The Artist's Way Starter Kit
The Artist's Way Starter Kit book cover

The Artist's Way Starter Kit

Paperback – December 29, 2011

Price
$31.50
Format
Paperback
Pages
560
Publisher
TarcherPerigee
Publication Date
ISBN-13
978-1585429288
Dimensions
8.5 x 1.33 x 10.86 inches
Weight
3.1 pounds

Description

“ THE ARTIST’S WAY by Julia Cameron is not exclusively about writing—it is about discovering and developing the artist within whether a painter, poet, screenwriter or musician—but it is a lot about writing. If you have always wanted to pursue a creative dream, have always wanted to play and create with words or paints, this book will gently get you started and help you learn all kinds of paying-attention techniques; and that, after all, is what being an artist is all about. It’s about learning to pay attention.” --Anne Lamott, Mademoiselle “The premise of the book is that creativity and spirituality are the same thing, they come from the same place. And we were created to use this life to express our individuality, and that over the course of a lifetime that gets beaten out of us. [ THE ARTIST’S WAY ] helped me put aside my fear and not worry about whether the record would be commercial.” --Grammy award-winning singer Kathy Mattea “Julia Cameron brings creativity and spirituality together with the same kind of step-by-step wisdom that Edgar Cayce encouraged. The result is spiritual creativity as a consistent and nourishing part of daily life.” --Venture Inward “I never knew I was a visual artist until I read Julia Cameron’s THE ARTIST’S WAY .” --Jannene Behl in Artist’s Magazine “Julia Cameron’s landmark book THE ARTIST’S WAY helped me figure out who I really was as an adult, not so much as an artist but as a person. And award-winning journalist and poet, Cameron’s genius is that she doesn’t tell readers what they should do to achieve or who they should be—instead she creates a map for readers to start exploring these questions themselves.” --Michael F. Melcher, Law Practice magazine “This is not a self-help book in the normative sense. It is simply a powerful book that can challenge one to move into an entirely different state of personal expression and growth.” --Nick Maddox, Deland Beacon “ THE ARTIST’S WAY (with its companion volume THE ARTIST’S WAY MORNING PAGES JOURNAL ) becomes a friend over time, not just a journal. Like a journal, it provokes spontaneous insights and solutions; beyond journaling, it establishes a process that is interactive and dynamic.” --Theresa L. Crenshaw, M.D., San Diego Union-Tribune “If you really want to supercharge your writing, I recommend that you get a copy of Julia Cameron’s book THE ARTIST’S WAY . I’m not a big fan of self-help books, but this book has changed my life for the better and restored my previously lagging creativity.” --Jeffrey Bairstow, Laser Focus World “Working with the principle that creative expression is the natural direction of life, Cameron developed a three month program to recover creativity. THE ARTIST’S WAY shows how to tap into the higher power that connects human creativity and the creative energies of the universe.” --Mike Gossie, Scottsdale Tribune “ THE ARTIST’S WAY is the seminal book on the subject of creativity and an invaluable guide to living the artistic life. Still as vital today—or perhaps even more so—than it was when it was first published in 1992, it is a provocative and inspiring work. Updated and expanded, it reframes THE ARTIST’S WAY for a new century.” --Branches of Light “THE ARTIST’S WAY has sold over 3 million copies since its publication in 1992. Cameron still teaches it because there is sustained demand for its thoughtful, spiritual approach to unblocking and nurturing creativity. It is, dare we say, timeless.” --Nancy Colasurdo, FOXBusiness Praise for VEIN OF GOLD, the second volume in the ARTIST’S WAY trilogy “For those seeking the wellspring of creativity, this book, like its predecessor, is a solid gold diving rod.” --PUBLISHERS WEEKLY Julia Cameron has been an active artist for more than three decades. She is the author of more than thirty books, including such bestselling works on the creative process as The Artist’s Way , Walking in This World , and Finding Water . Also a novelist, playwright, songwriter, and poet, she has multiple credits in theater, film, and television, including an episode of Miami Vice , whichxa0featured Miles Davis, and Elvis and the Beauty Queen , which starred Don Johnson. She was a writer on such movies as Taxi Driver , New York, New York , and The Last Waltz . She wrote, produced, and directed the award-winning independent feature film God's Will , which premiered at the Chicago International Film Festival, and was selected by the London Film Festival, the Munich International Film Festival, and the Women in Film Festival, among others. In addition to making films, Cameron has taught film at such diverse places as Chicago Filmmakers, Northwestern University, and Columbia College. She is also an award-winning playwright, whose work has appeared on such well-known stages as the McCarter Theater at Princeton University and the Denver Center for the Performing Arts.

