And so we begin...

On December 1, fresh on the heels of her Art Everyday Month, Kat of Kat's Paws suggested that those of us who relished the creative community built up via AEM continue our creative journey together via a group process of The Artist's Way, based on Julia Cameron's much-loved book. I was fabulously excited by the idea the moment I read about it (even though I later remembered how much I'd grown to dread writing morning pages during previous excursions into the AW). I'd only ever attempted the AW process by myself. I loved doing it and enjoyed the changes I felt as a result, but couldn't seem to ever find the discipline to finish the entire 12 weeks on my own. Although I'm a loner by nature, so automatically dismiss group activities as something that might not prove enjoyable for me, I've grown these past 2+ years to love the blogging community so much. I've been all over the (internal) map in my crazy journey, but I've rarely found a community of people who are as accepting and supportive as those in the blogosphere.

So today we begin our AW journey together. Some of us participated in Art Everyday Month (and some--ME!--were total slackers at it)...some of us are coming to this group community at Kat's site for the first time for The Artist's Way. Kat has posted the guidelines and a links list of participants in her left sidebar. The link to her site is in the right sidebar here. Here's the first post when she first suggested she might want to lead us through the AW. Here's the second post, as it grew closer to the January 1 start date. And here's the post that launched us off on our way (today).

Our first assignment is to read the first 24 pages of the book by January 7th--that's when we'll begin week 1 of 12. It's not too late to join the group. Simply drop by Kat's site and leave her a comment and she'll add you to the list of participants. I know there are some who don't want to be 'official' participants, but plan to 'play along at home' and read about the process on our blogs.

I feel so many emotions right now about beginning The Artist's Way with this group:

Excited...I woke up this morning and still groggy went straight to the laptop to read Kat's post for today. Nervous...which parts of myself will I unearth in the process? Exhilarated...the possibilities are wide open! Hesitant...I'm undisciplined by nature...I get very excited about things, but my follow-through isn't so great...will I stick with it the entire 12 weeks? Supported...if ever there was a group I'd feel safe enough to explore this journey with, surely it's this one.

My dictionary lists the definition of create as "to bring into existence, to originate." The AW journey isn't just for those of us who are considered 'art-makers' in any traditional sense. It's for the artist within each of us. Each of us has the power to create that which brings us joy, whatever it might be. May today begin the journey of originating your most creative life. Blessings to all of you on this New Year's Day.