The Artist's Way

The Artist's Way - Week 5

Day 28:
Finally getting around to printing some of my Germany photos. I forgot how good it feels to print. I just can’t believe what I’m getting out of these files.

I just want to give them all away as gifts.

Week 5 Goals:

Morning Pages x7
Artist Date x1
Virtue Trap Quiz
Forbidden Joys Exercise
Complete as many additional Exercises as possible.

Day 28 (Continued):
I just finished the readings for this week, and spent some time getting things pre-typed and ready for my answers below. This week is gonna be good…I have a feeling shit is about to get real.

Virtue Trap Quiz:

  1. The biggest lack in my life is romance

  2. The greatest joy in my life is photography

  3. My largest time commitment is working at my day job

  4. As I play more, I work about the same

  5. I feel guilty that I am

  6. I worry that I will never be able to pay back my debts.

  7. If my dreams come true, my family will hopefully support me in my decisions

  8. I sabotage myself so people will find me useful.

  9. If I let myself feel it, I’m angry that I can’t allow myself to just do what I love

  10. One reason I get so sad sometimes is I don’t allow myself to do what I want to do because I am afraid of spending the money on “unimportant” things.

“Does your life serve you or only others? Are you self destructive?”
— Julia Cameron - The Artist's Way

Forbidden Joys Exercise

“List ten things you love and would love to do but are not allowed to do.”
— Julia Cameron - The Artist's Way

  1. Travel More

  2. Spend more time with Family without having to drive 4 hours

  3. Drive fast

  4. Spend money without feeling guilty

  5. Buy toys from my childhood

  6. Waste time playing video games

  7. Spend a bunch of money on tacky Halloween things

  8. Go Trick or Treat-ing

  9. Spend a ton of money in a real arcade

  10. Spend more time at Conventions.

Wish list, an Exercise

“As quickly as you can finish the following phrases”
— Julia Cameron - The Artist's Way

  1. I wish I had access to a studio space

  2. I wish I was out of debt completely

  3. I wish I was working for myself

  4. I wish I could be happy in my own skin

  5. I wish people would take me seriously as an artist

  6. I wish I never sold my Mustang after college

  7. I wish I had a house I could call mine

  8. I wish I didn’t have to worry about money all the time

  9. I wish I wasn’t so jealous of my other artist friends

  10. I wish more people compensated me for my time and efforts

  11. I wish my day job paid me double what I make now

  12. I wish I didn’t have to work so hard all the time

  13. I wish I didn’t spend a lot of my free time alone

  14. I wish I wasn’t tired all the time

  15. I wish I could travel when I want without having to worry about costs

  16. I wish I had partied more in college

  17. I wish I had more close friends

  18. I wish I didn’t have to hear about politics all the damn time

  19. I most especially wish that I could make a good, honest, living with my art.

transform-your-living-room-into-a-practical-studio-and-making-it-work-clay-cook-fstoppers.jpg

If I were twenty and had money…

List 5 Adventures:

  1. I would have studied abroad

  2. I would have partied more

  3. I would have bought equipment outside of my skill range and shot the hell out of it.

  4. I wouldn’t have student loans now

  5. I probably would be working for myself right now.

Day 31:
The last few days have been a little down. I mean, Tuesday was pretty cool because when all was said and done I got a new flash and some accessories, but today I’ve just felt off.

The Hurricane must be throwing off the pressure in my head.

And it doesn’t really help much that my exercises that I completed today depress the hell out of me.

I feel like I should be in a different place than I am now. Money seems to come up a lot. To be honest I feel like I have some issues surrounding it. Also I know that next week that topic comes up so lets see what next week brings.

But for now, I have some time.

I just need to keep prepping for this weekend’s shoot. I hope I can channel some of this frustration into good art.

