greetings!

This week I have dusted off my seafarer’s britches in order to return to an abandoned ship. I am now safely and securely back at the helm ready to fare the rough waters once more to embark on The Artist’s Way.

On Tuesday I organized my laboratory and unearthed a slew of books to assist me with my writer’s journey. My first read will be a return to a long-time unfinished work, Julie Cameron’s The Artist Way. For those unfamiliar with this book, it is a twelve week, self managed course that is meant to help creative sorts (which truly is all of us) to find a path to “higher creativity”. Or, in other words, a spiritual roadmap with a dose of magic.

Back in 2017, while working for an extremely evil corporation (that shall not be named), I attempted to read and complete the course work. The time could not have been more wrong. I was not truly ready to surrender to the craft or the requirements that were needed to complete the book. To my misfortune, I found it much more appealing to crawl into the bottle. Instead of finding myself on the high seas of creativity, I was sailing into the abyss fueled by a concoction of various alcoholic “remedies” and “tinctures”. Fortunately, this is the past and the present holds a bright sparkly future.

Why Not Both?

I am a believer of watching for signs; whispers in the wind telling me to go this way or that. Therefore, finding this letter to myself (pictured below) marking where I had left off in The Artist’s Way many moons ago, to be rather kismet.

Uncovering this 2017 correspondence to myself tells me I am indeed on the right trail. My pink bean has done enough thinking about writing to fill oceans. It is time to put the pen to paper. However, I do question: why can’t one be a monster and a writer? Not all monsters are bad… just look at Frankenstein’s Monster, Dracula, or The Invisible Man! Three swell chaps living that castle life, complete with bookcases that open to secret passageways.

what’s the latest scoop?

My Laboratory will never be perfect

Until the great organization occurred on Tuesday, my laboratory was a fright. There were leaning towers of piles everywhere, an unpacked grip from Paris, and tumbleweeds of dust.

I find it rather difficult to work in a space that has no order. I need to have a sense of control. In fact, if I misplace something I am essentially stunted. I am unable to perform any further activity until the said item that my pink bean suddenly decided it needed is found. This could be anything from a book to a pen to a notepad. No work may proceed until I am holding the precious cargo in my hand (tightly, I might add). Once I have it, I can freely move around the cabin with ease.

With this last tidying up I have realized something extremely important:
My Laboratory will never be perfect and that is a-okay.

In thinking about cinematic labs, many of them are not particularly clean. Take for example the Evil Queen’s cave lab as pictured above. It appears she has a system in place and it works. There are cobwebs, small piles, but she is able to perform her work unencumbered. That is key. The ability to perform experiments is of utmost importance. If a space is pristine it is uncomfortable and the idea of mucking it up is scary.

In conclusion: my laboratory may have be a bit of soot and grime, or be cluttered but I choose to see its faults much like Mary Poppins sees herself, practically perfect in every way.

this week i am proud of…

The Morning Pages

Over the twelve week course The Artist’s Way provides a list of tasks to complete at the end of each chapter. However, there are two tasks that are meant to be continued throughout the course with the hope to be a consistent practice thereafter.

Task One: The Morning Pages
This is a practice of writing (by hand) three pages of strictly “stream-of-consciousness” words. Literally anything can be penned. This task in particular somewhat scared me due to one reason: TIME.

Previously, the morning pages scared me and turned into an uphill battle due to telling myself that I did not have the TIME to work on this task. Well, I was wrong. Incredibly wrong. I have successfully completed the morning pages with absolutely no issue since beginning the course material this past Thursday.

In completing the task thus far, it has helped to solve a long rooted problem that I have been up against. Frankly, I have the issue of not making time for myself, and by completing this task I am proving that I am indeed important, and that I do have the time to devote to my craft if I am willing to commit. I timed myself the past few days and it takes about a half hour to scribble out the three pages. And here’s the real shocker: I am enjoying it. It gets my brain moving and I absolutely love the feeling of the wheels in my pink bean churning/spinning. I am coming up with ideas and inspiration for future projects. It is amazing!

Julie’s hope is that well after the course is completed the writer continues with the practice of the morning pages. I feel that after twelve weeks, I don’t know how I would give it up, given that the act would now be part of my daily routine. This thrills me and I will keep you posted with my progress.

Task Two: The Artist Date
This is a scheduled block of time each week that is set aside to open the writer up to inspiration, insight, and guidance. I have a scheduled artist date this Tuesday and I have decided to take myself out to breakfast. The date is meant for you and you alone - no friends or partners in crime allowed.

Breakfast is a ritual that I used to really enjoy with my grandfather. It always felt like such a special time, especially because we were ditching work. I plan on having breakfast at Parc - a restaurant here in Philadelphia that is inspired by the cafes of Paris. As I continue my writer’s journey, I want to stay connected to things that inspire me, so I felt this was the perfect way to start filling my well of creativity.

Final Thoughts
Even after all those years in corporate servitude, I never gave up on ME. I never gave up on my dreams. No matter the trials and tribulations of the past, the zine was still published and the lights never went out. Now is truly my time to prove why I made all those sacrifices of the past.

Oh, and in case you are were wondering how the alarm clock venture (learn about that here) is going… thus far it has been FANTASTIC. I am finding a complete whirlwind of change in terms of my morning activities. The sound of the beep from the alarm clock is so wretched, that I can’t help but spring out of bed for my coffee. I complete the morning pages and from there I suddenly am in a zany fit to just continue working that I forget to even look for my phone until a couple or several hours pass. It has been fantastic.

My conclusion folks: break up with your phone.

this week i recommend…

Wretched Waterpark by Kiersten White

What’s it about? 
A trio of children are sent to their oddball Aunt for the summer. Their Aunt takes them to the Fathoms of Fun Waterpark and from the moment the children arrive they realize that there is something off with the place and that mysterious things are afoot.

I stumbled upon this series while visiting one of my favorite bookshops, Sellers located in Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania last week. I was, of course, drawn in by the beautiful artwork and the title of second book in the series: Vampiric Vacation. As a completist, I could not possibly start off with book two, so I bought both the first and second. I am devouring Wretched Waterpark and finding it to be the perfect way to send me off to slumber at night. I have been experiencing such vivid and wild dreams since I started reading this book and it thrills me.

I recommend checking out Kiersten’s writing if you are seeking an escape and a way to stay in touch with the child-like version of yourself. It is also the perfect read for those monster kids out there that loved and devoured the likes of R.L. Stine and Christopher Pike.

Thanks for stopping by.

Happy you are here. xx.
goodbye.