The Artist's Way: 30th Anniversary Edition

For years I have owned "Artist's Way" but resisted reading it, even though several of my friends told me it was essential reading and kept sharing amazing insights from the book. Every time I started it, I got turned off by Julia Cameron's writing style and I was a tiny bit wary about the spiritual aspect of the book. Also- morning pages being necessary... I couldn't imagine how it would work for me.But as part of a book club I was asked to lead the reading and discussion of The Artist's Way so I dove in.The first thing to know is that this book *is* essential reading. Despite my initial negative reaction to Cameron's writing style (it seemed fussy), I quickly got used to her tone and way of approaching different subjects and ideas. There is some GREAT stuff in this book- things that all artists and writers and other "creatives" NEED to know and think about. I've been an artist now for more than half my life and there was some basic topics in this book that I never even considered before.The second thing is that while Cameron does put a bit of a spiritual spin on things, it's absolutely NOT necessary to be in agreement with her spiritual philosophies to get a tremendous amount from this book. Take what you need, disregard the rest. For those who are spiritual and open to it, there's a lot of great perspective in this book about how spirituality and creativity are tied together. For those who would rather keep their creative pursuits separate from spirituality, it's very easy to "read around" the bits that do pertain to spirituality. Plus, the spiritual aspect of the book is VERY flexible- it's not solely one path or creed. It's easy to apply the spiritual philosophy to whatever your faith is (or isn't).Third, and this may be horrifying to some, this book is STILL extremely useful and life-changing EVEN if you don't do the morning pages. I've done the book with the morning pages and exercises and without doing the morning pages and exercises and I've had great success and insight both ways. So even though some may argue that the book/program is useless without the morning pages, I believe that if you can find an outlet similar *to* the morning pages in which you have the opportunity to clear the junk out of your brain and get to the creative stuff (mine wound up being collage, swimming, and gardening), Cameron's advice still works.This is powerful, inspiring stuff. And I don't say that lightly. No matter what your personal philosophy is, whether or not you can do the entire program (morning pages, exercises, and all) or just want a few pieces of "food for thought" to inspire your creative life, this book is essential.

Absolutely love this book! I’m reading it for my book club and it’s so eye opening. You learn so much about yourself. It’s a great self help book. Definitely recommend if you want to dig deeper into yourself and work on yourself

A great tool that every artist or creative person should have!

The Morning Pages have changed my life!

I worked through all 12 weeks and the has not only changed my outlook, but I am also writing and creating every day. I'm sure that not everyone will agree with everything in the book, but that makes great material for reflections to help you understand the most important thing, which is how "you" think. I will add that I think doing as many of the exercises as possible each week are crucial to getting the most out of the book.

“The Artist’s Way: 30th Anniversary Ed” is a nice book about art and the artist experience. Not a book on drawing, but more about how to get in touch with the artistic side and understanding what it takes to be an artist. This books takes the reader on a 12 week workshop with exercises in critical and creative thinking that explore the artist life for help in opening up the artist inside. It reviews what it takes to be creative and the connection to the spiritual path. Not what I expected, but I am still pleased with the book. Easy read. If you are not spiritual and an artist, I am not sure it is the read you would want. I particularly like the check-ins. This is a nice book for artists looking to understand their art and push it to a path of spiritual creativity.

On week 3 and I can already tell this book is a pivot point in my life. Be ready to do the work, this book is interactive.

This book was recommended to me by a colleague after we discussed the challenges we face when writing. She said she had been using the book for several years and was inspirational to her, so I thought I would give it a try. There were several things throughout the book that reminded me of 12-step programs designed to help people overcome addictions, but this was focused on freeing the creator inside by addressing the many factors that generally contribute to creative blocks.Although the book can be used in several ways, which as described in the introduction, I chose to read one chapter at the beginning of each week and then do the prescribed activities throughout the week. Each chapter concludes with a "check-in" to help one assess how well they are doing in working through the workbook. I gained a lot of important insight as I worked through the book and am currently working my way back through it a second time.Even if you do not think yourself to be artistic or creative, this book can be an important resource for unlocking reasons behind unhealthy life patterns and helping one to be a better version of themselves than they already are...one day at a time..