The Artist's Date Book (Review)
Just like The Artist's Way, this book has all the potential to be one of your shelf essentials. The Artist's Dates Book is a companion to The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron. It is a Fan-tas-tic book.
More than a book to read, this is a book to play. Because your inner artist is a child, this is a phenomenal way to give your artist a dose of that essential and non-negotiable playtime.
This book is a year of daily doses of creativity nurturing. In addition to your artist's date, you can use this book to have a couple of minutes of fun anytime during the day.
What is an Artist's Date?
An Artist's Date is the second tool from the book "The Artist's Way", after the Morning Pages. It's basically going on a date for two or more hours weekly, but with yourself. You are NOT allowed to bring anyone with you during an Artist's Date, because this is a date with your inner artist, who is a child.
Your inner child needs YOU, not your lover, your best friend, your mom, your son, your cousin, no one else but you. It's your commitment during The Artist's Way course, and hopefully, during all your life, to go on these dates at least once a week.
Then, the only requirement for an artist's date is that you consciously go on a date with your artist by doing something your child would absolutely LOVE. Maybe your artist wants to go see horses, have a massage, cook some gingerbread cookies, sing some barney songs, or get a stuffed puppet.
What To Do On an Artist's Date
Julia Cameron likes to address herself as "LJ" which stands for "Little Julie" when she wants to talk to her inner child and ask for guidance.
I figured this was my favorite way to know exactly what I'd love. Ask the Little You "What would you love to do this week?" then make a promise to your child that you'll do it. Then repeat the process week after week, there's no end to this.
365 Ideas for an Artist's Date
"The Artist's Date Book" takes this concept to a whole new level. It provides 365 ideas for your Artist's Dates, one for each day of the year. These ideas are super diverse, from buying pretty stamps to trying on ball gowns. It's a full year of activities to let your inner artist have a lot of fun.
I like to see these ideas as they are, ideas. They are an inspiration to me, because sometimes when I don't know what to do on an Artist's Date, I take an idea from the book, then think "Oh, decorating a vase is an idea, let's decorate my new journal".
That's pretty much how I've been using those ideas lately haha but the great part is that, since there are so many, it's likely that you'll love many of them and will actually do them!
Morning Pages Checker
In addition to the Artist's Date ideas, at the end of each page, there's also a Morning Pages Checker for each day.
Morning Pages are the first tool from The Artist's Way, which is all about writing three pages of longhand morning writing, they're a stream-of-consciousness writing, and they're done first thing in the morning.
This daily checker in the book is a super nice reminder and a motivator to maintain this habit especially when you're starting with morning pages, I found that to be very therapeutic.
I keep my pages next to The Artist's Date Book and check that I did my morning pages every time I do them.
365 Coloring Illustrations + Prompts!
To further boost your creativity, there are also 365 coloring illustrations and phrases that I love to see as prompts. I LOVED these illustrations, they were made by Elizabeth Cameron (Julia's sister) and they're super creatively designed illustrations that stimulate your imagination on a deeper level and help you reflect on what The Artist's Way does for your life.
I love to see the phrases next to these illustrations as prompts because they are super thought-provoking and inspire me to think outside the box.
Here's an example of what it looks like:
Although there's one thing I didn't like about this book: There is ONLY ONE!
I know that 365 illustrations and phrases might be a lot, but to me, they won't last that long because whenever I have 2 minutes, I comment on them and color them. It makes me sad to feel like this has an end. Fortunately, I've created the Creative Sketch Sunday Newsletter where you can receive an art journaling prompt every week to help your creative journey. I make sure you get them every Sunday!
The Fun of Journaling
Journaling with these prompts is so much fun because they're incredibly creative. They make you think differently, they make you realize how much The Artist's Way is transforming you, and you get to express your thoughts and feelings in your unique way.
It's not just about writing or coloring; it's especially about exploring your inner artist and discovering that it is indeed a child waiting for you to let it unleash its creative potential.
I highly recommend you get The Artist's Date Book, you will have so much fun plus a ton of inspiration for every day.
You can also watch my video commenting on some of my favorite illustrations and prompts :). And feel free to let me know what you think about this book, I’d love to hear about it!
This post was all about The Artist's Date Book.
