The Artist's Way

upkeep, our well is apt to become depleted, stagnant, or
blocked.
Any extended period or piece of work draws heavily on
our artistic well. Overtapping the well, like overfishing the
pond, leaves us with diminished resources. We fish in vain
for the images we require. Our work dries up and we
wonder why, “just when it was going so well.” The truth is
that work can dry up because it is going so well.

Younger Self—who    can be  as

balky   and stubborn    as  the most

cantankerous    three-year-old—is

not impressed   by  words.  Like    a

native  of  Missouri,   it  wants   to  be

shown.  To  arouse  its interest,   we

must    seduce  it  with    pretty  pictures

and pleasurable sensations—take

it  out dining  and dancing as  it

were.   Only    in  this    way can Deep

Self    be  reached.

STARHAWK

THEOLOGIAN

As artists, we must learn to be self-nourishing. We must
become alert enough to consciously replenish our creative
resources as we draw on them—to restock the trout pond, so
to speak. I call this process filling the well.
Filling the well involves the active pursuit of images to