Friday, October 5, 2018

An Artist Date: Collage Your Creative Dream (And a Starbucks Giveaway!)


by Cathy Baker @CathySBaker

There’s little doubt that I’m a Julia Cameron fan. Her book The Artist’s Way impacts my daily creative process. In a previous post, Inviting Your Creative Self on a Date on The Write Conversation, I shared a section of her book that speaks of Artist Dates. Julia asks her students to schedule one Artist Date per week. 

I tell students to seek mystery, not mastery, on their dates. I urge them to explore with childlike wonder rather than adult intellect. Artist Dates are intended to be fun.- Julia Cameron

One of her Artist Date ideas involves creating and designing a dream collage as a visual reminder of our dreams, goals, and priorities. 

“Collage your creative dream. This exercise is a potent form of prayer. Working with a dozen or so magazines, tear out images that speak of your dream. Paste these images on a sheet of poster board. Add a photo of yourself. Place the photo centrally, surrounded by images of your creative dream. This is a visual prayer. It is very powerful, as it bypasses our rational mind and its resistance. Seeing is believing!”-Julia Cameron

And now for the fun part: 

You’ll need:
  • Poster board (I purchased the 1/4″foam board)
  • Magazines, photos, quotes  
  • Scissors
  • Two-sided tape or glue stick 

Create what you sense God is calling you to do, and perhaps more importantly, whoHe is calling you to be. It’s your story, your dream. 

While there’s no one-way to do it—which is freeing if you’re a recovering perfectionist like me—I began with the center. An image of a man scattering seeds reminds me of my ultimate target—to share the love of Christ. In addition to images from magazines and copies of old photos, I included scripture references, as well as biblical reminders.

Then I moved to the bottom, adding images to illustrate foundational truths for my writing. One, a fuel gauge, reminds me to keep my tank full—spiritually and creatively. How can we give to others what we ourselves don’t possess? 

Moving up the board, I added pictures to inspire my writing, like my grandmother’s house that was the muse for my first poem. I also used pictures of her garden, as well as pictures from an outing to Carl Sandburg’s home in Flat Rock, NC. 

Finally, the top of my board represents what I pray will be the result of writing with God in the center: “Write so that heaven is different.” -Lee Roddy

If you’d like to see my storyboard, click here to access my post Storyboard for Inspiration.

In a very real sense, it is a visual prayer.

Who or what will take center stage on your dream collage? Be as general or as specific as you wish. If you have a collage, would you consider sharing it in the comment section? 

In celebration of your date, enjoy a cup of coffee from Starbucks on me! Simply leave a comment below to be entered in the giveaway. A random name will be chosen Sunday, October 7.

TWEETABLES
An Artist Date: Collage Your #Creative Dream (And a Starbucks Giveaway!) @CathySBaker on @EdieMelson (Click to Tweet)

Tips to create a visual prayer to encourage our #creativity from @CathySBaker on @EdieMelson (Click to Tweet)

Cathy Baker is an award-winning writer and author of Pauses for the Vacationing Soul: A Sensory-Based Devotional Guide for the Beachas well as Pauses for the Vacationing Soul: A Sensory-Based Devotional Guide for the Mountains. Cathy is a Hope*Writer and Bible teacher who has taught numerous studies and workshops over the past twenty-five years. Her work has been published in Chicken Soup for the SoulThe Upper Room, and Focus on the Family’s Thriving Family. She is a monthly contributor to The Write ConversationWriter’s Digest 101 Top Websites for Writers. She and her husband, Brian, live in the foothills of the Carolinas with a beautiful view of Glassy Mountain and a soon-to-be tiny house. 

To connect with Cathy, visit The Tiny House on the Hillhttps://www.cathybaker.org. Become a part of the THH community and receive a free gift, “10 {Tiny} Prayers that Offer Great Hope.”The tiny prayers included in this pocket-sized publication might just surprise you!

