Welp, this is embarrassing…To kick off this year, I decided to give The Artist’s Way another go and I stopped after week 3. I’d like to say, in my defense, that I had just started my master’s thesis around the same time and I had rowing practice and I get really sleepy in the winter…Excuses, excuses, I know. Minding my own short comings, I can’t help but also take a moment to air out some of my grievances with the book so far. I consider myself a pretty creative person as is. I’ve had a decent enough painting schedule over the years, I play guitar on the weekends, and I work on my writing, well, here. I keep getting this sense that instead of working on my actual art, I am working to self-diagnose myself with blocks and reading about creating art rather than actually doing it. After completing chapters, I am constantly left feeling like my valuable creative time might have been better utilized.
I’m stuck in this thought process where, on the one hand, I think this book might be better suited for people who are struggling to truly discover themselves as artists; those who have been away from the arts for some time or have never tapped into their creative side. On the other hand, though, the ideas in this book have proved useful for me and I’m curious if there is still more to benefit from. Surely there is, but is the whole of this 12-week process really adding significant value to my experience as an artist?
So I’m left asking myself, do I:
a. Quit and never look back. Get on with my life and call the book an L.
b. Try again and truly force myself to work through the book for 12 weeks.
c. Adopt the book as a wayward companion, reading chapters as I please and, as the tarot readers say, “take what resonates and leave the rest.”
I am stubborn, so I’m privy to b or c. But sometimes, man, I am blocked (lol) by a concern about the time investment and overall practicality of this tool for my journey as an artist. Don’t get me wrong, I have wholly adopted the artist’s date and the morning pages. As someone who has perpetually loathed journaling, I’ve found myself reaching for my journal like Elina Gilbert, even after my morning pages were done for the day. The tools I’ve already adopted from The Artist’s Way thus far have been truly useful, so, surely there is more for me to uncover, right?
My stubbornness is constantly bubbling up saying “Come on, don’t let the book win! You’re better than that! Imagine how much better you’ll be if just finish this book already!” I’m sure I will pick it up and try again soon, though I may avoid trying to document my experience the next time. For now, suffice to say that I have been struggling with The Artist’s Way, and while it has proved beneficial in some ways, it has manifested some blocks of its own. Or, rather, it may have given rise to blocks that the book couldn’t anticipate: my own resistance to externally structured growth. If I ever finish the book, you guys will be the first to know, scouts honor.
