I'm looking forward to re-reading this with you! There are so many juicy nuances to it. One thing that sticks out to me that Julia said is that, the morning pages are for clearing the creative / divine channel. And that the artist's dates are time devoted to letting the channel be open & to receive, from god / higher power / universe / etc. Hence the rules about having the date alone. Also probably means to use as little phone / text as possible (I'm a single mom so if my child is at school etc. I always need my phone on me and turned on. But we do the best we can).
I'm going to list a few simple artists dates that work for me. These might help other people who are broke, or have kids, or other constraints. Also because sometimes I think we're asking artist's dates to be something bigger than they actually need to be, to have the spirit in it.
1. Walking in nature quietly, in the woods or on the beach. With no headphones or any such thing. Sometimes I do bring my child along, and it can still makes a potent artist's date.
2. Thrift store. - in the short window of time between getting off work and picking up my child from school, I can browse a local thrift store - and sometimes buy nothing. But I get to browse books, old art, old dishes, a wide array of textiles, and it feels similar to looking for shells one the beach. It feels like a treasure hunt. -- I have found many truly life-changing books and beautiful pieces.
3. At-home in the evening artist date (maybe just because you want to, or maybe because your child/baby is sleeping and you certainly can't go anywhere, but this is prime alone time) - turn off the phone. Get a few poetry books and sit on a patio or porch or step outside if possible. With a tea or whatever. And write or doodle or scribble about what you read. Or don't. Or do a Marlee online class - take notes! Or put a vinyl in the record player and play it all the way through while you lay on the floor or hula hoop. Or watch a movie you've never seen before, maybe a classic or maybe something new -- no phone, no multitasking -- and make some popcorn to go with your movie, or a weird snack plate / charcuterie from scraps of things left to eat.
4. An accidental artist's date - a few times, I have realized I was completely undeniably on an unplanned artist's date. Which maybe mean the other artist's dates have been working / helping. So the spirit of it and the open feeling of it is there in an unforseen happenstance - and it's still fruitful despite the unintended nature of it. It's like the mandatory artist's dates are to ensure you are not depriving yourself - yet your inner artist is with you at all times. -- on one such day, I dropped my child off at school, grabbed the most bitter iced coffee (that's my preference), drove the scenic route, found a very unusual garage sale by accident with a ton of beautiful fabrics and plants and woodworked pieces. Got a couple things. Drove more of the scenic route and found some gorgeous flowers to gaze at on the way home.
Thank you for sharing what has worked for you and sparking ideas in myself if creative ways to make space for artists dates.
I especially resonated with the thrift store (snapped my fingers in sameness as I read it). And I loved how you wrote the familiarity of browsing, like finding a seashell - a treasure hunt.
Hi Marlee, do you have a separate journaling practice, or do you find the morning pages practice is enough?
Also, I feel very seen when you write about artist dates, and everything I do is an artist date! I have very often thought that, and so last time I did the Artist Way I didn’t manage many dates either. Looking forward to the book club sessions ☺️
I did The Artist's Way for the first time in 2021, and I think I used "it's a pandemic" as an excuse to not fully commit to artist's dates (does "tv show while eating lunch" every week truly count as an artist's date? I guess maybe). But also, I'll admit the concept confounds me. It still feels like cheating. How can I have time to just go consume? Shouldn't I be productive? I KNOW that isn't how it works -- that filling the well, as she says, makes the art better. And I'm very generous with myself about letting the morning pages be whatever they are, so I don't know why I have hangups about getting artist's dates wrong.
I love Savanah's list of what they do, so I'm going to list the ones I have done. Mostly to remind myself.
- browse in the great used bookstore near my house
- walk in the woods
- browse in the thrift store
- watch a movie I want to watch
- the dump in my town has a swap shop where everything is free, there are some truly amazing things in there
- take a nap (I never did this as an artist's date, but it's seeming a super legit possibility right now)
- go to the fabric store and look at patterns
- watch the ocean for a while
- make a complicated dinner that feels nourishing and delicious
I'm looking forward to embarking on the Artist's Way as a group! I've done morning pages off and on for years (I find them right for some seasons but not for others) and read through the book but not actually done everything in it. I can see how being part of a community will help!
Marlee, I also listened to your podcast episode about newsletters. I have Flodesk for my service-based business but have some mental blocks about what I can share there and when. I was drawn to Substack because it feels more like the early days of blogging--communal and expressive and open. Would it be counter-productive to do/have both? I think it sounds like you use Flodesk for lead gen, but are they all added to your Substack once they sign up? I'm going to keep considering these shapes and spaces and how they feel for me!
So looking forward to the weeks with you and the Artist way. I’m at home this summer, working on recovering from my recent neurosarcoidosis flare, and having something else to focus on feels so good. I started the morning pages again, I stopped last September, when the flare began.
