The Basic Tools

THERE ARE TW0 PIV0TAL tools in creative recovery: the

morning pa,r.;es and the artist date. A lasting creative
awakcning rcquires the consistcnt use of both. I likc to introducc
them both immc diately, and at sufficient length to answcr most
of your qucs tions. This chapter explains thesc tools carcfully
and in depth. Pleasc rcad it with special carc and begin the
immediate use of both tools.

THE MORNING PAGES

ln order to rctricve your crcativity, you nccd to find it. I ask

you to do this by an apparently pointlcss proccss I call the
morn ing pages. You will do the pages daily through all the
wceks of the coursc and, I hope, much longcr. I have been
doing them for a dccadc now. I have studcnts who have worked
with them ncarly that long and who would no more abandon
them than brcathing.
Ginny, a writer-producer, credits the morning pages with
inspiration for hcr rccent screenplays and clarity in planning
her network spccials. ''I'm superstitious about thcm by now,"
she says. "Whcn I was editing my last special, I would get up at
5:00 A.M. to gct them clone beforc I wcnt in to work."
What are morning pages? Put simply, the morning pages
10 TI-IE ARTIST'S WAY

are three pages of longhand writing, strictly stream-of-con

Words are aform of action, capa
ble of ir!fiuencing change.
lNGRID BENGIS
You need to claim the events
of your life to make yourse/f
yours.
ANNE-WILSON ScttAEF
sciousness: "Oh, god, anothcr morning. I have NOTHING to
say. I need to wash the curtains. Did I get my laundry yestcr
day? Blah, blah, blah ... " They might also, more inglori
ously, bc called braín draín, since that is onc of their main
func tions.
There is no wrong way to do morning pages. These daily morn
ing meanderings are not meant to be art. Or even wrítíng. I
stress that point to reassure the nonwriters working with this
book. Writing is simply one of thc tools. Pagcs are mcant to
bc, simply, the act of moving the hand across thc page and
writing down whatever comes to mind. Nothing is too petty,
too silly, too stupid, or too weird to be included.
The morning pages are not supposed to sound smart
although sometimes they might. Most times they won't, and
nobody will ever know except you. Nobody is allowed to
rcad your morning pagcs except you. And you shouldn't evcn
rcad them yourself for thc first eight weeks or so. Just write
threc pages, and stick thcm into an envelope. Or write three
pagcs in a spiral notebook and don't leaf back through. Just
write three paies ... and write three more pages the next
day.

Septembcr 30, 1991 ... Over the wcekend, for Domen

ica's biology projcct, she and l went bug hunting on the
Rio Grande and Pott Creek. Wc collectcd water crawlies
and butterflies. I madc a crimson homemadc butterfly
nct that was quite functional although dragonflics eluded
us to our dismay. Wc did not catch thc tarantula
stro1ling down the dirt road near our house. Wejust
enjoycd spot ting it.

Although occasionally colorful, the morning pages are

often negative, frequcntly fragmentcd, often self-pitying, re
petitive, stiltcd or babyish, angry or bland-cven silly sound
ing. Good!

Oct. 2, 1991 ... Iam up and have had a headachc and

havc takcn aspirin and feel a littlc bettcr although still
shaky. I may havc that flu after ali. Iam getting to the bot-
 THE BASIC TOOLS II

tomof a lot of unpacking and still no teapot from Laura

whom Iam sorcly missing. What a hcartbreak ...

