Amy loves Bud Posted May 21, 2009 Share Posted May 21, 2009 Anyone ever gone through this? Thoughts, opinions? I'd like to hear what you think. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abreakfromlife Posted May 21, 2009 Share Posted May 21, 2009 I haven't, but I have a very similar book - The Creative Call. I still have The Artist's Way on my list to get......not sure what your religious persuasion is, but this is from the intro of TCC - (the author of TCC went through the 12 weeks of The Artist's Way) "Since Cameron's book seemed to focus more on finding oneself through practicing one's art than on practicing one's art in order to discover a deeper relationship with God, a week did not pass without someone saying, "If only we could find a book like this for Christians." I really like The Creative Call. I would guess that since it's supposedly so similar to TAW, that that would be a good one. I combine TCC with Madeline L'Engle's Walking on Water and wow....very inspiring. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy Posted May 21, 2009 Share Posted May 21, 2009 I find it a good kick start for my creativity. I pull the book from my shelf at least once a year or so. It makes a dandy creative 'retreat' for yourself. I'll sometimes take a weekend or a few days to focus on expanding my creative energies using this book and others. Julie Cameron is famous for her adherence to morning pages and artist's dates. Morning pages do increase my creative output. Some of her ideas are a little off the wall, but effective. I must constantly be feeding my creative spirit or I run out of gas and can't accomplish anything, so I'm a believer in artist's dates, too. I have some other similar creative book titles you might like, as well, if you are interested. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abreakfromlife Posted May 21, 2009 Share Posted May 21, 2009 I have some other similar creative book titles you might like, as well, if you are interested. I don't know about Amy, but I am :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy Posted May 21, 2009 Share Posted May 21, 2009 (edited) I haven't, but I have a very similar book - The Creative Call. I still have The Artist's Way on my list to get......not sure what your religious persuasion is, but this is from the intro of TCC - (the author of TCC went through the 12 weeks of The Artist's Way) "Since Cameron's book seemed to focus more on finding oneself through practicing one's art than on practicing one's art in order to discover a deeper relationship with God, a week did not pass without someone saying, "If only we could find a book like this for Christians." I really like The Creative Call. I would guess that since it's supposedly so similar to TAW, that that would be a good one. I combine TCC with Madeline L'Engle's Walking on Water and wow....very inspiring. I've just started the Creative Call. Excellent and inspiring. I just purchased Walking on Water, too. So are we great minds thinking alike???? ;) Edited to add....I like Twyla Tharp's 'The Creative Habit' and Stephen King's 'On Writing.' Debbie Macomber's 'Knit Together' is Christian, creative, and inspiring. I loved it. I found 'The Creative Call' because I was doing market research for a book I want to write....which ties to my blog, Creative Soul. My blog's focus is creativity (when it isn't dwelling on homeschooling or gardening. Creativity gets used in all aspects of my life.) Edited May 21, 2009 by Happy I wasn't done Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abreakfromlife Posted May 21, 2009 Share Posted May 21, 2009 LOL. That's awesome. I just started rereading Walking on Water last night....she is just so deep. I can't get over how her mind works! I've started reading a lot of her other non-fiction stuff and her crosswick journals....so good. I wish I could get into her fiction :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catwoman Posted May 21, 2009 Share Posted May 21, 2009 The Artist's Way --- Anyone ever gone through this? Thoughts, opinions? I'd like to hear what you think. Thanks! I have it, and I have tried to read it, but honestly, I always end up feeling even less creative than I did when I started. I can't get into the exercises at all. I know the methods work for many people, so maybe I'm the exception to the rule. I would suggest checking the book out of the library to see if it works for you, before you buy it. Cat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rose in BC Posted May 21, 2009 Share Posted May 21, 2009 I don't know about Amy, but I am :001_smile: I'm interested in other titles as well as comments about the books already mentioned. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy Posted May 21, 2009 Share Posted May 21, 2009 Here's a few....not necessarily similar to 'the Artist's Way' but interesting, inspiring, and/or motivating in their own way. The War of Art, Steven Pressfield Writing Down the Bones, Natalie Goldbergy Coaching the Artist Within, Eric Maisel Walking on Water, Madeline L'Engle (I'm just starting this one.) Taking Flight, Kelly Rae Roberts The ones I mentioned in the edited version of my post before: The Creative Call, Janice Elsheimer The Creative Habit, Twyla Tharp On Writing, Stephen King (R-rated for language) Knit Together, Debbie Macomber - a favorite of mine I also like the magazine 'Cloth, Paper, Scissors' for its creative articles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mamasteff Posted May 21, 2009 Share Posted May 21, 2009 So glad someone asked - just last week I was browsing "TAW" and thought the same thing.. it's a little too "me" focused for me. I am already quite selfish enough! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amy loves Bud Posted May 21, 2009 Author Share Posted May 21, 2009 Thank you all! I'm wondering, if you are a Christian, did you feel that TAW was something you could comfortably work through, or was it too counter to your beliefs? My neighbor is having a group work through this at her house this summer, so one of the other options wouldn't work, even though they sound much better to me. I'm just deciding if I can participate in good conscience or not. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sara R Posted May 21, 2009 Share Posted May 21, 2009 I've never used it, but I know that Office actress Jenna Fischer recommends it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy Posted May 21, 2009 Share Posted May 21, 2009 Thank you all! I'm wondering, if you are a Christian, did you feel that TAW was something you could comfortably work through, or was it too counter to your beliefs? My neighbor is having a group work through this at her house this summer, so one of the other options wouldn't work, even though they sound much better to me. I'm just deciding if I can participate in good conscience or not. Thanks! Julia Cameron is a believer...in a sort of new agey way. Wow, that sounds not quite the I want it to sound. She is a spiritual person, giving honor to God for her creative gifts. I don't know that she'd feel comfortable sitting in my church, but at least she gets where the gift comes from. KWIM? I've worked through TAW on my own, as I said before. I enjoyed it and had little problem with her presentations......but, I spent most of my adult life in photography and related professional workshops, seminars and classes. I've often had to sift odd spiritual type thoughts in order to find the heart of the lesson. The goal is to create in a wonderful, fresh, and for some of us, God honoring way. TAW helps me. I wish I could join your group. It would be a blast for me...and I could use a good, firm nudge in my creative center. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abreakfromlife Posted May 21, 2009 Share Posted May 21, 2009 that would be cool enough to have a group to work with that I would give TAW a try, lol. Happy - have you ever seen Somerset Studio? awwwesome magazine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heather in the Kootenays Posted May 22, 2009 Share Posted May 22, 2009 I find that the morning papers really help clear my head and the dates are helpful too -when I actually do them :glare: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LoriM Posted May 22, 2009 Share Posted May 22, 2009 I love this book; probably found it 10 years ago or so. Have read many, many books on the subject, and have a shelf-full. I especially enjoyed The Path of Least Resistance. Artist's dates was the best thing I ever did for myself 10 years ago. I don't think I've gone more than a week without "me" time since, and it's made me a happier person, and certainly more creative. Unfortunately, I think I have the opposite problem some of you stated. I am rarely selfish. I'm self-centered, but not selfish. I have to work to give myself time--for anything. Time to read, reflect, create, and even exercise easily becomes the last thing on my to-do list...long after my family is cared for and my work is done. Anyway, TAW did a very good thing for me. It taught me healthy selfishness. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hapax Legomena Posted May 22, 2009 Share Posted May 22, 2009 Thank you all! I'm wondering, if you are a Christian, did you feel that TAW was something you could comfortably work through, or was it too counter to your beliefs? My neighbor is having a group work through this at her house this summer, so one of the other options wouldn't work, even though they sound much better to me. I'm just deciding if I can participate in good conscience or not. Thanks! I bought this book shortly after it was published and never completed reading it. The book has some good ideas concerning creativity, but its overall orientation is not in harmony with the Bible. Cameron speaks of spirituality and God but she is not talking about spirituality is the Bible presents it, and she is not talking about the God of the Bible. Here is just one of many examples: "Whether we conceive of an inner god force or an other, outer God, doesn't matter. Relying on that force does. 'Ask and you shall receive. Knock and it shall be opened to you...' These words are among the more unpleasant ones ascribed to Jesus Christ. They suggest the possibility of scientific method: ask (experiment) and see what happens (record the results). I would not be apt to go through this book in a neighborhood discussion unless the group was interested in fully discussing Cameron's views in light of what the Bible says about them. My hunch is that most groups are not going to be interested in pursuing that type of discussion. A Christian could take some of Cameron's ideas and use them. However, if I were to pick five or ten books concerning creativity, this one would not be on the list. Part of the consideration depends on what one wants to gain from reading these types of books. If one want's to spark thoughts to use in business, or to generate songwriting ideas, or to jumpstart writing, there are a number of techniques that can be used without having to abandon Biblical truth and the God of the Bible in the process. The fascinating field of creative thinking is one in which the book buyer does well to pay heed to the "buyer beware" warning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abreakfromlife Posted May 22, 2009 Share Posted May 22, 2009 Ask and you shall receive is considered an unpleasant saying? :confused: I take back what I said - I guess I'd have to go to Barnes and Noble and really flip through it before I decided to do it or not. LOL. