Artist’s Dates and Nourishing Yourself

I discovered the idea of artist’s dates in the book “The Artist’s Way” by Julia Cameron 10 years ago. Wow, it’s hard to believe it’s been that long.

I wrote about it then here when a few of my online friends were supposed to read the book along with me…and of course do the exercises. It ends up that only one lady did it. But, you want to know what the blessing is? The time she spent in that book with morning pages and artists dates cracked open the shell of words and writing for her. She continued writing through the years. This year she is one of the authors in our Christmas Devotional Anthology, The True Meaning of Giving, the paper back available on November 11th!

This year finds me with a nourishment and life coach and once again, this topic of Julia Cameron’s daily morning pages and weekly artist’s dates came up.

So, I perused through the old post t of things to do and add to it some things I’ve added through the years.

1. Explore a new park and swing like a child! Up, up, and away!
2. Find a new walking trail, or walk an old one with open eyes to explore the sights.
3. Sit on the porch and watch the birds with binoculars
4. Visit the botanical gardens
5. Explore a plant store and enjoy the colors and fragrance of the season
6. Choose a spot to do an urban doodle or sketch
7. Explore new foods. Buy the ingredients to cook a new recipe and branch out to new ethnic culinary delights
8. Visit a pet store and gaze at the fish.
9. Thrift store shopping
10. Flea market shopping
11. Sit under the trees and gaze up at the leaves in the branches.
12. Lay on a towel and watch the clouds. Find different objects in them.
13. Take a Skillshare class to learn watercolor
14. Take a Skillshare class to learn some new doodle characters for the holidays or seasons
15. Find a spot in nature and really observe it. Write down what I find interesting. What color combinations do I like? Any reason why?
16. Visit the bakery shop and enjoy a pastry with no guilt but rather with enjoyment.
17. Create a handmade card and send it to a friend.
18. Find a few interesting rocks and paint them
19. Climb a tree and sit on one of the branches. Observe the surroundings.
20. Collect different leaves. Feel them, smell them, observe them. Do a quick sketch of them in my sketchbook.
21. Go fly a kite (wind needed of course!)
22. Go on a walk and mindfully explore my 5 senses while I walk.
23. Walk and look for hidden treasures
24. Buy fresh flowers and sketch them. Don’t forget to stop and smell the flowers over the next few days.
25. Find a spot next to a pond and sit – quietly.
26. Take a picnic lunch to a scenic location or local park
27. Visit an art gallery
28. Go to the library and look through books on a particular subject
29. Light a candle and purchase (or find) new music to enjoy
30. Read poetry
31. Find something interesting to photograph (architecture, old fences/barns, flowers, sunset, patterns in nature, rocks,etc) to possible use as a reference for a piece of artwork later
32. Visit a zoo
33. Go to the movie theater to see a movie that excites or inspires you.
34. Go to a coffee shop and enjoy your favorite drink. Sketch your coffee cup or something in your surroundings or write as you observe people.
35. Go shopping for a new piece of clothing that you normally wouldn’t buy (this could include thrift store shopping)
36. Visit a toy store and play with some of the toys
37. Put together a puzzle of an inspiring scene
38. Watch a sunset or sunrise
39. Play a musical instrument or sing
40. Create a playlist that you can dance or worship to, or both.
41. Learn Origami
42. Learn Calligraphy
43. Learn a Dance (You tube lessons)
44. Crochet or knit
45. Go for a bike ride; include the steep hill you loved to fly down as a child
46. Go to the circus
47. Go to a large bookstore and use it as your own, personal, book museum; gather arm-loads of books and browse soaking up all the images
48. Write a poem
49. Make a collage of pretty pictures from some magazines (hello vision board!)
50. Take a walk during lunch break and really observe everything around you.
51. Listen to my favorite music while sipping on a hot cup of cocoa.
52. Take a long soak in a hot bathtub with candles, bubbles and soft music
53. Color in a coloring book
54. Browse at a craft gallery – the store that sells what other artists and crafters have created
55. Watch a Disney children’s video with lots of songs, like Pooh, Jungle Book, Little Mermaid
56. Read aloud several children’s books to yourself; have fun creating different voices for the different characters or adding expression to your reading
57. Buy a HUGE box of crayons and just DOODLE in all colors on a sheet of paper or papers. No pictures, just OODLES OF DOODLES
58. Water color with a little water color set from the $1 store.
59. Play with Playdo!
60. Watch the sun rise with a hot cup of coffee
61. Watch the sun set
62. Meditate to the sound of a water fountain (there are apps for this!)

Folks, the list can go on and on. The key is time for yourself..

The Artist’s Way

Want to know more about The Artist’s Way? You can read the old kick-off post here:
http://kimsteadman.com/the-artists-way-getting-ready/

Here’s an excerpt from one of my weekly check-ins: http://kimsteadman.com/the-artists-way-week-5/

If you’ve ever read her book, drop me a line and let me know what you thought about it. If you haven’t…and you’re looking to open up your creative genius, I suggest you try it…even if you don’t think you have a creative bone in your body. This book is for writers, artists, and left-brainers who are looking for a creative boost.

If you haven’t heard of her, I hope a quick look through several of her quotes inspires you.. https://www.brainyquote.com/authors/julia-cameron-quotes