All that angry, whiny, petty stuff that you write down in
the morning stands between you and your creativity. Worry
ing about the job, the laundry, the funny knock in the car, the
weird look in your lover's eye-this stuff eddies through our A mind too active is no mind
subconscious and muddies our days. Get it on the page. at ali.
The morning pages are the primary too/ of creative recovery. THEODORE RüETHKE
As blocked artists, we tend to criticize oursclves mercilcssly.
Even if we look like functioning artists to the world, we feel The events in our lives happen
we never do enough and what we do isn't right. We are victims in a sequence intime, but in
of our own internalized perfcctionist, a nasty internai and eternal their s(í?n!ficance to ourselves,
critic, the Censor, who resides in our (left) brain and keeps upa they_find their own order ...
constant stream of subversive remarks that are often disguised the contin
uous thread of revelation.
as the truth. The Censor says wonderful things like: "You call
that writing? What a joke. You can't even punctuate. If you EuooRA WELTY
haven't done it by now you never will. You can't even spcll.
What makes you think you can be creative?" And on and on.
Make this a rulc: always remember that your Censor's
negative opinions are not the truth. This takes practice. By
spilling out of bed and straight onto the page every morning,
you learn to evade the Censor. Because there is no wrong way
to write the morning pages, the Censor's opinion doesn't count.
Let your Censor rattle on. (And it will.) Just keep your hand
moving across the page. Write down the Censor's thoughts if
you want to. Note how it !oves to aim for your
creativejugular. Make no mistake: the Censor is out to get
you. It's a cunning foe. Every time you get smarter, so does it.
So you wrote one good play? The Censor tclls you that's all
there is. So you drew your first sketch? The Censor says, "It's
not Picasso."
Think of your Censor as a cartoon serpent, slithering
around your creative Eden, hissing vile things to keep you off
guard. If a serpent doesn't appeal to you, you might want to
find a good cartoon image of your Censor, maybe the shark
from Jaws, and put an X through it. Post it where you tend to
write or on the insidc cover of your notebook. Just making the
Censor into the nasty, dever little character that it is begins to
pry loose some of its power over you and your creativity.
12 THE ARTIST'S WAY

More than one student has tacked up an unflattering pic

ture of the parent responsible for the Censor's installation in
his or her psyche and called that his or hcr Censor. The point
is to stop taking the Censor as the voice of reason and learn to
hcar it for the blocking dcvice that it is. Morning pages will
hclp you to do this.
Morning pages are nonne,qotiable. Never skip or skimp on
morning pagcs. Your mood doesn't matter. Thc rotten thing
your Censor says doesn't mattcr. We have this idca that wc nccd
to be in the mood to write. We don't.
Morning pages will teach you that your mood doesn't
rcally matter. Some of thc best creativc work gets clone on
thc days when you feel that cvcrything you're doing is just
plain junk. Thc morning pages will teach you to stop judging
and just lct yoursclf write. So what if you'rc tired, crabby, dis
tractcd, strcsscd? Your artist is a child and it nceds to bc fcd.
Morning pagcs feed your artist child. So writc your morning
pages.
Three pagcs of whatever crosses your mind-that's all
thcre is to it. If you can't think of anything to writc, thcn
write, "I can't think of anything to write "Dtohis
until you have
fillcd threc pages. Do anything until you havefilled three pages.
When people ask, "Why do we writc morning pagcs?" I
joke, "To get to the other sidc." They think l am kidding, but
l'm not. Morning pages do get us to the othcr side: thc othcr
side of our fear, of our negativity, of our moods. Abovc all,
they get us beyond our Censor. Bcyond the rcach of the Cen
sor's babble we find our own quict center, thc placc whcre
we hcar the still, small voice that is at once our creator's and
ourown.
A word is in order here about logic brain and artist brain.
Lo,qícbrain is our brain of choicc in the Wcstcrn Hemisphcre. lt
is the categorical brain. lt thinks in a neat, linear fashion. As a
rule, logic brain pcrceivcs the world according to known catc
gorics. A horsc is a ccrtain combination of animal parts that
makc upa horse. A fall forest is viewcd as a series of colors that
add up to "fall forest." It looks at a fall forcst and notes: rcd,
orangc, ycllow, green, gold.
Logic brain was and is our survival brain. lt works on
 THE BASIC TOOLS 13

