The Artist Date but make it EXTRA

Have you heard of "The Artist's Way" by Julia Cameron? The book was written to help people with artistic creative recovery, teaching techniques and exercises to assist people in gaining self-confidence in harnessing their creative talents and skills. The first time I went through it was in the early 2000s while I was attempting to finish my fine art degree. It's a 12-week course, a chapter a week. While you do the work, it's uncomfortable, much like therapy; in fact, many of the exercises in the book feel like therapy. There are foundational exercises that are non-negotiables: morning pages and artist dates, more on these later.

Elyse from Desert Island Press (the sweetest print shop in Cocoa Village, GO NOW!) created a group recently that met once a month to go over and support each other while we navigated the exercises throughout the book. This book is life-changing when you go through it solo...but when you bring together a group of creatives? Oh, so powerful. Our world is so connected yet not. We are not meant for these screens all the time. We need community, art, and adventures. The in-person feedback, sounding boards, and connection were purely priceless. Elyse's generosity made this second go-around so much more successful and eye-opening.

So back to the foundation exercises, the morning pages... first thing in the morning, you write 3 stream-of-consciousness pages. Before you do anything else. (I break this by getting some coffee because it's 5:30 am when I do this; otherwise, I'd be dozing off.) I have actually grown to love the morning pages. This is where I work out what's eating at me, what I'm excited about, and what I'm grateful for. It's become a habit, and I feel not quite right if I skip it. Now, the other foundation exercise is the artist date. This is one I struggled with the first and second go-around of doing this course. You are to take yourself on a date. It doesn't have to be extravagant, but it does have to be just you, and it needs to be something that is meant to refuel your creative spirit without agenda. Well, I'm terrible at this; I make up excuses about not having enough time or that I should be painting with this extra time.

So this year I decided to do an artist retreat week in the Catskills, and as a bonus, I did a girls' long weekend at Great Camp Sagamore to kick it off. Surely this is a year's worth of artist dates? The artist in me says yes! The adventure I had truly lit me up in so many ways.

I spoke earlier about connection and how disconnected we really are in our overstimulated world. The women (whom I really didn't know very well) that I spent time with at Great Camp Sagamore all just got "it" and immersed ourselves into the hikes, paddles, and fireside chats just filled with belly laughs. I left feeling like I made lifelong friends, proud of myself for getting over some social anxiety, really proud of myself for the sunrise paddles at 42 degrees, hiking an overlook hike that was basically rock climbing a summit and not dying

(hello, Florida girl here) and plein air painting with people around. Fear is a thing I don't like to acknowledge, but it is something that gets a hold of me sometimes.

Sunrise paddle 42 degrees

plein air

golden hour

The main lodge

The overlook hike

My plein air pieces

As you can see, this was the most perfect entry into upstate NY. My family is from NY, and I did live there for a few years when I was a kid. Maybe my soul made that connection? I don't know, but I absolutely fell in love with the Adirondacks. But the Catskills, just wow. Next level. The Greenville Arms 1889 hosted my artist retreat week. Originally, I was disappointed that the plein air workshop I wanted to do had a waitlist, but then I learned about artist retreat week. This really turned out to be just the week I was craving.

First off, the Greenville Arms, an inn located in Greenville, NY. A coffee shop, chocolate shop, and art supply store are onsite. My room above the art studio is located behind the main inn in the carriage house. The art studio located below me is open 24 hours a day, light and bright. BUT the gardens became my plein air studio. The weather was perfection, and the sweetest little tables with umbrellas were located throughout the gardens. Most days, it was just me in the afternoon with the hummingbirds. Occasionally, an artist would pop out for some fresh air, but for the most part, it was just me. The days were my own to design, and the inn was my beautiful home base that also provided some insanely delicious meals. Oh, and homemade cookies the size of my head at 2:30 PM every day.

I try to take myself on an art retreat once a year. It doesn't always work out, and sometimes it's just a weekend. Sometimes it's an epic adventure, as this one turned out to be. Traveling solo is slightly terrifying to me, given I have no sense of direction. Thank you, GPS! It's mostly freeing and decadent that you can just do whatever you want without worrying about pleasing people. This is the first time I have done an artist retreat that was self-guided, and I learned that this may be my favorite yet.

After breakfast (the cottage cheese pancakes, my fav), I would go explore the Hudson River Valley. My first day, a solo hike in the Huyck Preserve—I'm a hiker now, who am I?! A lake hike that took me about an hour and a half. It was Labor Day, lots of hikers around, so I felt safe. After a hearty lunch, an afternoon of painting in the garden, of course. Most of the week followed this routine of morning exploration followed by a few hours of painting in the garden and ending with a glass of wine on the porch with the other artists before our family-style gourmet sit-down dinner.

I loved driving the country roads with the windows down. The town of Catskill is quite possibly my favorite, with Pilates (yes, I took a class!), coffee shops, live music, and the cutest shops. Olana, the home of Frederic Church, a painter of the Hudson River Valley, was so awe-inspiring that I took the 2-hour tour and now must go back to enjoy the landscape and paint it! The farm-to-table food tasted amazing. The art and artisans in this area are well-supported; I wish our city would do more of that. This really was an epic artist date, an artist retreat.

What do I bring back? A full cup, that's for sure, but also a craving for simplicity, more adventures, and not letting fear hold me back. My experiences in the Adirondacks and Catskills brought me back to my core fundamentals: nature, art, movement, and connection. These things get lost in the day-to-day shuffle sometimes, but I have made it a point to slow down and focus on these. I even looked up some hikes in Florida for when it cools down. I also bring a renewed commitment to my morning pages and even the artist date. It not only makes me a better artist but a better person.

the garden

my sweet room

one of my new works

The Greenville Arms

Plein air in the middle of a hike

The garden and carriage house

Thank you for reading along with me. I hope this encourages you to embark on an adventure, try something that challenges you, and spend time in nature. It's been sweet for me to share this as I am currently recovering from the flu and my mind has loved thinking about something happy .