be to paint on one of our Artist Dates. Somehow I could never bring myself to attempt it, even though I set up a small space, organized my paints and brushes, and found some jars to hold water. Fear of making a mess, wasting paint on some frightful picture, and other fears, kept me from even giving it a go.

Debbie Purdy, an artist in Albuquerque, on a whim and a friend's urging had posted her flyer thinking no one passing through Jemez Springs would ever be interested. However, I was, and I called to find out about the workshop. Debbie facilitates painting workshops using Michele Cassau's method of tapping into "the magical force of spontaneous painting." Michele's process, later called PointZero, was developed during a time when she was painting with children. "She is now known internationally for her groundbreaking work of using painting as a tool for self-discovery and for exploring the spiritual dimensions of the creative process." [taken from http://www.michelecassou.com/biography.htm] Debbie studied with Michele and became a PointZero Teacher. If interested, you can check out Debbie's art and workshop schedule at http://www.CreativeWingsStudio.com.

I asked Debbie if her workshop was appropriate for someone with no training or artistic ability, and she invited me to participate suggesting I read "Life, Paint, and Passion" by Michelle Cassou and Stewart Cubley. As a side note: Natalie Goldberg, author of "Writing Down the Bones", studied with the authors in San Francisco. You can check out Natalie's paintings at her website at http://www.nataliegoldberg.com/.

Painting for two full days worried me. What if I got hopelessly bored just like in art classes in school? Bravely I showed up and participated. I discovered this painting process was beyond the picture I was painting, and beyond my thoughts. The weekend flew by, I felt totally free, completely in touch with the universal creative flow. Yes, that's me in Debbie's August Newsletter totally absorbed in painting the red woman, [names withheld to protect the innocent]. I'm signed up for Debbie's October workshop and ready to dance again with my creative spark. 

If I hadn't realized before, I was certainly reminded that the Artist Date gives us permission to experiment. For your next Artist Date, try something you've never taken the time to do, or never given yourself permission to try. Life is an adventure.