The Artist's Way to Harry Potter

Theres one thing I had forgotten the joy of recently until I was grinning like an idiot, elbow deep in Derwents, and that is playing.
My self-led artists recovery course happens to co-incides with our annual Mid-winter party. This is a yearly excuse for me to decorate our house in some kind of theme and have a party to celebrate mid-winter (I celebrate the winter, my husband the end of it). As the final Harry Potter movie is to be released [ :-)/:-( ] about the same time, it seemed an excellent theme for the party. I usually do make some effort at props and styling, but this year, reconnecting with my creativity has meant I have become, well, obsessed. Ideas are coming out like a clay pigeon shooter and though I have no idea how I will have the time to do them all, the main thing is that I am having a ball (albeit alone on my little nerdy planet- "I solemnly swear I am up to no good."). This opportunity to play with something fun has been a great party-starter for my brain. I promise to proudly show off whatever ridiculous lengths my playing reaches!
If you have lost your creative joy, try putting on a themed party, make a cubby house, design your dream campervan, make a clay gargoyle or put on some eyeliner and do Singstar. You know your inner child wants too!

The Artist's Way

I haven't posted here for a quite a while. I admit the reason was, that for much of this year, I found myself in a creative vacuum.
At the end of last year I had been given a green light to send my manuscript in to a publishing house. All I had to do was rewrite it for a teen audience. Duh! I was relieved that I had new found direction and you would expect then, having been given such a good opportunity, I would tuck right in and do the job. But I didn't. Admittedly it was a busy time of year with retail work and school holidays, but an excuse is only an excuse if you use it. And I did.
Months later and feeling like some invisible opportunity door was closing, I began, but I struggled to write. I wondered whether my novel was not meant to be for teens. I just couldn't work out my inability to write. Things trickled to a halt. I gave myself deadlines I ignored. I had stopped doing any art as well. My work areas became cluttered and became more fodder for the excuse mill.
It wasn't until I worked hard at clearing all my excuses and sat down to work that I realised I was in serious trouble. There was nothing there. I didn't feel like writing and my art was reluctant and feeble. I did try to do it anyway. Anyone creative knows you can't rely on the fickleness of creative moods.Bum-glue was administered. Still, nothing happened.
I continued to attend a few writing and art related things but I felt hollow and empty. I didn't want to be there and I felt like an impostor and an outsider. I found it hard to listen to other creative people and I didn't want to talk about my problem because I could hear how miserable and dead I sounded. Eww, who wanted to listen to that? I didn't!
Anyway, after one particular bout of creative constipation, I sat down to find a book to kick-start some inspiration. My eyes fell on my copy of 'The Artist's Way' by Julia Cameron. Ten years ago I was going through a troubled time creatively and the universe sent three random strangers to mention this book to me. I thought "Okay I get it!" and bought the book. It is a self-led 12 week course on creative recovery. It worked like a dream then, and I felt it would work again.
Aside from having to write out three pages of whatever is in your head each morning, and to take yourself out for an inspiration date each week, the book contains lots of great quotes and exercises for you to do, all related to helping you recover creatively.
So, two weeks ago I began the course once again and noticed almost immediately that the universe lined me up with some small and easily digestible opportunities, positive and encouraging people and a tiny yearning to get creative. I still have another 10 weeks to go and who knows what will happen after that, but I will certainly put whatever happens down here. In the meantime...
"Hi, My name is Natalie and I'm an artist."