Features & Highlights

  • The Artist's Way Starter Kit
  • includes Cameron's two most important Artist's Way tools-
  • The Artist's Way
  • and
  • The Artist's Way Morning Pages Journal
  • -bound together for a bargain price. This attractive package-shrink-wrapped and with a bellyband-will inspire anyone contemplating beginning the Artist's Way program to plunge right into this life-changing twelve-week program!
  • The Artist’s Way
  • is the seminal book on the subject of creativity. An international bestseller, millions of readers have found it to be an invaluable guide to living the artist’s life. Still as vital today
  • or perhaps even more so
  • than it was when it was first published one decade ago, it is a powerfully provocative and inspiring work. In a new introduction to the book, Julia Cameron reflects upon the impact of
  • The Artist’s Way
  • and describes the work she has done during the last decade and the new insights into the creative process that she has gained. Updated and expanded, this anniversary edition reframes
  • The Artist’s Way
  • for a new century.Julia Cameron keeps row after row of journals on the wooden bookcase in her writing room, all containing Morning Pages from more than twelve years of her life. The journals, she says, listen to her. They have been company on travels, and she is indebted to them for consolation, advice, humor, sanity. Now the bestselling author of
  • The Artist's Way
  • offers readers the same companion, in which we may discover ourselves, our fears and aspirations, and our life's daily flow. Readers will find privacy, a portable writing room, where our opinions are for our own eyes.
  • The Artist's Way Morning Pages Journal
  • prioritize the day, providing clarity and comfort. With an introduction and instructions on how to use this journal, by Julia Cameron, readers will uncover the history of their spirits as they move their hands across the universe of their lives.

Customer Reviews

Rating Breakdown

★★★★★
60%
(1.2K)
★★★★
25%
(513)
★★★
15%
(308)
★★
7%
(144)
-7%
(-145)

Most Helpful Reviews

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God i

This book would be perfect if it didn't refer to God. I know it's a spiritual journey but arghhhh. I am not serving God through my creativity...
183 people found this helpful
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BUY JUST THE BOOK, used if you can

My therapist recommended I buy The Artist’s Way book as a supplement to the Morning Pages exercise that the book promotes...which is admittedly backwards, but makes perfect sense once you begin. This set includes the Artist’s Way book/manual and a larger, mostly blank workbook that acts as a journal for your Morning Pages.

The point of Morning Pages is that you develop a habit of beginning each day by putting pen to paper and letting your thoughts flow freely, preferably three pages worth, and then stashing each entry out of site until a later date. My therapist told me to keep it loose and scribble my Morning Pages in something like an old half-used spiral notebook left over from my kid’s middle school science class, then rip the completed pages out each day and put them in a folder on a shelf. (That’s what the book suggests also.) The process is designed to release conscious concerns and allow creativity to bubble up to the surface.

The process works. Really well. Bonus: in committing to making this solitary activity a priority, one develops the discipline (and time management) to overcome the “I can only create when I’m in the right mood” mental block.

The Artist’s Way is a program and process that countless people have used with such great success that it’s become a classic. What it absolutely does NOT need (and has never needed) is a perfect, wide-lined, beautifully bound Morning Pages dedicated journal. That’s simply counterproductive, not to mention a waste of resources. A better “Starter Kit” would be a soft, used copy of The Artist’s Way and a stack of clean-backed paper straight out of the recycling bin. Or, if you’re like me, maybe you’ll hit the jackpot and find a circa 1999 Trapper Keeper with loads of filler paper.

PS I gave the Starter Kit journal to my grandson to practice his cursive writing in. 😁
160 people found this helpful
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For potential artist is wrong profession

I read the first part of this book on getting started. It seems to be oriented toward the person who got stuck in one profession while always wishing to be in a more creative artistic one. I am a practicing painter and, while I do have my days, I am not searching for a new place. It is also heavily dependent on writing as the way out to artistic freedom wanting one hour of journal writing a day. Since the author is a writer this makes sense. When I looked at the time expected to do the program I thought to myself - if I just get out my brush and paint that much I will be way ahead of where I am now. It is not that there are no good ideas and practice regimes here.

