play date for my creative child

"But what exactly is an artist date? An artist date is a block of time, perhaps two hours weekly, especially set aside and committed to nurturing your creative consciousness, your inner artist. In its most primary form, an artist date is an excursion, a play date . . . You do not take anyone on this artist date but you and your inner artist, a.k.a. your creative child." (Julia Cameron, The Artist's Way)     julia speaks of "two pivotal tools in creative recovery." the morning pages and the artist date.

i have written morning pages faithfully for close to two years. (though not always in the morning!)

but i have not always honored that crucial time feeding the muse. the important second piece to the puzzle of creative spark.     "You are likely to find yourself avoiding your artist dates. Doing your morning pages, you are sending - notifying yourself and the universe of your dreams, dissatisfactions, hopes. Doing your artist date, you are receiving - opening yourself to insight, inspiration, guidance . . . Your artist needs to be taken out, pampered, and listened to."     julia further points out that in the morning pages, step one, we identify problem areas and concerns.

in step two, the artist date, we begin to hear solutions.     so i treated myself to an artist date last saturday afternoon. a planned excursion to the neighboring town.

because of recent events, i awoke that day feeling many different emotions. anticipation, relief, sadness, anger, pride, excitement, contentment, confusion. it was a perfect day to explore the mysterious lessons behind my wildly fluctuating mood.     i began with a delicious grilled cheese/huckleberry sandwich and a cappuccino.    

    i love this restaurant. the food, the staff, the ambience. (and now the recently added espresso options!)

after a leisurely late lunch and some treasured unrushed writing, i moved on . . .    

    to a magical antique and tea shop.

i browsed and imagined, leafed through and schemed. then met the proprietor who has become a friend of my oldest son's. wonderful warm words were shared that make a mother's heart smile. and a couple of must-be-read books found their way out the door with me.

they joined the never-ending collection in my studio/library.    

    it was a warm sunshine-filled day and everyone i encountered seemed happy. i walked through the streets of this tiny quaint town, with its vast history (and somewhat colored past). i marveled at the gorgeous architecture of the buildings, and i silently observed with curiosity both its local residents and the visitors who had exited off i-90 to explore something new.

i ended my artist's date in a cute little park by city hall.    

    to sit and read and think and write.    

    the emotions of the morning merged into one that afternoon. ENERGIZED. about my business, about my life, about my world.

i was able to dream and connect and brainstorm and envision. which will, in turn, allow me to create and design and plan and produce.

exactly what the artist date promises.    

    the sky even offered its inspiration.    

    have YOU taken your creative child on an essential play date lately?         [maxbutton id="1"]