The Artist's Way: A Course in Discovering and Recovering Your Creative Self

[Linda Pelati]

Have you read it? Have you made the exercises? Do you think it is useful?

I think it is useful but I don't like that ever-present "spiritual" message between the lines...

I think it is however useful even if we mail artist I believe have expanded conscience and strong sense of ....reverberation...

Useful as an opportunity as it could help to go out of the usual personal "rails"....

[Laurence Roberts]

not clear who wrote it or where available sounds interesting

[Karen Redgreene]

it seemed too 'mental' for me...too much of a head trip...think about this think about that. what works for me is getting OUT of my head & back into a semblance of life.

[Linda Pelati]

My impression is that this book is useful to expand mind corners, in my "haugtiness" I believe I don't need it... but I followed book instructions only in the first 1/3 of the book.....however found them very helpful.

[chimerastone]

I found the book in the library unfortunately couldn't renew so I eventually brought my own. I found the book very useful, the morning pages are a pain it's torture writing 3 A4 size pages. I don't do them anymore but keep a journal for releasing stuff which bothers me. Synchroncity does work but not in way I expected. I haven't yet completed all the exercises yet but I do find the book useful. Right now I'm exploring the universe on a more conscious and spiritual view.  

[Linda Pelati]

Are you a curious and wondering person? Do you go into arguments and don't remain on surface of life...? I am convinced this is the spur of this book and common root of similar ones .... So consciousness and communication will be boosted...

[Carmela Rizzuto]

Linda and others explorers

The Artists Way, by Julia Cameron

In 1997 I participated in a small group that used the book  as a basis for developing one's self as an artist--a lifetime goal. The group's discussions were helpful, but the book's exercises (some more than others) provided the impetus to identify barriers to confidence in my own creativity and become aware of its sources. The 'morning pages' helped me gain a 'journaling' mindset, and I continue to write several times a week. Visual journaling is also a powerful tool for self exploration. But ultimately one must engage in the creative process on a daily basis, if possible. I am continually amazed at what I see emerge. The book helped me form the habit of discovering what may be hidden in my imagery--for all art is autobiographical.

[Linda Pelati]

I hope the book can be used for small results too(sometimes the big work is not proportional to big consciousness), a "first aid kit",  and go deep if necessary.....To feel guilty for having not done all the exercises is the last thing we need....

[Melissa Hughes]

I read the Artist's Way and tried to do the morning pages exercise, but I didn't find looking at a blank page first thing in the morning as particularly inspiring and what came out was just head chatter.  What I have found inspiring is to have a notebook and pen beside me first thing in the morning as I look through art books and feed my head with visual images.  I call this the "morning images".  Often there will be something on the pages that I really like and it will help me jump start brain storming for an idea.  For example one page had an idea about aliens (a favorite theme in my art), another page used a collage technique I have never seen before, another had a cool postoid I like and now all these idea cook in my sub-conscious and I start making collaged postoids from alien worlds.  The idea is never ever to copy what you seen, but to add your own vision to the mixing and matching of what has gone before.  Another great exercise when you look at the morning image is to just imagine how you would have done this differently.  My vision of how the world would look if cats ran the world would be completely different from someone else's and just thinking about that gives me a great creative jump start in the morning.