The Artist's Way || Weeks 9-12 Experience

I finished The Artist's Way!

It's actually been a while since I finished the course but I was too busy writing my mammoth Japan Trip Log post and postponed this one. I'm finally here to tell you how it ended. Also, as it's been a month since, I have a few "after" thoughts to add. Let's get to it!

In case you're not familiar with it, The Artist's Way is a 12-week course to unlock creativity and "live like an artist." This is a 3-part post series and this is the final post. Check out the previous posts for context and history: Weeks 1-4, Weeks 5-8.

Grab a cup of your favourite drink and settle down, let me tell you about the last few weeks of The Artist's Way and my thoughts on it overall ☕️

week 9: recovering a sense of compassion

This week finds us facing the internal blocks to creativity, It may be tempting to abandon ship at this point. Don't! We will explore and acknowledge the emotional difficulties that beset us in the past as we made creative efforts. We will undertake healing the shame of past failures. We will gain compassion as we reparent the frightened artist child who years for creative accomplishment. We will learn tools to dismantle emotional blocks and support renewed risk.

I started a new notebook with this week! I'm writing so much due to morning pages.

This was one of my busiest weeks. There was a lot of adulting to be done like doing my taxes, starting new investments, and applying for my Japan visa. (Check out my Japan trip log!) My morning pages show the amount of things that were on my mind. I was worried about my money and the visa. I was trying to keep up with regular schedule too. It was tiring. I was so overwhelmed that I forgot about a presentation I had to do until the day of and I prepared for an hour that morning. (Thankfully, it went well.)

Maybe because I had so many things on mind, morning pages weren't fun to do. I still did them but they weren't enlightening or peaceful. Writing things down is supposed to free up the mind but because I had so many things to do, my mind wasn't freeing up until I actually did those things.

Somehow, I started getting into the habit of writing what I did the previous day and what I wanted to do the next day instead of writing a stream of thoughts. I caught the issue at the end of this week only because I was trying to figure out why morning pages didn't feel nice anymore.

Note: Although I say "week", I mean 2 weeks. My friends and I are doing it this way to make it easier on our schedules. I wrote about our approach to The Artist's Way here.

The artist dates were the only "free time" I let myself have. I drew an illustration for the blog and I started the paint-by-numbers kit that I got recently. It felt weird to hold a paintbrush after so many years. It took me a good while to figure out the right grip, the right pant consistency (this was my first time working with a cloth-type canvas), and the right brush for different areas. Progress was slow but I was excited.

Over any extended period of time, being an artist requires enthusiasm more than discipline.

The hours of painting weren't my only artist date. I took myself out to a new bookstore and a drink. The bookstore was pretty and I enjoyed browsing for many hours. I planned to check out a nearby café but it didn't give me good vibes so I went to another place that I loved before. I had the really nice matcha drink again. I also a gorgeous sunset this day. Best sunset in this city till date.

Because I was already doing so much, I didn't do the exercises this week. The set this time focused on looking at how far I've come by reading my old morning pages and planning to do things in baby steps without procrastinating. I didn't do even one of them. They just.. weren't exciting or inspiring. I didn't want to do them.

The reading morning pages one is considered a "powerful" one, admitted by the author and in a few posts online. I tried reading my morning pages but I was so bored by them that I stopped quickly. Although I'm doing The Artist's Way in double time, it still hadn't been long enough for me to forget how it was in the beginning. Reading the pages wasn't enlightening or didn't show me anything new. I didn't read beyond a few days.

Honestly, I was felt distant from the reading material and exercises this week. I didn't relate to anything and the exercises were for things that I wasn't struggling with. Because of that, I actually forgot about the exercises a couple of days into this week. I didn't worry about it. I moved on. After all, I was doing The "Bare Minimum" Artist's Way.

week 10: recovering a sense of self-protection

This week we explore the perils that can ambush us on our creative path. Because creativity is a spiritual issue, many of the perils are spiritual perils. In the essays, tasks, and exercises of this week, we search out the toxic patterns we cling to that block our creative flow.

