'The Artist's Way' creative mentoring

About the Artist's Way:

This is a course for discovering or recovering your creativity and has been hailed as one of the best books for personal transformation written in recent decades. Published in 1992, the book is still selling strong and has been elevated in status and officially rated in the top 100 self-help books of all time. The NY Times has called the author Julia Cameron 'The Queen of Change'.

Built on the premise that we are all creative, this book takes us on a journey of surprise and joy, bringing this inherent human ability to the surface and endlessly enriching our lives as a result. It is not alwasy easy, as it has a tendency to challenge many of our firmly held beliefs about ourselves and the world, but it gives us the opportunity to test our theories and be convinced by the  results. The challenges are well worth it!

First designed as an in-depth 12 week course, taking up to 10 hours per week, this is an offering of one-to-one sessions to move through the material at a pace that suits you. The alternative is to get a group together and go through the course together. Both 12 week and 6 week versions can be undertaken. The 6 week version is a lighter and more condensed. However, attending a 'lighter' version does not stop anyone from going 'deeper' and you can spend as much time as you wish exploring the coursework and concepts. All the same creative tools and principles are taught, it is simply presented in such a way that it can fit within a busier life-style. 

However, which ever format you choose, you will need to commit to approximately 20 minutes of personal writing time each morning (when you first wake up) and one hour per week of having fun - by yourself, (whatever that looks like for you). 

You will need a copy of the book to support your learning. This can be borrowed from the library, bought through your local book store (Unity Books on High Street and Time Out on Mt Eden Road tend to stock it) or it can be ordered online. Additionally, some kind of journal for your writing. A4 size pages (not little ones), a school exercise book or refill pad is perfectly acceptable though many people like to buy a special writing books out of personal preference. 

About the facilitator:

Damaris Kingdon has mentored more than 70 people through the Artist's Way material in groups or individally since 2011.

Her own experience of going through the Artist's Way coursework for the first time in 2003 was transformational. It not only brought her back into connection with her inner source of creativity but she found talents and abilities she didn't even know she had, including writing music.  She also found that using the reflective tools in the Artist's Way brought clarity and balance to her other professional pursuits and personal relationships.

In sharing the 'The Artist's Way' with others, she has seen people who had never done the following, do them for the first time in their lives: get awarded major acting roles in plays, become published writers, write and perform poetry, create sculptures and paintings (good ones), change careers, establish balance and space in their life for creative pursuits, write music, sing, realise they have a gift for leadership, realise they love plants and colour in their home environments, go on solo advertures they never thought they would have courage for, start up new businesses.

In her own journey of creative discovery, she used the tools of the Artist's Way and was inspired to found the Art Studio Collective www.artstudiocollective.nz and other creative arts rehearsal and workshop spaces in Grafton, central Auckland, as nurturing creativity in others as well as herself became a passion. 

Individual sessions: $150 per session. If this too much for you, please contact Damaris about receiving a subsidy. damaris@acommunity.nz

Groups costs are variable depending on how many people are in the group but typically averages $40 per session per person or $240 per individual when doing a 6 week course.