West Virginia University Artist Date Essay

An artist date is a block of time that you use to foster your creative self. The idea comes from Julia Cameron’s beloved book on creativity, The Artist’s Way. Cameron’s voice is so strong when she describes the artist date, it’s worth quoting in full:

But what exactly is an artist date? An artist date is a block of time, perhaps two hours weekly, especially set aside and committed to nurturing your creative consciousness, your inner artist. In its most primary form, the artist date is an excursion, a play date that you preplan and defend against all interlopers. You do not take anyone on an artist date but you and your inner artist, a.k.a. your creative child. That means no lovers, friends, spouses, children–no taggers-on of any strip. (Cameron, 2007, p. 33).

Cameron’s approach might feel a bit wacky. Inner artist? Creative child? Come on—you’re just a college student looking to pass English 102. You’re not an artist. Right?

Wrong! (Now I’m having fun with my voice.) You are creative. You are a writer. You are embarking on a semester-long journey to create new knowledge about a topic that is important enough to make national news, important enough that scores of inquisitive scholars are reaching for knowledge alongside you, important enough that you’ve spent hours pouring over academic journals and generating a project proposal.

Research writing is cognitively and creatively demanding. You need to take care of yourself, or you’ll burn out. As such, your inner writer requires an artist date.

The assignment:

Schedule and commit to 1 hour of time (or more) this week to take yourself (your inner artist, your inner creative, your muse…whatever you want to call it) on a date. You should heed these suggestions:

Do not bring anyone with you.

Consider bringing a journal in case of ideas.

Open your senses. Cooking with new spices? Allow yourself to be filled by the sound of spitting oil, the smell of home or a distant land.

Relax and enjoy.

The purpose of the artist date is for you to refuel/recharge (pick your car/cell phone metaphor) so that you approach your writing work with a fresh perspective. An artist date also allows you to engage in what creativity researchers call “mind wandering,” or inattention to the writing problem; thinking that is unrelated to your goal (Baird et al., 2012). Mind wandering, time when you’re not writing, is just as important to the writing process as time spent writing. Mind wandering allows you to incubate ideas, and creativity research suggests that incubation is key to work through problems.

The activity should inspire you, and it should be different from your daily routine. It should not be rote (meaning out of habit, or something you normally do). If you chose a beloved hiking trail or hobby, try approaching it with new eyes. What can you find in this experience today? Another approach is to reach into the archives of things that inspired you as a child. An old game (that you can play solo). A trip to a dollar store with only a five dollar bill to spend (I love this one). A climb up a tree.

Keep in mind that you’re dating your inner artist during a global pandemic. If you leave your house, wear your mask, bring and use hand sanitizer, and stay 6 feet away from other people. If you are sick, you do not need to leave your bed. Try watching a movie in a genre that’s unfamiliar to you (think: an Audrey Hepburn film if you usually go for action). Read an online poetry magazine while sipping tea. Close your eyes and listen to a new album in full, without skipping tracks (I recommend Sigur Ros’ Takk).

What you’ll turn in

A 200-300 words description of your artist date. What did you do? What was your experience like? How did you feel before the date? After? I’m your audience, but write to me as a fellow writer, not a teacher. In other words, gush about your experience. I welcome a narrative, descriptive tone/style if that’s your cup of tea. If it’s not, don’t pressure yourself. Just write in a conversational or school voice. I want you to spend more time on your artist date than on your write up.

At the end of the day, the 200-300 word description is still a school assignment. Use Times New Roman 12 point font, double spaced. Save your file as yourlastname-exercise3-date. Use Word or a PDF with one of the following extensions: .doc, .docx, or .pdf. Write in complete sentences. You know the drill.