A Book Review: The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron

(Just a reminder that these are my opinions. You're entitled to your own.)

I started reading The Artist’s Way (hereinafter abbreviated as TAW) by Julia Cameron at the beginning of November last year (2023). It was my intention to take it seriously as a 12-week course, so I switched from being a consummate night-owl to someone who wakes every morning at 5 in the interest of committing fully to improving as an artist. And aside from a few missed mornings, I successfully completed the course last month.

Well, I say “completed”.

Morning Pages and Artist Dates

There are two elements to the course that Cameron emphasizes as being integral to getting the full benefit from TAW: “The Morning Pages” and "Artist Dates". 

Some quick background: 

I’m father to a 5-year-old and a 16-year-old, both of whom wake up very early for school. My wife is a school teacher with a long commute, so she’s usually up and out of the house by 7am. I work from home as a technical writer for a company, and am tied to my work laptop from about 8am to 5pm Monday through Friday.

For the reasons above (among others), I started getting up at 5am to make sure I had quiet, undisturbed time to write the required three longhand notebook pages (The Morning Pages) of stream of consciousness, and do the tasks at the end of each of the twelve chapters.

At first, “The Morning Pages” are just a way to write-vomit out baggage first thing in the morning when your brain is still close to the unconscious. You’re not supposed to show them to anyone and (until chapter 9, or so) you’re not supposed to reread them. This last part was frustrating for me because, as much of a chore as they seemed at times, those pages were often filled with creative and personal insights and breakthroughs that rival therapy. 

Artists Dates, however, were next to impossible for me. 

Once a week, students of TAW are supposed to take themselves out alone on a date for inspiration. These are meant to be miniature retreats of several hours. This was a part of TAW I only got to do twice. For me, there are just not enough hours in the week. For that reason, I can’t speak to how beneficial this part of the course would be. I can only say that the second outing resulted in a few pretty good poems mostly written in a diner over coffee.

Creativity as Spiritual Practice

If there is a weakness in TAW, it’s this. There is major emphasis on expressing creativity as a spiritual practice. “God” is mentioned throughout the book as a broad metaphysical entity who wants what’s best for our creativity. Cameron tells us that because God is a creator, creativity itself is holy. 

Nowhere does TAW approach sounding as cultish and as much of a spin-off of 12-step self-help programs out of the late 1970s than here.

I consider myself a spiritual person. I have my own beliefs spun from a bit of the Dao, a bit of Buddhism, and a healthy dollop of the Judeo-Christian beliefs I was raised with. But Cameron’s concept of God struggles with its own identity.  At once Cameron’s God is the creative impulse itself, an all-loving muse, and just an acronym for “good orderly direction”. 

I understand that Cameron’s trying to get everyone to suspend disbelief regardless of background, but God gets muddled in the mixture, and seemed pretty textually amorphous to me most of the time. 

So, I forged my own way of approaching this portion of the course. I wrote the recommended personal artist’s prayer (a task in one of the early chapters of the book), and incorporated creativity into my personal spiritual practice as a central tenet.

Takeaways

Did TAW creatively unblock me?

As a person who is suspicious of every self-help and personal improvement book I’ve ever heard of, stumbled upon, or been force-fed, begrudgingly I have to say yes. I do actually feel freer to explore my creativity through painting and writing than I ever have before. 

I used to be scared into submission by fear of failure, or get down on myself for being lazy. Now I find it easier to forgive myself when I need to step away from my canvas or computer and recharge my batteries. I also find it easier to push through fear. If I fail, so what? I start again.

I still do The Morning Pages, though my dedication to rising at 5am is less religious than it was while I was taking the course. I’ve kept a journal in some form since I was 10 years old, but my journaling method moving forward will be forever changed by this practice from TAW. I will, however, allow myself to go back through my entries and drag them for creative raw materials.

Also, if I ever get a chance to take the course again – perhaps in retirement, or if I ever become self-employed through my artistic pursuits – I will be sure to go on every possible artist date.

Recommendation?

If you’re a creative person with aspirations toward improving your output, or if you’re feeling stuck and unproductive in your creative practice, I recommend The Artist’s Way. You’ll get the most out of it if you actually treat it like a 12-week course and do as many of the exercises as you have time for. 

If you’re not a very spiritual person, I recommend you suspend disbelief if only to devote time to meditating on the source of your creative impulse. While Cameron’s message is a bit confusing at times in this regard, I just gave myself permission to be flexible with it and do what I wanted.

Ultimately, you pick a path that feels right for you and stick to it, and if you find it leads somewhere you didn’t want to go, don’t beat yourself up. There are a million more ways available to you. I think that’s what freely creative people are better equipped than most to see.