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lady Q Posted July 5, 2009 Share Posted July 5, 2009 I have a love-hate relationship with this book. I love the idea of morning pages (and this book has helped me journal more, if not daily). I had an a-ha! moment when she talked about filling up your creative well with images (the artist's date, which for me is looking at pretty landscape photography online :D). I like that she recognizes that creativity comes from the Divine, even though her views on God are not the same as mine. What I didn't like was the focus on self. I'm already quite self-absorbed enough, thanks! One comment of hers that really bothered me was about creative people having too many children, too soon (?!). As a younger mom of three, that just seemed like a slap in the face. Really, I think I can handle being both a mom and fulfill my creative impulses. The Creative Call looks great! Adding that my to TBR pile! ~Rabia Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swimmermom3 Posted July 5, 2009 Share Posted July 5, 2009 I love this book; probably found it 10 years ago or so. Have read many, many books on the subject, and have a shelf-full. I especially enjoyed The Path of Least Resistance. Artist's dates was the best thing I ever did for myself 10 years ago. I don't think I've gone more than a week without "me" time since, and it's made me a happier person, and certainly more creative. Unfortunately, I think I have the opposite problem some of you stated. I am rarely selfish. I'm self-centered, but not selfish. I have to work to give myself time--for anything. Time to read, reflect, create, and even exercise easily becomes the last thing on my to-do list...long after my family is cared for and my work is done. Anyway, TAW did a very good thing for me. It taught me healthy selfishness. :) Like Lori, I found this book about 10 years ago and worked through it with a book club full of diverse strangers at Barnes and Noble. I'm not sure how I found the nerve to do it in a group setting like that but it was a blast. We started with 10 of us ranging in age from 21 to 65, married, single, Christian, pagan, children, grandchildren, and no children. I learned so much in that time especially from the older women in the group. We finished with 8 of us, meeting in each others homes eating strawberries and chocolate, drinking wine occasionally, asking each other hard questions and holding each other accountable. To this day, I feel fortunate to have had the experience. I remain good friends with the groups moderator and take yoga lessons from her. If you are uncomfortable with anything outside of a conservative Christian belief system, this may not be the book for you. I don't know. My approach to spirituality is left of center, so I find it difficult to look at Cameron's work in any other way. Other possibilities include: Bird by Bird, Anne Lamott Living Color: A Writer Paints Her World, Natalie Goldberg Writing Down the Bones, Natalie Goldberg Writing the Landscape of Your Mind, Natalie Goldberg To Begin Again, MFK Fisher Room to Write, Bonnie Goldberg Walking on Water, Madelaine L'Engle A Circle of Quiet (quartet) Madelaine L'Engle Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LoriM Posted July 5, 2009 Share Posted July 5, 2009 My approach to spirituality is left of center, Yep, that's me too. Left of center. Not extreme left, not far left, not leftist (grin), but left of center. I attend a right-of-center church, and I told them all today (when I brazenly spoke out about a left-of-center issue!) that I enjoy "corralling them all in" and knowing where they stand. GRIN. I'm left-of-center. I like it. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
samba Posted July 5, 2009 Share Posted July 5, 2009 LOL. That's awesome. I just started rereading Walking on Water last night....she is just so deep. I can't get over how her mind works! I've started reading a lot of her other non-fiction stuff and her crosswick journals....so good. I wish I could get into her fiction :lol: I have most of L'Engle's non-fiction and I really like it. I have trouble with her fiction, too. :confused: Carolyn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LoriM Posted July 5, 2009 Share Posted July 5, 2009 If you haven't read L'Engle's Many Waters, that might be the one for you. It's a bit more accessible than the more science-fiction-ish first 3 of the Time Quartet. (It's set in ancient times, but not as worlds-traveled...well, kinda. LOL.) Also, her more "modern" fiction family books (Arms of the Starfish? Something like that) are better for those who aren't into scifi. I love love love L'Engle's books, particularly her poetry. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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