Gold? Gold In That There um Body?-(Swallowcliffs)

[Carol@Swallowcliffs]

Give me a...pen and a notebook... an hour in the morning... some good walking shoes... and a free hour or so every week... and I will start prospecting! (he he)

[DJ]

One purpose of the artist date is to treat your inner child to new sensory delights, and to gain information as well as inspiration. In other words, you're collecting food for thought, fresh subject matter, and ideas for play.
Sounds fun, huh?
It matters not that you are alone or in a group all day. The artist date is an "alone" treat for you & your inner child.
So, enjoy!

[Carol@Swallowcliffs]

Thanks DJ

[DJ]

You're quite welcome, my friend.
I hope you & your child have many happy moments of play and discovery together.
I like to go the dollar store for objects of inspiration, or take a walk in my yard, looking for micro-textures and shapes in nature. One day, I took my phone on a walk/run and took pics of trees in foggy surrounds.
Bookstores are awesome, too. Especially small, privately owned shops with cozy seating and a kind salesperson.
What kinds of things will you think of to do with your child?

[Hannah]

Yeah, my artists' dates didn't have to have anything with making art, though they often did. But I looked on them as playing hooky on anything serious or goal oriented, and they were also often unplanned. I did do some that included looking at instruments, but it wasn't so much to decide what to buy as to see what was out there, or photography walks, but it was more just about carrying along to document parts of my walk that I wanted to remember for no particular reason other than they charmed me in some way -- a store, a store window, an awning, a billboard. But if I went to the beach with no camera, or took a walk somewhere I hadn't been to for no reason before, that was also an artist's date for me -- because it's something that gives me that sense of freedom and living in a fun and irresponsible world that making art gives me when I succeed. A lot of mine were trips to the bookstore where I just browsed any aisle that interested me, especially the ones I had no particular knowledge of. It could have a goal -- clearing my space felt like an artist date once. Inviting people over for a meal. But basically any small adventure was what I called an artist date. Really the hallmark of it was something I'd never done before, at least in quite that way, and had no intense investment in the outcome. Experiments. If you can't end the sentence "I'm going to do this so that ..", to me you've got an artist's date.

[DJ]

Oh, Hannah!
The Beach!
Excellent idea...they say that there is positive ion energy present, flowing from the ocean...
mmm...
Unfortunately, many think that you have to spend $$ on an artist's date, and that isn't the case.
I like your metaphor of playing hookey on anything serious or goal-oriented. Great thought.

[Hannah]

Yes, I'm sure the positive ions have a lot to do with that feeling of well being -- the air is certainly fresh and clear. It must be what makes taking the rest of it in - the expansiveness and power of the sky and water, infinite in every direction -- so easy.

I am rereading VoG for the group, and she seems to define Artist's Dates very differently than I did. To me, what she's talking about is practice. Oh well, that's what I'm here for, to deepen my experience.

[DJ]

I haven't read VoG yet, and am waiting for its arrival from Amazon.
I should go back to TAW and reread the artist date discussion there. I'm curious: is there a difference in approach/definition of the artist date between books?

[Carol@Swallowcliffs]

Good question DJ. I will have to dig out my TAW to see. I also have the AWAW book, so will check that too.

[Carol@Swallowcliffs]

Excuse me Hannah, please. When you refer to "she" seems to define Artist's Dates very differently" are you referring to JC or me or someone else? I tried to connect practice with something, but I am lost here. Can you enlighten me? If you don't want to that's okay too.

[Frank]

I too am intimidated by the artist tools. Am I a bad VOG person if I don't do my pages everyday ? No. of course not. I did pages everyday religiously for a couple of years but I can say from my experience that if I view pages or artist date as work or my dues to pay, they become a lot harder to do. So I try to view them as something I want to do and something that will be fun.
Also I never set my artist dates in stone - I give myself the freedom to change my mind at the drop of a pin - that is the power of being by yourself - there is no one to please but yourself. Artist dates are a chance to see, feel and experience the real you - what do you really love (not just like) to do ?
Good luck on your exploration.

[Carol@Swallowcliffs]

Thanks Frank. And nice to meet you by the way! I love being by myself after 25 years of working around about a 1000 bodies everyday, it is pure bliss. My problem is the availability of options for dates. I have to be creative about it! I am getting there! Please keep posting!

[Carol@Swallowcliffs]

I started a list of activities I knew I absolutely WOULD do. Now, I am adding to that as I think of things, some thanks to you ladies DJ and Hannah, your remarks enlarged my list. I know if I was younger my list would be different. I love hanging in book stores, except for the book stores where I live, but the closest book store is like 150 mi. away. I love thrift shops and the closest one is 30 mi. When, I was younger, I would drive to the city for those kinds of activities. But, now, nope... not gonna do it! I don't want to look at age, nor weather, nor availability as an excuse to not "date", what I am trying to do is find some things that will work in my circumstances. I am old, and live in an area lacking in places to visit. I did list the library, which is where I am going this week, the pawn shop (I have never been to those), and for when it warms up, some plein aire art, which I have never done. I can see drawings of sagebrush coming up! LOL