The beginnings of my ‚Visual Morning Pages‘
Have you ever wondered what an artist’s daily creative practise looks like? How they start their day? What helps them get into the ‚right‘ frame of mind and/or over creative blocks?
Then here is a glimpse into part of my morning routine.
A bit of background / explanation on what Morning Pages (originally) are:
„Morning Pages are three pages of longhand, stream of consciousness writing, done first thing in the morning. *There is no wrong way to do Morning Pages* – they are not high art. They are not even ‚writing‘. They are about anything and everything that crosses your mind…“ – Julia Cameron (author of ‚The Artist’s Way‘)
In 2017, I had done those 3 written pages every morning for two years, when I adapted the practise and added a Visual Morning Page to my daily routine.
Julia Cameron also says: „The bedrock tool of creative recovery is a daily practice called Morning Pages.“
I couldn’t agree more.
The exercise frees the writer/artist from self-censure and helps to deal with creative blocks.
In my experience, it is a powerful tool to battle *Resistance*.
Although, they are supposed to be for the artist’s eyes only, I have been sharing them in my Instagram Stories from time to time – well, my visual pages, not the written ones 😉
On the one hand, because I want to share my creative journey, and on the other, because there are always a few fellow artists checking my IG, and if I can offer an idea / impulse, then I’m happy!
Last but not least, my Visual Morning Pages have been a great basis for my mindfulness practise – More and more people use colouring books as a form of meditation, and in my experience it works very well. Personally however, I prefer doodling to colouring – looking for shapes and patterns and then tracing them. This goes together beautifully with my Visual Morning Pages.
This was the week I started this practise.
