My Biggest Takeaways From Doing "The Artist's Way"

On this week’s episode of Creative Space, as promised, I’m going over my biggest takeaways from reading and doing the work in Julia Cameron’s seminal book on creativity, “The Artist’s Way.”

It’s been a transformative three months, and choosing to get started in January of this year was wonderful, because now we’re into spring and my creativity feels like it’s been infused with new life.

If you’re interested in reading "The Artist’s Way" you can purchase it here.

For more on me, your host and creative coach, visit: jenniferlogue.com.

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SHOW NOTES:

0:00—Introduction

1:12—Takeaway #1

2:28—Takeaway #2

4:10—Takeaway #3

5:12—Announcement 

Transcript

Jennifer Logue: 0:10

Hello everyone and welcome to another episode of Creative Space, a podcast where we explore, learn and grow in creativity together. I'm your host, jennifer Logue, and for the last 12 weeks we've taken a break from our normal podcast programming to go through Julia Cameron's seminal book on creativity, the Artist's Way, chapter by chapter. It's so hard to believe that we started in January and now it's the end of April. Now 12 weeks doesn't seem like a long time, but it's been a three-month commitment and just seeing the seasons change from winter to spring to what now feels like summer, as it's 80 degrees where I am there really couldn't have been a more perfect time to do this work, as the flowers are blooming all around. So is my creativity, and I hope the same is true for you too, if you've been following along. But I wanted to recap with my biggest takeaways from doing the artist's way.

Jennifer Logue: 1:12

Number one this work is best done in a group, aka a creative cluster. Julia Cameron advocates for readers to form what she calls creative clusters, which is basically a group of ideally four people to go through the book together. You meet each week, you talk about your experiences and, most importantly, you inspire each other and hold each other accountable. Connection as a creative is vital and I think being part of a creative cluster for this kept me going. There were a few tough weeks and had I been doing this work solo, I might have skipped a week or stopped the artist's way halfway through, vowing to pick it up again later, but we know that doesn't always happen. But having a support system in the creative cluster kept me motivated and kept me accountable, and their insights even sparked new insights for me in the book. So if you're doing the artist's way, I encourage you to find a creative cluster there are a few of them online or get a few of your artist friends together to do one yourselves.

Jennifer Logue: 2:28

Number two life should be an artist's date. Julia says this exact quote in one of the last chapters of the book and it hit me hard. I'm very disciplined about many things in my life working out, going to yoga class, meal prep, music practice but when it comes to spontaneous fun, well, who has time for that? Come on, I realized the most fulfilling time in my life so far was when I was an arts and culture journalist, because it was literally my job to have fun. So I ran with it but left to my own devices. I can stick to the same routine for years, which is horrible horrible for your creativity and your happiness. So the weekly practice of coming up with an artist's date was so good for me, my happiness and my creativity. Today, for instance, I went to a vinyl convention in the city and spent the afternoon rummaging through records and having conversations about different artists. I got some great album recommendations too, like Aretha's Spirit in the Dark and Brian Eno's here Come the Warm Jets. I even bumped into a fellow musician friend that I haven't seen in over a decade. Anyway, it was a lot of fun and I had this random pull to go there today on my Sunday fun day slash artist date. I've decided to be as dedicated to my weekly artist date as I am about working out and working on music and all of that stuff.

Jennifer Logue: 4:04

Being an artist isn't just about the work we produce. It's about the way we approach life itself, the everyday. Number three the work is never complete. The world we live in now is obsessed with results, and it may be frustrating for some to hear this. When it comes to being an artist, the work is never complete. It's just not. The thing is, it's the journey itself that's fulfilling, the journey to what we're creating is a great adventure, where we explore the world and connect with people we wouldn't have connected with if we didn't embark on the journey in the first place.

Jennifer Logue: 4:41

So the Artist's Way by Julia Cameron I don't think it's a book you read just once. I think it's something every artist should return to in their lives again and again to keep growing. It's chock full of so much insight. You're bound to discover something new with each read, especially at different phases of your life. As you grow, your attention will be drawn to different things in the book as well. So with that, those are my biggest takeaways from doing the Artist's Way.

Jennifer Logue: 5:12

And, just in case you're interested in joining me, I've already started a sign-up sheet for a creative cluster beginning in January 2025. If you're interested, you can find the link on my pinned Instagram post at Jennifer Logue. I want to say thank you so much to the lovely ladies in my creative cluster for 2024. It was an absolute joy doing this work with you, and I gotta say thank you so much to the author, julia Cameron. Wow, you've changed my life and so many lives with this wonderful book. So thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you If you're interested in reading the Artist's Way and doing the work on your own. As usual, I've linked to it in the show notes. Anyways, I hope you found this series on the Artist's Way helpful. We'll be getting back to our regular programming with interviews as well as answering questions from listeners about creativity, and that is all I have for this episode of Creative Space. My name is Jennifer Logue, thank you.