Why does everyone seem to love The Artist’s Way?
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So you’ve probably heard of The Artist’s Way before, and if you haven’t, it has likely crossed your path a time or two without you realizing it. It’s one of those books people mention over the years and you shrug it off. It’s also one of those books you can return to again and again because there are so many little nuggets that land in new ways. They feel encouraging and validating. They speak to the part of you that knows you’re a creative force but hasn’t fully claimed it yet.
Every time you revisit it, it hits differently. You notice something you missed before. You realize you’ve grown since the last time, and somehow this new version of you grows a little more again. Once The Artist’s Way is on your radar, you start noticing how many artists and creators you admire reference it. It’s a foundational book for a reason.
What Is The Artist’s Way Like?
The structure feels a bit like a recovery process. Each week you read a chapter, reflect, and look at what might be blocking your creativity. You can read or listen, but the physical book matters. You’ll want to underline things and scribble in the margins. And you’ll want to talk about what you’re discovering. The ideas are rich and personal, and they’re not always easy to sit with on your own.
The other piece people don’t always expect is how essential the exercises are. You can’t only think your way into a creative life. Reading helps, but it’s the doing that creates change. Writing morning pages, making small pieces of art, trying new practices, and engaging your body and senses all help shift your brain out of its usual patterns. Creativity requires movement, material, intuition, and play. The book works because it asks you to show up in ways that your nervous system and imagination can actually respond to.
That’s one reason I always recommend reading it in community. It’s powerful to have space where you can share, witness, be witnessed, and move through the vulnerable parts together.
And yes, the book isn’t perfect. It was written in the 90s by a woman of great privilege, and some of that shows. Many people bump up against it at times. Most find that the core ideas still hold up when you filter them through your own lived experience.
What I Bring
Each year I lead a group through The Artist’s Way. My approach blends discussion with creative practices, somatic work, and a grounded understanding of how the brain benefits from artmaking. My background in intuitive painting, teaching, and creative facilitation helps people move beyond the cerebral part of the book and into the embodied, playful, experimental side of creativity. That’s where the real shifts tend to happen.
I also work with people in one-on-one coaching sessions. If you’ve been feeling the tug to start something, to wake something up, or to return to a part of yourself you’ve set aside, this might be the support you need.