The spiritual part kinda lost me but I liked the rest of the reading material this week. There was a big section about workaholism that I related to and a quiz to show whether I'm a workaholic or not. If I had taken this quiz a year ago, I'd have marked everything differently and would have been a certified workaholic. But since I'm in a different job now with better work-life balance (which allows for me to do The Artist's Way in the first place), I wasn't shocked by the results. I was in the green.

The reading material also had sections on having "dry" creative periods and perceived competition. I liked reading them but I didn't necessarily take away something new from them. Is it because I already read a lot? Is it because I've been blogging for so long that I've already learnt how to not be competitive for no reason? 🤷🏻‍♀️

Only when we are being joyfully creative can we release the obsession with others and how they are doing.

The exercises this week were fine. I did a couple of them but I wasn't moved by them. This week's theme is "recovering a sense of self-protection" but that's one thing I'm fairly good at. It might be a defence mechanism but I've gotten use to protecting myself well (maybe to my detriment too).

This was another super busy week because a part of it included travelling. One of my oldest friends was getting married and I had to travel through 3 modes to get there. A lot of my time went in preparing for the travel and the wedding (my friends and I did a dance too). I was also preparing for the Japan trip since I got my visa. Busy, busy days.

I didn't write morning pages during the wedding days but that's okay. I began to enjoy morning pages again! Instead of starting with what I did yesterday, I started with whatever word was on m mind and ran with it. Sometimes it was about my current days. Sometimes it was about my childhood. Or I wrote about random things. Writing morning pages the way they're meant to be written made it fun again.

I spent a few hours in the beginning of this week painting so that was my only Artist Date. I didn't have time for it otherwise. I spent quite some time alone during travel. Does that count as an Artist Date? 🤪

week 11: recovering a sense of autonomy

This week we focus on our artistic autonomy. We examine the ongoing ways in which we must nurture and accept ourselves as artists. We explore the behavious that can strengthem our spiritual base and, therefore, our creative power. We take a special look at the ways in which success must be handled in order that we not sabotage our freedom.

The exercises were meh this week. A few of them were spiritual ones. A lot of it was about thinking and writing certain phrases to re-convince ourselves about what being an artist means. There was one asking me to re-examine my God concept which was annoying. The author clearly says that the spiritual stuff in the book can be ignored or replaced in our minds. How is that supposed to work when the question assumes our idea of God has changed in the course?

Since I was at week 11 and the course would end in 2 weeks, the book starts being forward-looking too. A couple of the exercises target actions to take for the next several weeks, even after I'm done with week 12. I liked those.

Exercise, much maligned as a mindless activity among certain intellectuals, turns out to be more thought-provoking instead.

The reading section of this week wasn't special either. I didn't take away anything new from it. Honestly, at this point in The Artist's Way, I was focusing on morning pages and artist dates only. I did them as much as possible with the time I had. The reading and exercises didn't stay with me—I'd read and forget about it until I had to read the next chapter.

I was also starting to get annoyed with the material. I was able to move past the spiritual things for so many weeks but I was starting to get annoyed by it. A bunch of the exercises felt frivolous too—making an artist alter, choosing a totem, reading some principles (affirmations) again, etc. I still did some of the exercises but they weren't helpful. I'd forget about whatever I wrote pretty quickly.

This was one of the busiest times of my year too. I only had a few weeks left until my Japan trip. I was rushing to get whatever I'd need, research about things in details, finish things at work, and write blog posts in advance. I was so busy that I stopped using my planner. I was either rushing or fully decompressing with breaks.

Maybe that contributed to my feelings about the reading and exercises too. I did only a couple of exercises which required less time and effort, and I did them towards the end of the week when I had a small bit of free time. They didn't feel worth my time otherwise. I still kept up with morning pages and artist dates. I knew that they were worth it and they were the only breaks I had some days.

week 12: recovering a sense of faith

In this final week, we acknowledge the inherently mysterious spiritual heart of creativity. We address the fact that creativity requires receptivity and profound trust—capacities we have developed through our work in this course. We set our creative aims and take a special look at last-minute sabotage. We renew our commitment to the use of the tools.