I think the journal writing part did turn me off as I don't enjoy writing, even free association writing much. But, as a visual artist I can fill the journal book with free association drawings and exploration to much the same end I think.
75 people found this helpful
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The book, not the journal

This is a classic workbook for anyone seeking to open up their inner artist, whether it be writing or otherwise. Geared i would say for the writer - although Ms. CAMERON states the concept is designed for all artists.
If you arr disciplined and follow all the course objectives you will come to the end a more disciplined person, artistic or not (we all have a "gift" as per the author) and I'm pretty certain you will learn about yourself if you manage to get through all the exercises in the manual.
I did puchase the "kit" because I felt it a goid idea to sort of homogenize the original text and a specifically designed journal - but, i felt the overall design of the journal to be too large and bulky - i am a regular journal writer and i found that the pages were prohibitive - so large that taking the time (and i mean a lot of time here) to write the pages actually worked against me enjoying the "process" - now, the author might assert i am avoiding some deep secret or some such by avoiding and/or not dedicating all the time it took to enter handwritten journal entries onto this manual, but...i have to say as a non-writer, i wanted to create my artwork versus sit and apend an hour or more journaling how i wanted to be an artist.
So, i actually stopped all the insightful writing in the journal that came with the set and simply made my art.
So. I guess the process works!
But i would reccomend the classic text and just use a cheap notebook. It will still get you were you want to go....
73 people found this helpful
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Just do it already

This book is changing my life. Writing the morning pages really has made a huge difference to me. Like many others, I had tried this program twice before but never made it more than a few weeks. I had the book on my kindle and it just isn't a good format for this work. This time I impulsively bought the book and workbook combo, and it made a real difference having everything printed out and easy to reference. I'm in week five, heading into week six and can't believe how powerful this experience has been!

Whether you are bored or deep in crisis, this is a great program for discovering what you are really about, examining your life, and making more conscious decisions.

I did find that one of the weeks in the workbook (week three I think) was short three pages. Made me think "wow, maybe no one has ever actually done the workbook past the first week or two and I'm the first to discover this." :)
55 people found this helpful
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Way too heavy on the "God" presence.

I'm a singer/songwriter and I bought this book because I had read that this was a great exercise to help me get out of my creative rut. Right away I was just about completely turned off because of the heavy "God" and religious messages tied to this book. It always bums me out that everyone just assumes that people are of some sort of Christian belief. I am an Atheist and have been for most of my life and it just makes it hard for me as a creative person having to read this book with a message that creating music, art, poetry or whatever is a gift from God and a gift back to the "divine." There's not much of a hint at all that this is in any way,shape, or form a christian based book but once you start reading it you get it right away. It's made it really hard for me to get into it but once I moved past that and onto the "week 1" exercises, I just found myself having to try hard to ignore the religious/christian stigma that comes with it. This still makes it hard because as part of being a creative person, this aspect has now been ingrained in me and with every page I find myself getting frustrated by this.

All in all, if you're a Christian of any level and an artist, this book is for you. If you are Atheist/Agnostic, STAY AWAY FROM THIS BOOK. It's truly sad to feel completely alienated because of religion of all things. It's truly sad that one can't even seek artistic help/assistance without being faced with Christianity.
39 people found this helpful
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A great book for releasing your inner artist

This is really helpful for personal growth as well as releasing your inner artist. Every week you pick something to do to nurture and restore your sense of well being and to accumulate ideas and inspiration for creativity.
29 people found this helpful
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Great Book, Notebook Awkward

This book is fantastic but I couldn't use the notebook easily because it doesn't lie flat and it's very thick, so it's difficult to write in. Would be better if it was spiral bound. I put it in recycling and just use a regular spiral notebook. But the price was great for the book alone so I don't really mind. If you can find a better price for the book alone, go for it and just use a regular notebook.
24 people found this helpful
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Fast & Efficient ... thank you

Starter Kit is a great product - review combo offers, you don't want to end up with any duplicates. All of Julia's programs are fabulous...immerse yourself in reflection and awakening.
23 people found this helpful
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Highly recommend!

I recently re-ordered The Morning Pages for the second time. I processed through The Artist's Way in April of 2017 and it has become a regular part of my morning routine. I plan to continue to cycle through The Artists Way, as I have made many positive advancements after going through this the first time, such as learning piano in my 50s, and becoming much more physically active. Do you need the companion Morning Pages book? No, you could use a notebook, but I find that the overviews of each week are very helpful along with the quotes. I also like the size, it compels me to write more than I would if I use the smaller notebook. If you can afford only one, buy The Artists Way book. But if it works, starting out with this set is a fantastic way to get going.
22 people found this helpful