Ten ways I am mean to myself are…

“Just as making the positive explicit helps allow it into our lives, making the negative explicit helps us to exorcise it”
— Julia Cameron - The Artist's Way

  1. I dwell on past decisions

  2. I let people talk down to me without speaking up for myself

  3. I talk down to myself

  4. I say mean things to myself in the mirror

  5. I push myself too hard when I need to go easy

  6. I eat my feelings

  7. I question many of my life choices

  8. I don’t exercise enough

  9. I don’t let things go if I say or do something stupid

  10. I think I do a lot of stupid things

Ten items I would like to own but don’t are…

  1. An All-Access Creative Live subscription

  2. A studio space

  3. A new laptop

  4. A secondary full frame camera + Lenses

  5. A fully restored classic car

  6. A house/home/living space

  7. More lighting modifiers

  8. A cat…or maybe ALL of the cats

  9. A nice suit that fits me perfectly

  10. An arcade machine

Oh man could I easily list more than just 10…

Oh man could I easily list more than just 10…

And if by random happenstance you want to buy something for me from my Amazon wish list. I won’t stop you. You can access it here: http://a.co/5DxeOT5

Day 32:
Something is happening.

I have an idea. I don’t know if it’s going to work…but I’m going to try it.

I have an idea. I don’t know if it’s going to work…but I’m going to try it.

Protip: The worst someone can say is “No”.

Protip: The worst someone can say is “No”.

Check In

How many days this week did you do your morning pages? Are you starting to like them–At all? How was the experience for you? I completed all of my morning pages this week. So far I’m not having too much trouble completing the pages. I’m still not sure its working the way that it should be, I mean I am getting some insight into some of my issues, but I don’t think it’s going as well as it is “supposed” to be going.

On the plus side I feel like I’m handling stressers better, and for the most part I feel better day to day. So that’s a plus side I guess.

Did you do your artist date this week? Have you had the experience of hearing answers during the leisure time? What did you do for your date? How did it feel? Have you taken an artist date yet that really felt adventurous? I guess I did my date? I took a trip to Ikea for batteries. I always like walking around Ikea. I find it both inspiring and incredibly frustrating. I want my crazy awesome living room/office/studio apartment. I really don’t need a large living space. A studio is a different story.

I don’t think I am hearing any answers to any of the questions I’m asking. Which makes me wonder if I’m asking the right ones.

I haven’t really done anything “adventurous” yet. I’m not sure what I could do that makes me feel that way. I’m not even sure if I’m taking the right dates. I tend to just keep doing things that allow me to take a break from the day to day and allow my thoughts to keep moving.

Did you experience any synchronicity this week? What was it? Try inaugurating a conversation on synchronicity with your friends. I was browsing Twitter on Friday night and came across a Tweet from the official TAW page that was on the topic of Week 5…AS I’M IN THE MIDDLE OF WEEK 5! That was pretty neat. I’ll share it below:

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/artistswaycre8/2018/10/12/finding-water-week-5-autonomy

Were there any other issues this week that you consider significant for your recovery? Describe them. By the end of tomorrow when this goes live I can say…I shot something! Last year I missed my Halloween series, so I made sure that this year something got shot. I’m also in the planning phases for something else that hopefully will be super exciting. This will be the first time I’ve used my camera to take a portrait since before DragonCon. And hopefully I can keep making progress to keep making new work between now and the end of the year.

The Artist's Way - Week 2

Week one seemed to go easier than I expected it to, and I really hope that the next weeks get a little harder to complete. Having heard of some experiences from other people working the program I know that it will become tougher. A week from today (when this post will actually go live) I will be on my way to Germany for work. I’m very curious to see how much I can get accomplished while being in a new place and while being focused on working.

Week 2 Goals:

1) Morning Pages x7
2) Artist’s Date x1
3) Complete as many of the additional exercises as possible.

Day 7:
Met with Nikki for our first check in. I think we are both on the right track for making things happen. I got a chance to prep my notebook for the week to come, and it certainly feels like this week has a lot more exercises than last week did. So many so that I didn’t want to freehand out all the pages so I can have more room for Morning Pages. Next time I go through this I really will be printing out the PDF pages I think.

I noticed that last week I actually have written more than I have in a good while. Including the two blog posts that came out. Hopefully I can keep that trend going as I have been stuck on a couple of long form posts recently.

