Tag Archives: Artist Dates

I’ve mentioned “Artist Dates” in my journal before. It’s a term that Julia Cameron, author of the Artist Way, coined to describe those moments when we take time out of our day to romance our artist side by taking it out on a date. But personally, I think the theory behind the artist date holds value for anyone. We all need time to play and have fun.

So as part of my current project to brainstorm for ideas, I thought I would come up with a list of artists dates…

A TRIP DOWNTOWN
Although I have yet to do it, I have always wanted to take a drive downtown, park my car, and just walk through the streets with my camera, taking shots of buildings and whatever interesting items come into view.

BORDERS – READ FREE WITH PURCHASE OF TEA
While a trip to the bookstore can be inspirational, sometimes not everything you find will be a keeper so about once a month I go to the bookstore with the intention to just look. I’ll go through the store and find books/magazines of interest. Then over tea, I’ll look through the items of choice and make notes in my journal.

THRIFT STORE/FLEA MARKET
A visit to the thrift store or the flea market can be a great adventure. You might find some unusual object from the past or get an idea for a project. And while every trip to the thrift store or flea market might not turn up something interesting, it’s those little great finds that make it worth the trip in the long haul.

TAKE THE SCENIC ROUTE
Sometimes shopping or the loud noises from downtown are the last thing on our minds so on the flip side, you can get away from it all and visit a local park or hiking trail. While I can say with confidence that I am surrounded by scenic beauty with all the beaches in Florida, majority of my life has been spent in the Midwest where there are no scenic mountains or beaches or even a decent forest. But there were still parks. Some had fields of prairie flowers. Others had little creeks. While the scenic views change from place to place, each hold their own special beauty.

ART GALLERY/MUSEUM
Visiting a local art gallery or museum is an artist date that I have gotten out of the habit of doing. I used to be very good about marking my calendar for, at least, one cultural event once a month, but with all the recent changes in my life, I have gotten out of sync with a lot things.

Over the years, I have learned to always remember to take a small art journal and pen to jot down ideas. At first, I felt like it was almost taboo to record the inspirations I gathered by visiting a gallery or the museum. But as an artist or writer or musician, we learn by doing, by observing, and noting what we like and don’t. Writers make notes when they read books. So why can’t an artist do it in their element?

OLD TOWN
In most major cities I have lived in or visited, there is an old town or historical district where you can find the older buildings and sometimes unique little shops. A visit to these sometimes forgotten parts of town can be magical experiment where you feel whisked back into time. If you are into photography, take your camera. If you are a visual artist, take your sketchbook. And if you are a poet, take your journal.

ARTS ‘N CRAFT STORE
A trip to the arts ‘n craft store is always a creative rush for me. While I pretty good about not buying everything in sight, I always make mental notes of ideas for future projects.

SPECIALTY STORES
Back home, one of my favorite specialty stores to visit was the coffee merchant. They had barrels of exotic coffee, aisles of various teas, and cool little knickknacks. A trip to a specialty store doesn’t just have to be hobby related. It can just be a fun excursion from the everyday stores like Wal-Mart.

LIVE MUSIC
When is the last time you heard some live music? If you’re young, it was probably last weekend, but as we get older, some of us get out of the habit of going out to see live music. My big excuse is that I tend to fall asleep early and that the smoke drives me batty. But a trip to see live music doesn’t just have to be to one of the local bars. Depending on where you live, there can be jazz outside playing at cafes or you get tickets for the orchestra. While a trip to the orchestra can sometimes be outside of your budget, you can also check out what is going on at local colleges or high schools where the music will only cost a couple bucks.

My college back home in the Midwest had one of the best percussionist groups, and most of residents didn’t even realize it. While not everything is advertised in the paper, you can always call up the local music departments and ask them when they perform. They would probably be honored that someone in the community shows interest since half the time the audience is usually just family.

LOCAL EVENTS/FESTIVALS
While we don’t get the local newspaper, I do have online access to find out what’s going on in the community. The nice part of living in a large city is that there always seems to be something going on from hot pepper festivals (yes, we had one at our local Botanical gardens) to traditional arts ‘n craft fairs.

RENT AN INDEPENDENT ART FLICK
You don’t always have to leave your pad for an artist date. If you are not in the mood to go out, stay in and watch an independent art flick or even a foreign film.

AN EXOTIC LUNCH DATE
Artist dates come in all shapes and sizes. And they try to appeal to all our different senses, even our taste buds so if you are feeling adventurous, venture out to a local ethnic cafe and try something different for lunch.

VISIT A NURSERY/BOTANICAL GARDEN
Even if you don’t have a green thumb, you might enjoy a trip to a local nursery or botanical garden. And the spring time is the one of the best times to go. Depending on where you live, the plants can just be beginning to go or if you live in more of a Southern climate, the plants can be in full swing.

TAKE A CERAMIC CLASS WITH A FRIEND
Not all artist dates have to be alone. Sometimes it’s fun to go do something with a friend. And ceramic classes can great artist dates even for those who don’t feel terribly artistic. Most pieces can be painted in one sitting unless you choose a large piece, and some places even serve you wine while you paint. While I haven’t taken a ceramic class myself, I do have a girlfriend at work that started doing it and she’s already on her fifth piece and she doesn’t even call herself an artist.