Carly Swenson | Intuitive Painter

Tag: Julia Cameron

  • Art Journaling Magazine, Spring 2018

    Art Journaling Magazine, Spring 2018

    “I’ve worked through Julia Cameron’s The Artist’s Way off and on since 2010.  It’s a great resource for inspiration and to get back in touch with my inner creative self, as well as renew my artistic confidence. My last two years have been full of amazing highs and lows, including leaving my marriage, getting laid…

  • artist’s way III: week 3

    artist’s way III: week 3

    Week 3: Recovering a Sense of Power “Those of us who get bogged down by fear before actions are usually being sabotaged by an older enemy, shame.”-Julia Cameron I hadn’t related this idea of shame as a deterrent of creativity to Chapter 1‘s shadow artist concept until this third delve into the Artist’s Way. Since…

  • artist’s way III: week 2

    artist’s way III: week 2

    Week 2: Recovering a Sense of Identity In week two of The Artist’s Way, Cameron emphasizes the importance and beauty of simply paying attention. “…but just at this moment, just now, that’s alright. I am breathing in and out. Realizing this, I began to notice that each moment was not without its beauty.” -Julia Cameron,…

  • artist’s way II: week five

    We strive to be good, to be nice, to be helpful, to be unselfish.  We want to be generous, of service, of the world.  But what we really want is to be left alone.  –Julia Cameron, The Artist’s Way In reality, I think it has been five weeks since my Week Four post.  While, I am…

  • artist’s way II: week four

    Reading deprivation is a very powerful tool–and a very frightening one.  Even thinking about it can bring up enormous rage.  For most blocked creatives, reading is an addiction.  We gobble the words of others rather than digest our own thoughts and feelings, rather than cook up something of our own. –Julia Cameron, The Artist’s Way…

  • artist’s way II: week two

    Pain had become something more valuable: experience. Each moment, taken alone, was always bearable. In the exact now, we are all, always, all right. —Julia Cameron, The Artist’s Way Sadly, I am well aware that week two is well overdue. I can partially blame my delay on the fact that I have been moving from…

  • artist’s way II: week one

    Artists love other artists.  Shadow artists are gravitating to their rightful tribe but cannot yet claim their birthright.  Very often audacity, not talent, makes one person an artist and another a shadow artist—hiding in the shadows, afraid to step out and expose the dream to light, fearful that it will disintegrate to the touch. –Julia…

  • artist’s way II: introduction

    I have decided to work through Julie Cameron’s The Artist Way for a second time.  A couple of years ago, I tried The Artist’s Way on a whim.  At first, I wasn’t sure if I was doing it right.  However, over the weeks, I noticed a subtle positive shift in my perspective and I began…

  • artist date: play messy

    artist date: play messy

    A friend of mine recently began her own journey with The Artist’s Way.  As we discussed our experiences with Julia Cameron’s book, our conversation naturally moved to artist dates.  These are essentially weekly homework assignments.  Artist Dates are easy in concept–take an hour for yourself and play. Go somewhere. Do something. Relax and let yourself…

  • artist’s way: week twelve

    artist’s way: week twelve

    I’ve been busy, but not so busy that now is honestly the first feasible time I was able to read and work through the final week of The Artist’s Way.  I know a part of me was procrastinating because I don’t want to let it go.  I suppose I’m nervous to move on (unguided) from…

  • artist’s way: week ten

    artist’s way: week ten

    Working as an emerging artist can create a slightly problematic situation.  It’s difficult to get noticed in a career where the standard for success is completely arbitrary among a seemly limitless mass of other artists, who have their own styles and talents.  It’s a struggle to obtain interest for my work from galleries, critics, publishers,…

  • artist’s way: week eight

    I remember once in the second grade, sitting alone on the edge of this huge sandbox on the playground of my elementary school.  I don’t recall the events that had previous transpired, causing my little seven-year-old brain’s life-altering revelation.  What I do remember is the stark realization that if I simply expect the least-positive outcome…