known principlcs. Anything unknown is perceived as wrong

and possibly dangerous. Logic brain likes things to be neat lit
tle soldiers marching in a straight line. Logic brain is the brain
we usually listen to, especially when we are telling ourselves to
be sensiblc.
Logic brain is our Censor, our second (and third and
Poetry often entersthrough the
fourth) thoughts. Faced with an original sentence, phrase,
window of irrelevance.
paint squiggle, it says, "What the hell is that? That's not right!"
Artist brain is our inventor, our child, our very own per M. e. RICHARDS
sonal absent-minded professor. Artist brain says, "Hey! That
is so neat!" It puts odd things together (boat equals wave and
walker). It likes calling a speeding GTO a wild animal: "The
black howling wolf pulled into the drive-in ... "
Artist brain is our creative, holistic brain. It thinks in
patterns and shadings. lt sees a fali forest and thinks: Wow!
Leaf bouquet! Pretty! Gold-gilt-shimmery-earthskin-king's
carpet! Artist brain is associative and freewheeling. It makes
new connections, yoking together images to invoke meaning:
like the Norse myths calling a boat "wave-horse." ln Star Wars,
the name Skywalker is a lovcly artist-brain flash.
Why all this logic-brain/artist-brain talk? Because the
morning pages teach logic brain to stand aside and lct artist
brain play.
The Censor is part of our lcftover survival brain. lt was
the part in charge of deciding whether it was safe for us to
leave the forest and go out into the meadow. Our Censor
scans our creative meadow for any dangerous beasties. Any
original thought can look pretty dangerous to our Censor.
The only sentences/paintings/sculptures/photographs it
likes are ones that it has seen many times bcfore. Safe sen
tences. Safe paintings. Not exploratory blurts, squigglcs, or
jottings. Listen to your Censdr and it will tel1 you that every
thing original is wrong/ dangerous/ rotten.
Who wouldn't be blocked if evcry time you tiptoed into
the open somebody (your Censor) made fun of you? The
morning pages will teach you to stop listcning to that ridiculc.
They will allow you to detach from your negative Censor.
It may be useful for you to think of the morning pages as
meditation. It may not be the practice of meditation you are
14 THE ARTIST'S WAY

accustomcd to. You may, in fact, not be accustomcd to medi

Inspiration may be aJorm of
superconsciousness, or perhaps of Thcrc
suhconsciousness-1 wouldn't
know. But Iam sure it is the
antithesis of self-
consciousness.
AARON CüPLAND
tating at all. The pagcs may not seem spiritual or even
mcdita tive-more like negative and materialistic, actually-but
they are a valid form of meditation that gives us insight and
helps us cffect change in our lives.
Lct's take a look at what wc stand to gain by meditating.
are many ways of thinking about meditation. Scientists
spcak of it in tcrms of brain hemisphcres and shunting tech
niques. Wc move from logic brain to artist brain and from
fast to slow, shallow to dccp. Managemcnt consultants, in
pursuic of corporate physical hcalth, have learncd to think of
mcdita tion primarily as a stress-management tcchnique.
Spiritual seekers choose to view thc processas a gatcway to
God. Artists and crcativity nuvens approvc of it as a conduit
for higher crc ativc insights.
Ali of thcsc notions are true-as far as they go. They do
not go far cnough. Yes, we will alter our brain hcmisphere,
lower our stress, discovcr an inner contact with a crcative
source, and have many crcative insights. Yes, for any one
of thcse rcasons, the pursuit is a worthy one. Evcn taken in
com bination, however, they are still intellectual constructs
for what is primarily an experiencc of wholeness,
rightness, and power.
We meditatc to discover our own identity, our right place
in the scheme of thc univcrse. Through meditation, wc ac
quire and eventually acknowledge our connection to an inner
powcr source that has the ability to transform our outer world.
ln othcr words, meditation givcs us not only the light of in
sight but also thc power for expansive changc.
Insight in and of itself is an intcllectual comfort. Power in
and of itself is a blind force that can destroy as easily as build. It
is only when we consciously learn to link power and light
that we begin to feel our rightful identities as creative beings.
Thc morning pages allow us to forge this link. They providc
us with a spiritual ham-radio set to contact the Crcator
Within. For this rcason, the morning pagcs are a spiritual
practice.
It is impossiblc to write morning pages for any extended
period of time without coming into contact with an unex
pccted inner power. Although I used them for many ycars bc-
 THE BASIC TOOLS 15

fore I realized this, the pages are a pathway to a strong and clear
sense of self They are a trai! that we follow into our own
inte rior, where we meet both our own creativity and our
creator. Morning pages map our own interior. Without them,
our dreams may remain terra incognita. I know mine did.
Using them, the light of insight is coupled with the power for
It always comes back to the same
expan sive change. It is very difficult to complain about a
necessíty: go deep enough and
situation morning after morning, month after month,
there is a bedrock of truth, how
without being moved to constructive action. The pages lead ever hard.
us out of despair
and into undreamed-of solutions. MAY SARTON

