A few months back I began a journey known as The Artists Way, a course/book by Julia Cameron. Unfortunately, I only progressed into Week 5 and eventually never completed the course, but made the decision to try and rework my way into it. So, earlier this week I began to scour the net looking for a group or community related the book, in hopes of following along with others and feeling more connected with like-minded artists as we progressed throughout the course together. Behold the power of Twitter, as it was through a quick search on their site that I stumbled upon a blog group, led by Miss R, titled Our Artist’s Way.

I won’t detail my reasons for quitting the first time, or make excuses since I’ve decided to approach this round with a clean slate. As I progress into this course I’ll share some of my exercises from the book, as well as some of the group’s discussion topics and questions, starting with this week’s first question:

What object brings you a sense of safety?

I’ve read over some very interesting and unique answers from the group and tried to dig deeper into what I really feel is the most honest answer at the moment. Truth is, I couldn’t pinpoint an object. So instead, I began to think of the question as “what (in general) brings me a sense of safety.” Initially I thought that a hug, a warm smile from a close friend, or spending time with my family could, because in their own unique ways each of these makes me feel safe.

Photo by dave_mcmt

But after much deliberation I realized that the idea of school (learning) has always made me feel safe. I know this may seem a bit different from most traditional answers, but my reasoning is because it’s not necessarily the tangible projects in a school setting that brought me safety, such as the chalk boards or overhead projectors; but rather the concept that I’m learning something new, something different, something unknown to me.

Even today as an adult, I think of how important it is to hold onto my inquisitive nature and the eagerness to pursue personal growth.  Whether it’s for the various roles I’ve held for some time now (sister, daughter, aunt, lover, friend, etc), or for a newly given title such as artist, the thought of “settling” is truthfully one that would bring me a deep sense of restlessness.

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