The Artist Date
As Julia Cameron writes in The Artist’s Way, the artist date is “a block of time, perhaps two hours weekly, especially set aside and committed to nurturing your creative consciousness, your inner artist… a play date that you preplan and defend against all interlopers. You do not take anyone on this artist date but you and your inner artist.”
Cameron also writes: “You cannot afford not to find time for artist dates.”
I mentioned in The September Digest that I’m currently working through The Artist’s Way for the third time. Something I’ve learned? I’m extraordinarily excellent at not finding time for artist dates. My subconscious blocks are absolute experts at spending each week doing everything but an artist date. According to Cameron, “A weekly artist date is remarkably threatening - and remarkably productive.” Clearly, my inner blocks are leaning hard into the “threatening” portion of that phrasing.
The good news is that recognizing these resistances is, actually, progress towards dismantling and moving through them. The reason why I struggle so much to set aside time, even one hour a week, to do something for my own pure enjoyment and play - no work or ulterior learning experiences involved - is a glacier to be analyzed in another post. For now, the shortest throughline I can imagine to cut past my inner B.S. and commit to this personal time is by doing. By sitting down and exploring the possibilities of fun.
Below, you’ll find a list of accountability, intentions, and maybe some inspiration for your own artist dates. If something sparks, or niggles your heart, make a note of it. Take stock of what excites you the most, and what you want to do the least. Some of these are specific to the Los Angeles area, but do some digging around your own community for similar activities. And if you have absolutely no idea where to start… your first artist date can be turning your phone off for an hour, grabbing a notebook and pen, lighting a candle, and brainstorming your own idea list of dates.
Have fun. Be present. Breathe. And play.
Fifty First (Artist) Dates
Take yourself on a museum date - admission is often free, though you may have to pay for parking. (Great free LA options include the LACMA - free to LA County residents after 3pm, The Broad, Natural History Museum, Hammer Museum, Getty Center, Getty Villa, Huntington Library & Botanical Gardens. My favorite in LA with paid admission is The Academy Museum - $25.)
Buy a disposable camera or a new roll of film - take a few hours out of your day to explore a new neighborhood and shoot all 36 frames.
Sign up for a card at your local library - browse for an hour and rent one book and/or one DVD for a movie night.
Grab one of the cookbooks gathering dust on your shelf, pick a recipe, and make it.
Turn off your phone for the entire day.
Visit your local animal shelter and volunteer for the afternoon as a dog walker.
Purchase a big box of crayons and a coloring book that excites your inner child.
Treat yourself to a live performance - music, theatre, dance. (95% of the time, nosebleeds are still excellent seats. Just get into the room where it happens.)
If there’s a favorite movie or TV show that filmed in your town or nearby, drive around to the different shooting locations.
Go on a hike.
Choose one of your favorite actors - watch their very first acting role and their most recent. Compare.
Go to a zoo or amusement park (even if you have to drive a bit to get there).
Sit in a coffee shop with nothing but a journal or book.
Movie marathon: make your own double-feature and go see two movies back-to-back. Or: go to a special screening, like 70mm. The Academy Museum, New Beverly Cinema and American Cinematheque are some of my favorites in LA.
Get up early for a Sunday morning farmer’s market.
Buy yourself a $5 bouquet or two, and arrange them in your favorite vase at home.
Walk around your local bookstore. Purchase one book that inspires or excites you - even if it’s just because you like the cover.
Go to an estate sale! Spend $20 on something completely impractical that brings you joy. (LA: check out Handled Estates.)
Take a pottery class.
Go to a pottery painting studio like Color Me Mine.
Walk around a nursery and pick out one plant to bring home. Having a little green in your space (and something to water/care for) can do wonders for brightening your mood.
Get a massage (you deserve it).
Take a day trip somewhere new. (This is especially doable in California - Oceanside, Laguna Beach, Solvang, Los Alamos, Ojai, or Joshua Tree are all beautiful places to start.)
Book that new workout class you’ve been wanting to try.
One evening, block out time for a luxurious bubble bath - bubbles, epsom salts, candles, spa music, a face mask and a good book.
Have a favorite film series? Spend the day marathoning - complete with themed snacks and beverages.
Get a manicure or pedicure, if that’s a luxury you don’t often pamper yourself with.
Visit a new bakery and buy yourself something deliciously indulgent.
Try a watercolor kit.
Pick out a LEGO set and spend the day building! Bonus: if it’s a themed kit, watch the movie or show it corresponds to while building.
Make a physical vision board. Hang it up someplace you’ll see every day. (Pinterest is great, but there’s something magical about physically cutting and pasting with your hands. Even if you source the images there and then print them out.)
Take a dance class.
Take yourself on a solo dinner date - no phones allowed.
Buy a cute set of cards and hand write thank-you notes to five important people in your life. Mail them.
Go on a picnic.
If you live near a body of water? Go sit on the shore, watch the waves, and breathe. Remember SPF.
Visit your local art supply store with however much cash is in your budget. Walk around with no agenda and purchase what excites you. The sillier and more childlike, the better!
Reorganize your bookshelf. Choose 5-10 books to donate to charity.
Clean out your closet. Choose 5-10 pieces to donate to charity.
What was your favorite meal as a kid? Purchase it and/or make it. (Anyone remember Kid Cuisine?)
Get outside for a seasonal activity: berry picking, pumpkin patches, apple picking.
Visit a psychic or get a tarot card reading.
Watch a film in another language.
Movie marathon every Best Picture winner from the past five years. Or any five-year stretch since 1929.
Treat yourself to that fancy coffee drink you love but rarely get. Sit outside and people watch as you sip.
Make a list of 50 things in your life you’re grateful for. (Bonus challenge: 28 Days of The Magic by Rhonda Byrne. I’m currently working through it for the second time.)
Buy yourself a luxurious journal for your morning pages. And/or pen.
Childhood craft day: finger painting, macaroni art, flower crowns, shrinky dinks, friendship bracelets. Any or all of the above.
Climb a tree.
Get up while it’s still dark. Pack a thermos and drive to your nearest lookout point, ocean, or hike. Watch the sun rise.
