Getting Acquainted with Artist Dates

What Even is an Artist Date?

A main part of the Artist's Way is a self-indulgent activity called an artist date. The book describes an artist date to be a quest of imagination and play. It must be done completely alone, but it can consist of many different activities. 

The goal of an artist date is to develop a source of inspiration from within yourself. The dates are planned adventures or times for creativity where you play with new ideas and experiences. Each week of the 12 week journey outlined in the book, requires you to commit to one artist date. 

At First Thought 

The idea of doing an artist date every week was not only interesting to me, it was absolutely energizing. When I first read about morning pages I was a little uneasy at the workload of this journey, but, a few pages later, I was completely captivated by the concept of artist dates. 

I felt such a deep sense of connection to this book just after reading what an artist date was. I felt like I was being understood by someone. I have really found such value in doing exactly what these dates consisted of--independent exploration and creativity. 

I had recently been so moved by seemingly simple tasks like going to the beach alone or sitting in a coffee shop by myself. Often, I felt like I was visibly radiating happiness during these times. I have found an intense amount of clarity, passion, energy, and curiosity when I would do things like this. I have now discovered that these moments would be considered an artist date, and I am excited to pursue this uniquely inspirational feeling more intensely. 

Room for Growth

Often I have found that I did these artist date activities during two categories of time (before reading this book). Typically, I would do these when I had the luxury of extra time and ease of convenience or I would use these activities as a crutch during a hard time. 

I believe this book will encourage me to use these artists dates more consistently. Not only when it is easy and not only when I feel an obvious need for their benefits--but at all times. I'm also excited to expand my horizons and see the variety of artist dates that I complete.

In many things in life, awareness is a big step towards growth and improving at something. In this case, now that I am even more aware of what an artist date is and why and how they are beneficial, I think I'll really be able to grow and maximize the inspiration.

If you are somewhat resistant to artist dates or even totally resistant to artist dates, I urge you to stick it out and push the boundaries because I have already seen some of the ways they can help.