Another Artist's Way Blog
A foray into the wildly popular self-help book for creatives.
The book stares at me from high above my head on a shelf at the Powell’s bookstore in Beaverton, OR.
Swimming around me are the sounds of a crowd gathered to listen to an author talk. It takes me a while to realize that the person giving the Q&A is the creator of Pearls Before Swine, the popular comic strip that I grew up reading in the “Funnies” section of the paper, a vital piece of an otherwise black-and-white publication that only spelled boredom to an eight-year-old. Stephan Pastis chats with a crowd about his journey as an artist and the success he’s felt, along with several collaborations with big names, including Bill Watterson. I feel simultaneously honored to be in the same building with him, but also strangely disinterested, allowing snippets of questions and anecdotes to permeate my attention without getting drawn into the massive crowd that has gathered.
That’s because Stephan is not what I’m here for. My attention is on an unassuming volume nestled amongst several siblings by the same author. I am standing in the Self-help: Creativity section. The other books around are a mess of conflicting design sense. Some are brightly colored with large, sans serif font on the cover. Some have muted earth tones with cryptic illustrations of plants. I briefly consider the variety of marketing ideals and audiences represented in this single section of the vast marketplace of ideas I stand in, then get back to the task at hand.
I reach above my head, nearly extending to my tippy-toes to reach the book I seek. I pull a shelf-worn, modestly thick book down. It’s paperback, clearly an older copy as the thin layer of plastic sheeting that protects the paper is peeling away from the edges. It has the wear of a book that someone purchased, briefly considered reading, and then stuck on a shelf to be forgotten for a decade or two before it was shoved into the hands of this used bookstore to sell for $11.95 to someone who might just do the same thing - kick the can further down the road.
This is not my intent, but even so, I regard the muted brown ink illustration of a mountain on the cover with some level of caution and doubt. The title flashes back in a dull gold: “The Artist’s Way: A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity” by Julia Cameron. A byline at the top of the cover touts: “A Course in Discovering and Recovering Your Creative Self.”
I can’t quite pin down my initial introduction to this book, but I know it hadn’t surfaced in my recommendations until a year or two ago when I was poking through YouTube videos from artsy channels and heard someone mention it. I researched it, thinking it was new, and then discovered it was published five years before I even existed.
The content of the book intrigues me. A guide for artists who are creatively blocked? That sounds like something every artist I know could use. The “spiritual” aspect causes both curiosity and hesitation. I briefly look into buying the book on Amazon, tell myself I’ll check it out after I’m done with this next thing at work, and then promptly forget about it.
The next time “The Artist’s Way” appears is while I am actively attempting to clear said creative block on my own. I am in a watercolor class with a young, local painter at the helm, accompanied by peers who are all retirees looking to finally pursue their creative path now that they’re done being badass working women, mothers, etc. The teacher mentions her intent to host a book group that will follow “The Artist’s Way” chapter by chapter.
I joined this watercolor class because I can’t currently bring myself to do art outside of work and it’s actively sucking the life force out of me. I say, “Count me in”.
Now, standing in this Powell’s location with the book in my hands, I wonder what this woman can teach me. I know nothing about her other than the content of the books that neighbored the one I currently hold. These are all books about writing with a spiritual bent. One is called “God is No Laughing Matter.” I grimace.
I’ve put my trust in this teacher, now I need to see this through I’ve learned that my best bet at doing something is by having a community around me to do it with. I might as well give it a chance.
As the acclaimed internet gameshow host of “Game Changer”, Sam Reich, always quips at the beginning of each episode, “…the only way to begin is by beginning.”
Stay tuned as I walk through each chapter of “The Artist’s Way'“ by Julia Cameron. Follow along with me and leave comments so we can discuss the book if you’d like.