27 comments:

  1. Great post Ms. Cathy. Blessings ma'am.

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    1. Hi, Donevy! It's a creative way to express ourselves. If you try it, I'd love to see it. :)

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  3. I loved this and immediately realized why I love my Pinterest boards... and then looked around my writing room and what others see as clutter, I see as inspiration and reminder. I have a few boards!

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    1. I love it, Dalyn! "Creative clutter is better than idle neatness." Anonymous

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  4. I love the idea of a date! And to enjoy the mystery (not mastery) of the process. Thanks!

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    1. Yes, I agree. It's creative freedom at its best! Thanks, Angie.

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  5. I love this idea of doing a collage! Perhaps I will work on it this weekend when I have the time. Center stage of my collage would be a something that represents my desire to make an impact for Christ. To be a mentor to young adults who really need His hope and love in their lives.

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    1. Your enthusiasm for Christ and young adults is inspiring. I pray your collage will encourage you on your journey. God bless you!

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  6. I made one dream board. It's hanging in my office and I still enjoy looking at it and remembering all it symbolizes. Maybe it's time to do another one for 2019.

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    1. Whoa, Beth, I wish you'd post a photo of your office dream board. Love to see it!

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    2. I agree with Jackie -- I'd love to see a picture of your dream board, Beth! I also need to start a new board now that the new Tiny House site has launched. You've inspired me. :)

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  7. What a great idea! I have a vision board on Pinterest, but I like how creative and hands-on this concept is. I'm going to have to read that book someday. =) Thank you!

    Tessa

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    1. I love my Pinterest boards too, Tessa, but you're right -- there is something about the physical act of spreading out our dreams on a board that leaves a lasting (and inspiring!) effect. I'd love to see yours when you make it -- and congratulations again on your recent release!

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  8. This sounds like so much fun. Thank you.

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    1. It is, Jann! I may have to do an online mini-workshop on creating collages from the tiny house next year. Wouldn't that be fun? Have a nice weekend!

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  9. Very interesting. At first it seems very time consuming - shouldn't I be writing? But the end product is very wise. A prayer reminder. I'm not much of doing stuff with paper, but I'm a doodler. I think I'll doodle my "collage" on an 11" x 14" poster board. What say ye? :-)

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    1. Doodle away, I say! I agree that we can't squander our writing time away but any time we can crank up the creative juices, I think it ultimately affects everything else we do. On those days when our writing isn't received as well as expected, we can go to the board and be reminded of the "why" behind our writing. I'd love to see a picture of your doodle! :)

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  10. Very interesting topic! Can I have hot chocolate instead?! LOL

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    1. Absolutely, Rose! I'll supply the marshmallows. :) Thanks for stopping by!

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  11. As I read your post I could feel myself catching my breath and thinking - this is what I need to do! Life gets busy and sometimes it gets in the way of that inspirational thought that I need to focus on what God wants me to do in the future. I am sure I am not explaining it that way I am feeling it. Thank you for the words you shared and even more for giving me an inspired breath of air.

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    1. Paula, thank you for sharing. :) I'm praying God will reveal "the next right thing", as Emily P. Freeman refers to it in her awesome podcasts. I hope creating your board will inspire and spur you on to tackle all God has for you. Blessings!

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  12. The Artist's Way might be my all time favorite book because it was a life changer. It helped me move on creatively. I've made several vision boards, but I've never thought of any of them as "visual prayers." I absolutely love that. I may have to pull out at least one of them. Thanks, Cathy!

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  13. Congratulations, Jann Martin! You are the winner of the Starbucks gift card! Thanks to everyone for taking the time to share your thoughts with us.

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  14. Hi Cathy! Wow, what a great post! I think this would be a great exercise near New Years! In fact, I think I’ll try it!

    Blessings,
    Laurie Epps

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  15. Hi Cathy,

    Wow! How inspiring! I think this would also be a great idea near New Years! Project your goals for the next year tangibly... in fact, I think we’ll try it!

    Blessings,
    Laurie Epps

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