Final week of The Artist's Way! I won't lie, I've been ready for this week. I've been ready for the end of this week. The last few weeks have not been the greatest and it feels like I'm just doing something. If all that matters are the morning pages and artist dates, I can do them without the course.

This week would also be a few days short since my Japan trip starts at the end of it. I wasn't going to take 2 weeks off only to end with a few days of The Artist's Way. So, I decided to do as much as I can before I leave and consider it done. In all honesty, I was not planning to do a lot because I had many other things to do before the trip.

The experience of creative living urges that hobbies are in fact essential to the joyful life.

I did my reading and a few exercises at the beginning of the week. I also read the epilogue. I didn't want anything remaining when I had to leave for the trip. I signed the "creativity contract" at the end of the book which asks me to continue morning pages and artist dates for another 3 months. (I've already done it for 6 months total, oof.)

The week went in a blur of work, blogging, and trip prep. I spent the weekend working on our itinerary and getting logistics down instead of having an artist date. I didn't focus on The Artist's Way—it was just a checkbox among the several other time-intensive and important tasks.

endnotes

Keeping up with the theme from the last 2 posts, let's do this in interview-style again!

• Congratulations on finishing The Artist's Way, Sumedha! How are you feeling?

Thank you! Finishing was my main goal since I quit in week 2 the first time I tried it. Although time flew by, I spent six months on this. I was unsure of whether I'd finish it this time too because I doubled the time but it looks like that helped.

Along with the joy, there's relief too. The Artist's Way demands quite a bit of time and effort. Although it was great—it pushed me to pick up things that I haven't done since I was a kid—I'm glad to have the time back, too. It was hard to keep it up along with everything else that I do.

• What helped you reach the finish line this time? The Artist's Way is infamous for being dropped mid-way by people.

There were a few key things that really helped.

The first was doing it with friends. Even though our schedules diverged in the middle and we were doing different weeks (or not doing it) towards the end, having somewhere to report my progress helped. It was the right amount of extrinsic motivation.

The decision to do it the bare minimum way with double time was also crucial. If I had to do each week of The Artist's Way in a real week, I would've dropped it a long time ago. I couldn't do everything for every week even though I had 2 weeks! The morning pages and artist date itself demand a lot of time.

Looking at it as a whole, I think the only way a person can do it 100% in the expected timeframe is if they don't have a full-time job or other demanding responsibilities for 3 entire months.

• You had much lesser to say in this post compared to the posts about weeks 1-4 or weeks 5-8. Why is that?

I feel called out 😂 You're right, I didn't have a lot to say this time.

Actually, I stopped enjoying The Artist's Way around week 8 other than the morning pages and artist dates. The reading material was barely relatable or insightful. The exercises, even more so. I didn't feel like the last few weeks were worth my time and effort. The topics didn't mean anything to me. I already agreed with half of what was said, not needing any convincing. My tolerance for the spiritual and frivolous things had reached and I started disliking it. (I already said more on this in week 11 above.)

The Artist's Way started with a bang and ended with a whimper for me. Honestly, I considered not writing this post at all and I procrastinated writing it by spending way too much time on Japan trip log. In the end, I wrote it only to show how I didn't like the last few weeks.

Since I prefer to spend less time talking about things I don't like, this post is much shorter.

• I'm sorry to hear that. Is there anything that would've made it worth it until the end for you?

Probably if I was actually a struggling artist. If I was "blocked", either by myself or by others. If I was actively not creating anything and sad about it. If I needed something intensive to pull me out of the funk.

To be fair, the book sets the expectation in the beginning. It clearly says what it aims to do—help blocked artists be creative again and live creative lives. I decided to give it a go even though I don't need it. So, I guess it's not really surprising that I didn't find it very useful.

• You mentioned the Morning Pages and Artist Dates were the parts you continued to enjoy even when the rest of the book lagged. How are you integrating these two tools into your life after the 12 weeks? Are they now permanent practices?

