The Artist's Way ~ Week 3: Recovering a Sense of Power

Before I review this past week, I need to talk a bit about the next one. The primary assignment -- the challenging assignment -- for this next week is Reading Deprivation. As in: NO READING AT ALL. No blogs, no books, no newspapers, no magazines.

No blogs.

Well, you see my problem. Sadly, Cameron's argument is persuasive:

For most artists, words are like tiny tranquilizers. We have a daily quota of media chat that we swallow up . . . It is a paradox that by emptying our lives of distractions we are actually filling the well . . . We often cannot hear own own inner voice, the voice of our artist's inspiration, above the static . . . For most blocked creatives, reading is an addiction.

I do feel -- as I have felt before -- that she tends to ignore lives very different from her own, and I am tempted to insist that I am an exception. After all, I spend most of my waking hours sitting on a bed, reading. Reading is my connection to the world.

But, I fear she is correct, that it is also a distraction -- so I'm going to try this, with some exceptions. Because isolation is a problem for me, I am going to read my personal and blog-related email (which I must do, anyway, since comments on my blogs require my approval to be published.) But I will not sign on to the web communities I participate in, and I won't read 'list' email.

I will continue to post to Watermark -- I have a few posts prepared ahead of time -- but I won't be reading your blogs this week. Some of you may have noticed that I put Chatango back on the sidebar awhile back; if I am online, I'll sign in to that -- but I don't expect that will be often.

What will I be doing this week? Well, this actually began with Danny Gregory's The Creative License -- which I've not opened since I started the Artist's Way project. So, another exception: I am allowed to read my art books, Danny's, and Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain. Drawing is the goal. Drawing every day. Drawing badly, and letting that be OK.

And music. I need to learn how to use iTunes, to make the best use of my iPod Nano; and I don't know how to use the Wacom Tablet I got for Christmas. So I may read instruction books.

Oh, yes -- I also plan to, finally, make the blog sidebar changes and updates I've been promising for months.

That's it. I won't get to read about Alito, or the President's State of Union Address. But I can watch television -- though I'll be keeping that to only what I really like watching. I knew this was coming, so I've saved up some recorded programs to keep myself entertained when I'm too tired to do anything else.

Jane Hirshfield's new book should arrive soon, too; I shall have that to look forward to at the end of this difficult experiment.

So, that's next week.

Last week was Recovering a Sense of Power. I did several of the exercises, most of which were focused on childhood. One of these was to make a list of favorite childhood foods and then buy one. I made the list, then forgot -- until Niki called to say she was going childhood food shopping and what did I want? Tonight I am having a homemade hamburger, with iceberg lettuce; potato salad; and chocolate pudding.

Later I might have some Niki-made jello. Plain red jello, made just for me. I didn't tell her (I'm telling her now) why I wanted it plain. To suck through my teeth.

And that is more than you need to know about my progress. But I do continue with the morning pages, which I am glad to be doing again.

You may see me here next week, but I won't see you again until next Sunday night, or Monday morning.

Be happy.

Comments

[Ken]

I read through Cameron's book a while back, and wish I'd payed more attention to it at the time.

Mayhaps I'll follow your lead, after all us musicians need the same nuturing that any other artist does.

I do think that "Not Reading" is a good idea, it can be a distraction from doing all the work that you need to do to "produce art through practice." It is practice that makes the artist, the healer, and the leader. Not doing, but also reflecting on the actual doing.

So, I'm off to practice!!