The first time I did morning pages, I was living in Taos,

New Mexico. I had gane there to sort myself out-into what, I
didn't know. For the third time in a ww, I'd had a film scuttled
due to studio politics. Such disasters are routine to screen
writers, but to me they felt like miscarriages. Cumulatively,
they were disastrous. I wanted to give the movies up. Movies
had broken my heart. I didn't want any more brainchildren to
meet untimely deaths. I'd gane to New Mexico to mend my
heart and see what else, if anything, I might want to do.
Living in a small adobe house that looked north to Taos
Mountain, I began a practice of writing morning pages. No
body told me to do them. I had never heard of anybody doing
them. I just got the insistcnt, inner sense that I should do
them and so l did. I sat at a wooden table looking north to
Taos Mountain and I wrote.
The morning pages were my pastime, something to do in
stead of staring at the mountain ali the time. The mountain, a
humpbacked marvel different in every weather, raised more
questions than I did. Wrapped in clouds one day, dark and
wet the next, that mountain dominated my view and my
morning pages as well. What did it-or anything-mean? I
asked page after page, morning after morning. No answer.
And then, one wet morning, a character named Johnny
carne strolling into my pages. Without planning to, I was writ
ing a novel. Thc morning pages had shown me a way.
Anyone who faithfully writes morning pages will be lcd to
a connection with a source of wisdom within. When I am
stuck with a painful situation or problem that I don't think
I know how to handle, I will go to the pages and ask for
r6 THE ARTIST's WAY
Like an ability ora
muscle, hearing your inner
wisdom is strengthened by
doing it.
ROBBIE GASS
lt is in the knowledge of the
gatuine conditions of our lives
that we mt-tst draw our stren,qth
to live and our reasons for
living.
SIMONE DE BEAUVOIR
guidance. To do this, I write "LJ" as a shorthand for me, "Little
Julie," and then I ask my question.
LJ: What should I tel1 them about this inner wisdom?
(Then I listen for the reply and write that down, too.)
ANSWER: You should tel1 them everyonc has a direct dia]
to God. No one needs to go through an operator. Tel1 them to
try this technique with a problcm of their own. They will.
Sometimcs, as above, the answer may seem flippant or
too sim pie. I have come to believe that seem is the operative
word. Very often, when I act on the advice I have been given,
it is ex actly right-far more right than something more
complicated would have been. And so, for the record, I want
to say: pages are my way of meditating; Ido them beca use
they work.
A final assurance: the morning pagcs will work for paint
ers, for sculptors, for pocts, for actors, for lawyers, for house
wives-for anyone who wants to try anything crcative. Don't
think thcy are a tool for writers only. Hooey. Thesc pages are
not intendcd for writers only. Lawycrs who use thcm swear
they makc them more effective in court. Danccrs claim their
balance improves-and not just cmotionally. If anything,
writers, who have a regrcttable desire to write morning pagcs
instcad of just do them, may have the hardest time seeing
thcir impact. What they'rc likely to sce is that their othcr
writing scems to suddenly be far more frce and expansive and
somc how easy to do. ln short, no matter what your
reservation or your occupation, morning pages will function
for you.
Timothy, a buttoned-down, buttoncd-lip curmudgeon
millionaire, bcgan writing morning pages with a skeptic's
scorn. He didn't want to do them without some proof that
they would work. The damn pages had no label, no Dun and
Brad street rating. They just soundcd silly, and Timothy hatcd
silly. Timothy was, in street parlance, a serious player. His
pokcr face was so straight it looked more like a fireplace
poker than a mere cardsharp's defense. Practiced for years in
the corporate board room, Timothy's invinciblc facade was
as dark, shiny, and expensive as mahogany. No cmotions
scratched the sur face of this man's calm. He was a one-man
monument to the
Masculine Mystiquc.
 THE BASIC TOOLS 17