I'm looking forward to re-reading this with you! There are so many juicy nuances to it. One thing that sticks out to me that Julia said is that, the morning pages are for clearing the creative / divine channel. And that the artist's dates are time devoted to letting the channel be open & to receive, from god / higher power / universe / etc. Hence the rules about having the date alone. Also probably means to use as little phone / text as possible (I'm a single mom so if my child is at school etc. I always need my phone on me and turned on. But we do the best we can).
I'm going to list a few simple artists dates that work for me. These might help other people who are broke, or have kids, or other constraints. Also because sometimes I think we're asking artist's dates to be something bigger than they actually need to be, to have the spirit in it.
1. Walking in nature quietly, in the woods or on the beach. With no headphones or any such thing. Sometimes I do bring my child along, and it can still makes a potent artist's date.
2. Thrift store. - in the short window of time between getting off work and picking up my child from school, I can browse a local thrift store - and sometimes buy nothing. But I get to browse books, old art, old dishes, a wide array of textiles, and it feels similar to looking for shells one the beach. It feels like a treasure hunt. -- I have found many truly life-changing books and beautiful pieces.
3. At-home in the evening artist date (maybe just because you want to, or maybe because your child/baby is sleeping and you certainly can't go anywhere, but this is prime alone time) - turn off the phone. Get a few poetry books and sit on a patio or porch or step outside if possible. With a tea or whatever. And write or doodle or scribble about what you read. Or don't. Or do a Marlee online class - take notes! Or put a vinyl in the record player and play it all the way through while you lay on the floor or hula hoop. Or watch a movie you've never seen before, maybe a classic or maybe something new -- no phone, no multitasking -- and make some popcorn to go with your movie, or a weird snack plate / charcuterie from scraps of things left to eat.
4. An accidental artist's date - a few times, I have realized I was completely undeniably on an unplanned artist's date. Which maybe mean the other artist's dates have been working / helping. So the spirit of it and the open feeling of it is there in an unforseen happenstance - and it's still fruitful despite the unintended nature of it. It's like the mandatory artist's dates are to ensure you are not depriving yourself - yet your inner artist is with you at all times. -- on one such day, I dropped my child off at school, grabbed the most bitter iced coffee (that's my preference), drove the scenic route, found a very unusual garage sale by accident with a ton of beautiful fabrics and plants and woodworked pieces. Got a couple things. Drove more of the scenic route and found some gorgeous flowers to gaze at on the way home.
Thank you for sharing what has worked for you and sparking ideas in myself if creative ways to make space for artists dates.
I especially resonated with the thrift store (snapped my fingers in sameness as I read it). And I loved how you wrote the familiarity of browsing, like finding a seashell - a treasure hunt.
Hi Marlee, do you have a separate journaling practice, or do you find the morning pages practice is enough?
Also, I feel very seen when you write about artist dates, and everything I do is an artist date! I have very often thought that, and so last time I did the Artist Way I didn’t manage many dates either. Looking forward to the book club sessions ☺️
I did The Artist's Way for the first time in 2021, and I think I used "it's a pandemic" as an excuse to not fully commit to artist's dates (does "tv show while eating lunch" every week truly count as an artist's date? I guess maybe). But also, I'll admit the concept confounds me. It still feels like cheating. How can I have time to just go consume? Shouldn't I be productive? I KNOW that isn't how it works -- that filling the well, as she says, makes the art better. And I'm very generous with myself about letting the morning pages be whatever they are, so I don't know why I have hangups about getting artist's dates wrong.
I love Savanah's list of what they do, so I'm going to list the ones I have done. Mostly to remind myself.
- browse in the great used bookstore near my house
- walk in the woods
- browse in the thrift store
- watch a movie I want to watch
- the dump in my town has a swap shop where everything is free, there are some truly amazing things in there
- take a nap (I never did this as an artist's date, but it's seeming a super legit possibility right now)
- go to the fabric store and look at patterns
- watch the ocean for a while
- make a complicated dinner that feels nourishing and delicious
This offering is coming at the absolute perfect time. Talk about synchronicity! Thank you 🤍
I remember when we did the artists way on patreon in 2021! Changed my life! Might Wanna fuck around and do it again 😏
Yes, I remember this too and I’m excited to see how it goes this rime around!
omg yes! hey! I remember you!! :)
likewise! 🥰
Thanks for facilitating this ♥️
I'm looking forward to embarking on the Artist's Way as a group! I've done morning pages off and on for years (I find them right for some seasons but not for others) and read through the book but not actually done everything in it. I can see how being part of a community will help!
Marlee, I also listened to your podcast episode about newsletters. I have Flodesk for my service-based business but have some mental blocks about what I can share there and when. I was drawn to Substack because it feels more like the early days of blogging--communal and expressive and open. Would it be counter-productive to do/have both? I think it sounds like you use Flodesk for lead gen, but are they all added to your Substack once they sign up? I'm going to keep considering these shapes and spaces and how they feel for me!
Very excited to go through this book with other artists. Thank you for this offering.
So looking forward to the weeks with you and the Artist way. I’m at home this summer, working on recovering from my recent neurosarcoidosis flare, and having something else to focus on feels so good. I started the morning pages again, I stopped last September, when the flare began.