{"id":66793,"date":"2025-01-07T07:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-01-07T12:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thestoryexchange.org\/?p=66793"},"modified":"2025-08-11T10:52:52","modified_gmt":"2025-08-11T14:52:52","slug":"the-artists-way-and-the-limitations-we-place-on-womens-imaginations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thestoryexchange.org\/the-artists-way-and-the-limitations-we-place-on-womens-imaginations\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018The Artist\u2019s Way,\u2019 and the Limitations We Place on Women\u2019s Imaginations"},"content":{"rendered":"
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My “morning pages” journal – an essential item for anyone embarking upon “The Artist’s Way” journey. (Credit: Candice Helfand-Rogers)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Editor\u2019s Note: This article, originally published in July 2023, is back by popular demand.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat if the cure for cancer is trapped inside the mind of someone who can’t afford an education<\/a>?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019ve seen some iteration of this sentiment shared on my social media<\/a> feeds many times \u2013 largely because it\u2019s true. We\u2019ll never know the critical, even life-saving innovations that remain locked inside of individuals who aren\u2019t given opportunities to explore their full potential.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But what of the creativity that also goes unmanifested? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I recently completed \u201cThe Artist\u2019s Way<\/a>,\u201d a 12-week self-exploratory course contained within a 1992 self-help book written by author and filmmaker Julia Cameron. Through a series of exercises \u2013 mostly ones that align with the focus or theme of a respective week in the program \u2013 participants are invited to connect with, and nurture, one\u2019s \u201cinner artist.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mere days after starting that journey, I wrote a news brief about a Pew Research Center poll<\/a> which revealed that men in partnerships with women have access to a disproportionate amount of leisure time \u2013 indulging in several hours more of it per week than their significant others. The women are, quite simply, statistically more likely to shoulder the bulk of household and childcare duties, owing to a mix<\/a> of financial necessity and gender norms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That post stayed on my mind throughout my \u201cArtist\u2019s Way\u201d experience. I came to think of it as a dash of what Cameron calls \u201csynchronicity\u201d \u2013 a seeming alignment between one\u2019s own personal experiences, and broader twists and shifts driven by a force greater than, and incomprehensible to, us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In large part because I \u2013 as my son’s primary watcher and an individual maintaining several jobs \u2013 can relate. <\/p>\n\n\n

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In addition to the prompts that vary week to week, there are two activities one engages in throughout the entire process \u2013 daily morning pages, which require you to pour whatever is on your mind into three free-form journal pages at the start each day; and weekly artist\u2019s dates, which involve taking yourself, and only yourself, somewhere personally inspirational and relaxing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In theory, these sound accessible. For the primary caregivers and household managers of the world like me, they\u2019re near impossible to adhere to, at least in any strict sense. Morning pages became \u201cwhenever I can\u201d pages, as my days often begin with unceremonious wake-ups by a small someone who immediately needs to know, for example, the gender identities of each Minion. In all, I squeezed in two artist\u2019s dates around my son\u2019s whims and my own hectic schedule \u2013 as well as my own exhaustion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yet I was still able to have a meaningful experience \u2013 and I learned so much.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The mere act of keeping up with those morning pages and artists dates \u2013 or not \u2013 inspired in me a series of tough internal conversations through which I attempted to separate out the ways in which my responsibilities genuinely limited me from creating, and the ways in which I limit myself by resting on a schedule and a lifestyle that is known to me. Or by my reluctance \u2013 sometimes refusal \u2013 to ask for help.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I discovered the extent to which external validation, or lack thereof, colors my perception of my work, and set about trying to untangle the connection. I found joy in investing in myself, both financially, and with time and effort \u2013 upgrading my computer; reorganizing and redecorating my personal work space; incorporating exercise back into my life in intentional ways. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I saw results in my professional and creative life. \u201cArt is not about thinking something up,\u201d Cameron writes in one of the (many) portions of the book I screen-shotted. \u201cIt is about the opposite \u2013 getting something down.\u201d I felt that in personal essays<\/a>, listicles<\/a> and obituaries<\/a> that flowed through me like water. I began trusting myself more as a singer as well, feeling more assured in what I know my voice and musical mind are capable of, and seizing opportunities as they arose.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Taking leaps, in anticipation of a net appearing, as Cameron also says \u2013 and it often would.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What a gift it\u2019s been, to imagine and play and consider new projects that I hope to take on. What a privilege \u2013 and \u201cprivilege\u201d is the operative word here. I got to have this experience, even if it was somewhat limited by my circumstances. What of those who are carrying even more, either because of their individual realities or the myriad inequities built into our society\u2019s structure?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During my Artist\u2019s Way process, I also penned a lengthier piece<\/a> on the dearth of talk around federal-level paid leave and childcare policies from 2024 presidential candidates. For it, I spoke with Rep. Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut, who has been attempting for decades to address the lack of support for families from a policy perspective. She talked about the ways in which these failures cut off women\u2019s careers. \u201cA pandemic forced many women and people of color out of their jobs,\u201d she told me. \u201cThey did not opt out of the workforce, but were forced out because of inadequate policies.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If our lack of social safety nets is hurting women\u2019s abilities to make a basic living and provide necessities for their families \u2013 what hope can their creative endeavors possibly have to develop and find their ways out into the world?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m frustrated by missing out on parts of my own \u201cArtist\u2019s Way\u201d process. But I am far angrier on behalf of those whose lives cut them off from experiencing any of this. And I mourn the creative works we\u2019ll never get to enjoy \u2013 as they, too, remain trapped within women too burdened to free them, or even find them inside in the first place. The songs I\u2019ll never cry to in my own overwhelmed moments; the books I\u2019ll never take too long to read around my own busy life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As Cameron notes: \u201cThe ego always wants to claim self-sufficiency. It would rather pose as a creative loner than ask for help.\u201d I wholly agree. But the onus to fix this particular brand of isolation does not rest solely upon those who are already carrying more than their share.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the end of the day, we need reinforcement \u2013 from inside, and<\/em> out. ◼<\/p>\n\n\n

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A 12-week exercise in nurturing my \u201cinner artist\u201d became an extended contemplation of how our society cuts off women\u2019s genius at its knees.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":62,"featured_media":66794,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"autoblue_enabled":false,"autoblue_custom_message":"","autoblue_shares":[],"autoblue_post_url":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[19648],"tags":[21213,19642,19645,21201,19727],"class_list":["post-66793","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-opinion","tag-creativity","tag-january2025","tag-opinion","tag-social-policy","tag-womens-empowerment"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nRead an Experience With Julia Cameron\u2019s \u2018The Artist\u2019s Way\u2019<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A 12-week exercise in nurturing my \u201cinner artist\u201d became a contemplation of the ways in which society cuts off 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