"Oh, ali right ... " Timothy agreed to the pages, but only
beca use he had paid good money to be told to do them.
Within three weeks, straightlaced, pin-striped Timothy
becamc a morning-pages advocate. The results of his work
with them convinced him. He started-heaven forbid-to have a
little creative fun. "I bought guitar strings for this old guitar I
Paintin,í?isjust another way of
had lying around," he reported one week. And then, "I
keepini a diary.
rewired my stereo. I bought some wondcrful Italian
rccordings." Although he hesitated to acknowledgc it, cven to PABLO PICASSO
himsclf, Timothy's writer's block was mclting. Up at dawn,
Gregorian chant 011 the sterco, hc was writing frccly. Experience, evenfora
Not everyone undcrtakcs the morning pages with such painter, is no/ exclusively
ob vious antagonism. Phyllis, a lcggy, racehorsc socialite who visual.
for years had hidden her brains behind her bcauty and her lifc WALTER MEIGS
be hind her man's, tried the morning pages with a great deal
of surfacc cheer-and an inner conviction thcy would nevcr
work for her. It had been tcn years since she had allowed
herself to write anything other than lctters and bread-and-
butter lists. About a month into morning pages, seemingly out
of no where, Phyllis got her first poem. ln the threc years she
has uscd pages since, shc has written poems, speechcs, radio
shows, anda nonfiction book.
Anton, grumpy but graccful in his use of the pages, ac
complished unblocking as an actor. Laura, talcnted but blocked
as a writer, painter, and musician, found that thc morning
pages movcd her to her piano, typewriter, and paint supplies.
While you may undertakc this course with an agenda as to
what you want unblocked, thc tools may free crcativc arcas
you have long ignored or even been blind to. Ingeborg, using
the pages to unblock her crcative writer, movcd from being
one of Germany's top music critics to composing for the first
time in twcnty years. She was stunned and madc several ec
static transatlantic calls to share her good news.
Oftcn, the studcnts most resistant to morning pages come
to lovc them the best. In fact, hating the morning pages is a
very good sign. Loving them is a good sign, too, if you keep
writing even whcn you suddenly don't. A neutral attitude is
thc third position, but it's really justa defensive strategy that
may mask borcdom.
18 THE ARTIST'S WAY

Boredom is just "What's the use?" in disguise. And "What's

the use?" is fear, and fear means you are secretly in despair. So
put your fears on the page. Put anything on the page. Put three
pages of it on the page.

The most potent muse of all is our THE ARTIST DATE

own innerchild.
The other basic too] of The Artist's Way may strike you as a
STEPHEN
NACHMANOVITCH
nontool, a diversion. You may see clearly how morning pages
could work yet find yourself highly dubious about something
At the he f?hl of lau,(?hter, the uni called an artist date. I assure you, artist dates work, too.
verse is_fiunJ into a kaleidoscope Think of this combination of tools in terms of a radio re
of new possibilitíes. ceiver and transmitter. It is a two-step, two-directional pro
cess: out and then in. Doing your morning pages, you are
JEAN HousTON
sending-notifying yoursclf and the universe of your dreams,
dissatisfactions, hopes. Doing your artist date, you are receiv
ing-opening yourself to insight, inspiration, guidance.
But what exactly is an artist date? An artist date is a block of
time, perhaps two hours weekly, especially set aside and
com mitted to nurturing your creative consciousness, your
inner artist. ln its most primary form, the artist date is an
excursion, a play date that you preplan and defcnd against all
interlopers. You do not take anyone on this artist date but
you and your in ner artist, a. k.a. your creative child. That
means no lovers, friends, spouses, children-no taggers-on of
any stripe.
If you think this sounds stupid or that you will never be
ablc to afford the time, identify that reaction as resistance. You
cannot afford not to find time for artist dates.
"Do you spend quality time with each other?" troubled
couples are often asked by their therapist. Parents of
disturbed children are asked the sarne thing.
"Well ... what do you mean, 'guality time'?" is the usual
weascly response. "We spend a lot of time together."
"Yes ... but is it guality time? Do you ever have any fun
together?" the therapist may press.
"Fun?" (Whoever heard of having fun in a rotten relation
ship like this one?)
"Do you go on dates? Just to talk? Just to listen to each
other?"
"Dates? ... Buwte're married, too busy, too broke, too-"
 THE BASIC TOOLS 19

