Some Life Lessons I've Learned From Creative Study & Practice.
Weekly Wrap Up
I’m currently doing two courses. The first is Write For Life by Julia Cameron which is a 6 week writing course. The second is Created To Thrive by Matt Tommey which is a 9 week course focused on connecting with God through one's artistic process.
So far I’ve learned that whatever I create is valid. If I’m writing, if I’m painting or even playing guitar and filming videos; I am still an artist.
I used to believe I had to choose one thing. If I wasn’t focusing on one creative outlet and pursuing it 100%, 24/7 then I was a fraud. This however is the biggest lie and I’m happy I now know that truth.
One of the tasks I had was to find and identify my writing locations. So far I’ve found two locations in my “studio apartment” (aka bedroom) where I gravitate to the most and feel totally at home writing in.
I’ve got a pretty good writing routine now and I feel so much more confident in making mistakes. The more I write, the more I will improve and grow. Mistakes are a big part of this process. No point in trying to avoid them, I just need to learn from them.
Since beginning Write For Life, I have been encouraged to once again pick up morning pages. If you don’t know what morning pages are, it’s basically writing 3 long hand pages of stream of consciousness first thing. Just get everything you think down out of your head and into your journal. This in turn will create space in your brain for all the thoughts you will have for the rest of the day.
I had stopped writing my morning pages for a few months because I was afraid of seeing them (my thoughts) out of my head, but now that I’ve started them again, it’s brought so much joy into my life seeing my journal fill up before my eyes as before. How can I explain the feeling of printing stickers, choosing the perfect washi tapes to match the scrapbook paper I’ve chosen and organising them in one's journal? You either get it or you can learn it haha.
One thing I do need to get better at now is my artist dates. So far they have been very brief which defeats their purpose. I want to really set aside a good amount of time for me to enjoy and explore, so I can refill my creative pool.
I truly feel like writing is my main thing and arts and crafts supplements it by adding the needed seasonings.
If you’re interested in some of the artist date ideas I have planned for myself then make sure to check out my YouTube channel as I am sharing videos each week of my personal dates.
Once I’ve finished Write For Life, I am going to be starting The Artist’s Way and documenting it on my YouTube channel. I will also share some little wrap ups of what I’ve been learning here also.
What kind of things do you do to refill your creative pool when you need a bit of inspiration?