TOOL TWO: THE ARTIST’S DATE
THERE IS A SECOND TOOL that is essential to a creative awakening. That
tool is a weekly artist’s date, a festive solo undertaking to explore something
that excites or interests us. Unlike the morning pages, which are work, the
artist’s date is play—and that makes it much harder for people to do.
Ours is a Calvinist society. We have a work ethic and we understand the
idea of “working” on our creativity. We speak of, but do not really
understand, the notion of “the play of ideas.” That word “play” is pivotal.
Creativity comes forward by being coaxed, not bludgeoned.
When I am teaching a twelve-week class, it takes only a little time before
most of the class are writing their morning pages seven days out of seven.
What is much more difficult is for me to cajole or convince the class that
there can really be a benefit in the weekly artist’s date. How can “play” help
them work, they want to know.
Here is how. With the morning pages, we are sending. We are notifying the
Universe of our likes and dislikes. We are, if you will, telegraphing. With the
artist’s date, we set our dial to receive. We are receptive to inflow, no longer
concerned with outflow. To execute an artist’s date, we must be open-minded,
and that open mind is available to inspiration.
It works like this. It is a bright, sunny Sunday afternoon and I have roused
myself from my apartment’s cozy comfort to take my artist’s date. I leave the
Upper West Side and travel to Murray Hill. My destination is a bookstore,
The Complete Traveller. The store is a treasure trove of explorer’s lore. Some
books are new and crisp. Others are old and musty, long out of print.
Scanning the shelves, I find myself drawn to the section on ocean voyages. A
battered book on Magellan comes to hand. Without thinking about it, I buy
the book on impulse. I dawdle a little longer, looking at maps of the Isle of
Wight, another interest. Leaving the store, I do not think anything much has
happened. I do not realize that I am carrying out with me the entryway to a