"Too scared," the therapist may interrupt. (Hey, don't

sugarcoat it.)
It is frightcning to spend quality time with a child or lover,
and our artist can be seen as both to us. A weekly artist date
is remarkably threatening-and remarkably productive.
A date? With my artist?
The creation of somethin,'?new is
Yes. Your artist necds to be taken out, pampered, and lis
not accomplished by the
tened to. There are as many ways to evade this commitment
intellect but by the play instinct
as there are days of your life. ''I'm too broke" is the favored acting from inner necessity. The
one, although no one said the date need involve elaboratc creative mind plays with the
expenses. Your artist is a child. Time with a parent matters objects it
more than monies spent. A visit to a great junk storc, a solo /oves.
trip to the beach, an old movie seen alone together, a visit to
C. G. JUNG
an aquarium or an art gallcry-thcse cost time, not money.
Rcmember, it is
the time commitment that is sacred.
ln looking for a parallcl, think of the child of divorce who
gets to see a beloved parent only on weekends. (During most
of the wcek, your artist is in the custody of a stcrn, workaday
adult.) What that child wants is attention, not expcnsive out ings.
What that child does not want is to share the precious parcnt
with someone like thc new significant other.
Spending time in solitude with your artist child is
essential to sclf-nurturing. A long country walk, a solitary
expedition to the beach for a sunrise or sunset, a sortie out to
a strange church to hear gospcl music, to an cthnic
neighborhood to taste foreign sights and sounds-your artist
might enjoy any of thcse. Or your artist might like bowling.
Commit yoursclf to a weckly artist's date, and then watch
your killjoy side try to wrigglc out of it. Watch how this sacred
time gets easily encroached upon. Watch how the sacred time
suddenly includes a third party. Learn to guard against these
111vas1ons.
Above all, lcarn to listen to what your artist child has to
say on, and about, these joint expeditions. For example, "Oh,
I hate this serious stuff," your artist may exclaim if you
persist in taking it only to grown-up places that are culturally
edifying and good for it.
Listen to that! It is telling you your art needs more playful
inflow. A littlc fun can go a long way toward making your
work feel more like play. We forget that the imagination-at-
20 THE ARTIST'S WAY
E11ery chi/d isan artist. The
problernis how to remain an
artist once he;?rows up.
PABLO PICASSO
During /these/ periods of
relaxation after concentrated
intellectual activity, the intuiti11e
mind seemsto take 011er and can
produce the sudden clarifying
ins(fthts whicfhti11e so much
joy and delight.
FRITJOF CAPRA
PHYSICIST
play is at thc heart of all good work. And incrcasing our
capac ity for good crcative work is what this book is about.
You are likely to find yourself avoiding your artist dates.
Rccognize this resistance as a fcar of intimacy-self-intimacy.
Often in troublcd relationships, we settlc into an avoidancc
pattcrn with our significant othcrs. We don't want to hcar
what they are thinking bccause itjust might hurt. So wc avoid
them, knowing that, once thcy get thc chance, our significant
othcrs will probably blurt out somcthing we do not want to
hcar. It is possible thcy will want an answer wc do not have
and can't givc them. It is equally possible we might do the
sarne to thcm and that thcn the two of us will stare at each
other in astonishmcnt, saying, "But I nevcr knew you felt like
that!"
It is probablc that thcse self-disclosures, frightcning though
they are, will lead to the building of a real relationship, one in
which thc participants are frec to be who they are and to bc
comc what they wish. This possibility is what makcs the risks
of sclf-disclosurc and truc intimacy profitablc. ln arder to
havc a real relationship with our creativity, we must takc thc
time and careto cultiva te it. Our creativity will use this time
to con front us, to confidc in us, to bond with us, and to plan.
The morning pages acquaint us with what we think and
what we think wc need. Wc identify problem areas and con
ccrns. We complain, cnumcrate, identify, isolatc, fret. This is
stcp onc, analogous to praycr. ln the course of thc releasc cn
gcndered by our artist date, stcp two, wc begin to hear solu
tions. Perhaps equally important, wc bcgin to fund the
crcative reserves we will draw on in fulfilling our artistry.
Filling the Well, Stocking the Pond
Art is an image-using systcm. ln ordcr to creatc, we draw
from our inner wcll. This inner wcll, an artistic rescrvoir, is
ideally likc a well-stockcd trout pond. We'vc got big fish,
littlc fish, fat fish, skinny fish-an abundance of artistic fish to
fry. As artists, we must realize that wc havc to maintain this
artistic ccosystcm. If we don't givc some attcntion to upkeep,
our well is apt to becomc deplctcd, stagnant, or blocked.
Any extcnded pcriod or piecc of work draws heavily on
 THE BASIC TOOLS 21