Exercise - Life Pie:

“Draw a circle. Divide it into six pieces of pie. Label one piece Spirituality, another Excercise, another Play and so on with Work, Friends, and Romance/Adventure. Place a dot in each slice at the degree to which you are fulfilled in that area. (outer rim indicates great; inner circle, not so great). Connect the dots. This will show were you are lopsided.”
— Julia Cameron "The Artist's Way: A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity"
My life pie. High in friendship, medium in work and play, but pretty low in everything else (Spirituality, Exercise, and almost 0 Romance/Adventure.

My life pie. High in friendship, medium in work and play, but pretty low in everything else (Spirituality, Exercise, and almost 0 Romance/Adventure.

Day 9:

Ten Small Changes:

“List ten changes you’d like to make for yourself […] Do it this way:
I would like to ____________
I would like to ____________
As the morning pages nudge us increasingly into the present, where we pay attention to our current lives, a small shift […] can yield a luxuriously large sense of self care”
— Julia Cameron - "The Artist's Way"

  • I would like to Lose 20 lbs

  • I would like to Quit smoking for good.

  • I would like to Clean and Re-arrange my bedroom.

  • I would like to Deep clean my living areas.

  • I would like to Get rid of excess junk

  • I would like to Live a more minimalist life

  • I would like to get a new set of bed linens

  • I would like to Shoot with new people

  • I would like to Travel more

  • I would like to Spend more time with my friends.

“Select one small item and make it a goal for this week. Now do that item”
— Julia Cameron - "The Artist's Way"

I’m traveling all next week, and have a weekly meeting with a friend to go over our progress. Can that count?

Day 10:
I bought tickets to a super fancy museum exhibit for a (now) sold out show. The tickets aren’t good until February which will be well past this 12 week project. But I’m going to go anyway and try to enjoy it.

Day 12:
I’m not feeling very optimistic over the last few days. Still cranking through with the exercises. I forgot to read my basic principals today. Not sure how badly that “hurt” me this week.

I’ve got the creative urge to shoot something, and I have a bad case of G.A.S. (Gear Acquisition Syndrome - or the feeling that buying X piece of equipment is what will take me to the next level).

“List 20 things you enjoy doing [...]. When was the last time you let yourself do these things? Next to each entry place a date. Don’t be surprised if it’s been years for some of your favorites.”
— Julia Cameron - "The Artist's Way"

I’m not going to share my entire list of 20, but I’ll share a few.

  • Visit and enjoy a Natural Hot Spring - 2010

  • Go Camping - 2006 (?)

  • Play Laser Tag - 2017

  • Plan and Execute a photo shoot - August

  • Cook for Friends - 2014

  • Visit a Cat Cafe - 2017

  • Go on a Romantic Date - 2013 (?)

“[...] From the list above write down two favorite things that you’ve avoided that could be this week’s goals. [...] Remember we are trying to win you some autonomy with your time. Look for windows of time just for you, and use them in small creative acts.”
— Julia Cameron - "The Artist's Way"

Touché Julia…touché.

Day 13:
I. Paid. To. Pet. Cats. :3

This cat’s name was Einstein and he was so fluffy and soft.

This cat’s name was Einstein and he was so fluffy and soft.

Week 2 Check In:

  1. How many days this week did you do your Morning Pages? How was the experience for you? Did they work for you? Describe them […] Remember if you are writing the morning pages they are working for you.

    7. I completed all 7 days. I’m not sure if I’m doing things the correct way, and I’m not sure they are helping all that much. But I’m still going to keep going and see what I can learn about myself.

  2. Did you do your Artist Date this week? What did you do? How did it feel?

    Yes - I decided to take myself to the cat cafe. I met a fluffy and soft little dude and spent the better part of an hour bothering him. I miss cats, I miss having one around to play with and spend time with. But due to my current living situation it’s not exactly possible. One day soon I hope to be in a position where I can have another furry friend to hang out with, but until then I have to just cat vicariously through friends.

  3. Were there any other issues this week that you consider significant for your recovery? Describe them.

    I think getting over (at least temporarily) GAS and not spending any money on new equipment I really don’t need was a significant victory. Not sure for how long it will be, because I really want some new lighting equipment. Only time will tell.

© 2006 – 2023 UNEXPhotography and Blake Griffin.

Privacy Policy