I went on a long vacation right after finishing week 12 so I took a break from them for a couple of weeks. I restarted them a few days after returning from the trip.

Morning pages went well for a few days.. and then I stopped. I was trying to pick up a routine of running again so I either slept in or I woke early for the run. Hence, the morning pages stopped. As of now, about 1.5 months after finishing week 12, I am not doing morning pages. I journal at random times, mostly in the evenings. I think the practice of writing thoughts is good at any time. There is a charm to writing it in the morning but I didn't find a huge difference while I did it for 6 months, so I'll take some time off. I may try it again, just to experiment and see what makes a difference. I'll share any thoughts when I have them.

The artist dates with painting flourished. I've spent at least 40 hours on the paint-by-numbers painting so far. It is much more intricate and time-taking than I expected! I'm enjoying it, though. I'm about 95% done with it. There are tiny gaps to fill and some places that I want to redo. It should be done soon. I'm really glad that The Artist's Way pushed me to picking up hobby projects again. I've got a list of things to try next so I'm sure it'll keep me busy for a good while. I'm not sure about going out alone yet, though. We'll see.

• How did you reconcile the highly spiritual language—terms like 'The Great Creator'—with your personal beliefs and your generally practical approach?

I basically ignored it. I won't lie, if you're not used to actively ignoring or discarding spiritual language, this book will annoy you really quickly. My tolerance was high only because I have a very spiritual mother requiring me to do this ignoring/discarding almost every single day.

The parts that I found the hardest were places where the author used God to explain real things. The points themselves are true and have value. The spiritual relation was unnecessary. I took what I could from those parts. Largely, they could just be ignored. It makes it a fractured and less impactful experience, though.

• The book sets a strong expectation that by doing this work, you'll start experiencing synchronicity—that the universe will 'pay you back' with opportunities, connections, and breakthroughs. Did you notice this 'magic' happening? Were there any specific, meaningful 'coincidences' that you attribute to the process?

I already mentioned specific instances of synchronicity in each week's summary. But let me say something about it overall.

Synchronicity is largely dependent on mindset. It depends on whether you notice it, but also, whether you want to see it.

There's this quote in Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin which says it better: "Sam used to say that Marx was the most fortunate person he has ever met—he was lucky with lovers, in business, in looks in life. But the longer Sadie knew Marx, the more she thought Sam didn't truly understand the nature of Marx's good fortune. Marx was fortunate because he saw everything as if it were a fortuitous bounty. It was impossible to know—were persimmons his favourite fruit, or had they just now become his favourite fruit because there they were, growing in his backyard? He had certainly never mentioned persimmons before."

I am not spiritual and I don't believe that there's a higher power or energy that gives me what I want. Instead, I just see everything that happens as something good. Persimmons might become my favourite because they grow in my backyard. Instead of starting something and expecting help to come along (like the book says will happen), I'm just grateful for whatever help I get without asking why.

So, no, I didn't have a lot of "coincidences" or notice "magic".

• Who would you recommend The Artist's Way to?

Are you struggling with being creative? Are you a bit lost? Do you think you can do a lot more but need a push for it? Do you want to be an artist even though you don't do anything creative right now? Are you spiritual or can you deal with a bunch of spirituality talk? If your answer was yes to the last question and any of the previous ones, absolutely go for it.

Otherwise, maybe not.

• Do you have any advice for people looking to do the course?

I highly suggest doing The Artist's Way with a small group of friends and keeping it low-key. If you don't feel like doing some things, don't do them. Don't pressure yourself to do all of it and/or in the expected timeframe. Let yourself take breaks from the activities when you need to.

Growth is a spiral process, doubling back on itself, reassessing and regrouping.

chat with me!

Have you done the Artist's Way? What did you think of it, either from your experience or what I wrote? Are you spiritual and do you see it creativity?

Unrelated to The Artist's Way, have you done any course or time commitment outside of your regular work/studies and how did it go?