ourartistic well. Overtapping the well, like overfishing the

pond, leaves us with diminished resources. We fish in vain
for thc imagcs we requirc. Our work dries up and wc wonder
why, "just when it was going so well." The truth is that work
can dry up because it is going so well.
As artists, we must lcarn to be sclf-nourishing. We must
Younger Seif-who can be as
bccome alcrt enough to consciously replenish our crcativc re
balky and stubborn as the most
sourccs as wc draw on thcm-to restock the trout pond, so to
cantankerous three-year-old-is
spcak. I call this processfillinJ? the well. not impressed by words. Likea
Filling the wcll involvcs thc activc pursuit of imagcs tore native of Missouri, it wants to be
frcsh our artistic reservoirs. Art is bom in attcntion. Its mid shown. To arouse itsinterest,
wife is dctail. Art may seem to spring from pain, but pcrhaps we must seduce it with pretty
that is bccause pain serves to focus our attcntion onto details pictures and pleasurable
(for instance, thc excruciatingly bcautiful curve of a lost sensations-take it out dinin,{?
lover's ncck). Art may scem to involve broad strokes, grand and dancing as it were. Only in
schcmes, great plans. But it is the attcntion to dctail that stays this way can Deep Self
with us; the singular imagc is what haunts us and bccomcs bereached.
art. Evcn in the midst of pain, this singular image brings STARHAWK
delight. The art ist who tells you diffcrent is lying. THEOLOGIAN
In order to function in the languagc of art, wc must learn
to livc in it comfortably. The languagc of art is image, symbol.
lt is a wordlcss language evcn whcn our very art is to chase it
with words. The artist's language is a sensual onc, a language
of fclt expcriencc. Whcn we work at our art, wc dip into the
wcll of our cxpcricnce and scoop out images. Bccause wc do
this, wc nced to lcarn how to put images back. How do we fill
thc wcll?
We fccd it images. Art is an artist-brain pursuit. The artist
brain is our imagc brain, homc and haven to our best creative
impulses. Thc artist brain cannot bc reached-or triggcrcd
cffectivcly by words alonc. Thc artist brain is the scnsory
brain: sight and sound, smell and taste, touch. Thcse are thc
clcmcnts of magic, and magic is thc clemcntal stuff of art.
ln filling thc well, think magic. Think dclight. Think fun.
Do not think duty. Do not do what you should do-spiritual
sit-ups likc reading a dull but recommcnded criticai text. Do
what intrigues you, explore what intercsts you; think mystery,
not mastcry.
A mystcry draws us in, leads us on, Jures us. (A duty may
22 THE ARTIST'S WAY
Nobody sees aJiower-really-it
isso smal/ it takes time-we
haven't time-and to see takcs
time, like to ha,,c afriend
takes time.
GEORGIA O'KEEFFE
So you see, imagination needs
moodling-long, in [ficient,
happy idling, dawdling and
puttering
BRENDA UELAND
numb us out, tum us off, tunc us out.) ln filling the wcll, fol
low your sensc of thc mysterious, not your sensc of what you
should know more about. A mystery can bc very simplc: if I
drive this road, not my usual road, what will I scc? Changing
a known route throws us into the now. Wc becomc rcfocused
on the visible, visual world. Sight leads to insight.
A mystery can be simplcr cven than that: if I light this
stick of incense, what will I fcel? Scent is an often-
ovcrlooked path way to powerful associations and hcaling.
The sccnt of Christ mas at any time of year-or the scent of
fresh brcad or homc made soup-can nourish thc hungry artist
within.
Some sounds lull us. Others stimulate us. Ten minutes of
listening to a grcat piece of music can be a very effective
mcdi tation. Fivc minutes of barefoot dancing to drum music
can scnd our artist into its play-fray-day refreshcd.
Filling thc well necdn't be ali novelty. Cooking can fill
the wcll. When we chop and pare vegetablcs, wc do so with
our thoughts as well. Remember, art is an artist-brain pursuit.
This brain is rcached through rhythm-through rhyme, not
reason. Scraping a carrot, peeling an apple-thesc actions are
quite litcrally food for thought.
Any regular, repctitive action primes the wcll. Writcrs
have hcard many wocful tales of thc Bronte sistcrs and poor
Jane Austcn, forccd to hidc thcir storics under their ncedle
work. A little expcriment with some mcnding can casta wholc
new light on these activities. Ncedlework, by dcfinition regu
lar and repetitive, both soothes and stimulatcs thc artist
within. Whole plots can be stitched up whilc we sew. As art
ists, we can very litcrally reap what we scw.
"Why do I get my best idcas in the showcr?" an exaspcr
ated Einstein is said to have remarked. Brain rcsearch now cclls
us that this is becausc showering is an artist-brain activity.
Showering, swimming, scrubbing, shaving, stcering a
car-so many s-likc-yes words!-all of these are regular, rc
petitive activicies that may tip us ovcr from our logic brain
into our more creative artist brain. Solutions to stícky crcativc
problcms may bubble up through thc dishwater, emerge on
the frecway justas we are executing a tricky mcrge, ...
Lcarn which of thesc works bcst for you and use it. Many
 THE BASIC TOOLS 23

artists havc found it uscful to kccp a notcpad or tape rccorder

next to thcm as thcy drive. Steven Spielberg claims that his
vcry best idcas have come to him as he was driving thc free
ways. This is no accident. Ncgotiating the flow of traffic, hc
was an artist immersed in an oncoming, evcr-altering flow of
images. Images trigger the artist brain. lmages fill thc well.
The true mystery of the world is
Our focuscd attention is criticai to filling the wcll. Wc
the visible, not the invisible.
need to encountcr our lifc expcrienccs, not ignore thcm.
Many of us read compulsivcly to scrccn our awareness. On a ÜSCAR WILDE

crowdcd (in teresting) train, wc train our attention on a

ncwspapcr, losing thc sights and sounds around us-all imagcs
for thc well.

CONTRACT

I, ---------, understand that Iam un

dcrtaking an intensive, guidcd encounter with my
own creativity. I commit myself to the twclve-week
duration of the course. I, _
commit to wcckly reading, daily morning pagcs,
a wcekly artist date, and thc fulfillment of each
week's tasks.

I, ---------, further understand that

this coursc will raisc issues and emotions for me to
<leal with. I, ----------, commit my
sclf to cxcellent sclf-care-adequatc slecp,
dict, excrc1sc, and pampering-for thc duration
of the course.

(signature)

(date)
24 THE ARTIST'S WAY

Artist's block is a very literal expression. Blocks must be ac

Inside you there's an artist
you don't know about..Say
yes
quickly, if you know, !f you've
known it from before the be,{?in
nin,<? of theuniverse.
JALAI uo-D1N RuM1
knowledged and dislodged. Filling the well is the surest way to
do this.
Art is the imagination at play in the field of time. Let
your self play.
CREATIVITY CONTRACT
When I am teaching the Artist's Way, I require students to
make a contract with themsclves, committing to the work of
the course. Can you give yoursclf that gift? Say yes by means of
some small ceremony. Buy a nice notebook for your pages;
hire your babysitter ahead of time for the weekly artist dates.
Read the contract on the preceding page. Amend it, if you like;
then sign and date it. Come back to it when you need encour
agement togo on.