WELCOME JULIA CAMERON
JULIA CAMERON
Julia Cameron has been an active artist for more than thirty years, with over thirty books (including bestsellers The Artist’s Way, Walking In This World and The Right to Write) and countless television, film, and theater scripts to her credit. Writing since the age of 18, Cameron has a long list of screenplay and teleplay credits to her name, including an episode of Miami Vice, and Elvis and the Beauty Queen, which starred Don Johnson. She was a writer on such movies as Taxi Driver, New York, New York, and The Last Waltz. She wrote, produced, and directed the award-winning independent feature film, God’s Will, which premiered at the Chicago International Film Festival, and was selected by the London Film Festival, the Munich International Film Festival, and Women in Film Festival, among others. In addition to making film, Cameron has taught film at such diverse places as Chicago Filmmakers, Northwestern University, and Columbia College. Her profound teachings on unlocking creativity and living from the creative center have inspired countless artists to unleash their full potential. Her site JuliaCameronLive.com is an online course and artists’ community.
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Q&A with Julia
It has been 20 years since the publication of your bestseller, The Artist’s Way, and your many fans have long been asking for a book like The Artist’s Way for Parents – why did you decide to write this book now?
My daughter, Domenica, has just had her first child. I wanted to pass on to her the tips and insights I myself had used.
What creative tools did you employ in your daughter’s upbringing?
I wrote Morning Pages, I took Domenica with me on Creative Expeditions, I supplied her with toys for solo play. Above all, I modeled the joy of creative exploration myself.
Why do you think parents lose sight of their personal creativity, and why is it important that they reignite it?
Parents often feel they must commit themselves 24/7 to nurturing their child. With this as a mission, they often neglect their own creative nurturing. When they commit to self-care as well as child care, they experience and transmit joy.
Spirituality is an important theme in this book. What is the connection between spirituality and creativity?
I often say that spirituality and creativity are one and the same. As we commit to deepening our spirituality, we awaken our creativity. As we commit to awakening our creativity, we reignite our spirituality.
You describe this book as a “toolkit” for parents and their children. What are some of the key resources that will they discover in its pages?
The Artist’s Way for Parents aims at awakening inner wisdom. Its essays and tasks provoke thought. Parents will learn the attitudes and aptitudes that best serve their child’s creativity. For example, they will learn how to cultivate safety, inventiveness and independence.
This book is geared toward parents with children newborn through age twelve – does it get harder to inspire creativity in children as they grow older?
No. Children crave self-expression, and as they mature, their avenues for self-expression increase.
You encourage parents to write “Morning Pages” at the start of every day – can you explain a bit about the process and how parents, and their children, will benefit from this exercise?
Morning Pages are three pages of longhand, morning writing about absolutely anything. Virginia Wolfe advised wanna-be artists that they would need “a room of their own.” Morning Pages constitute such a room. As parents write their pages, they come in contact with their authentic feelings. This allows them to relate to their children without resentment. Instead, they find themselves tabulating the many tiny steps in their child’s development and their own reactions to them.
In what ways has our changing culture influenced people’s creativity over the years and generations?
Morning Pages are an old-fashioned tool. Writing by hand, we achieve a hand-made life. Writing by computer, we race along, ignoring our true feelings and perceptions. Emailing and texting, we tune out on our environment. As we focus on old-fashioned tools such as crafts, we awaken our child’s originality. Keeping our own technological indulgence to a minimum, we encourage our children to do the same.
How did your own parents encourage creativity in you and your siblings?
My parents encouraged creativity by supplying rich resources for our creative self-expression. They encouraged us to draw, paint, write and make music. They applauded our efforts. Their encouragement was pivotal in developing our love of self-expression.
Why is it so important for parents to awaken their children’s creative minds
Just as blood is part of our physical DNA, creativity is part of our spiritual DNA. Awakening our children’s creativity gives them the opportunity to become fully rounded individuals.
What is the most important takeaway for parents who are reading The Artist’s Way for Parents?
Readers of The Artist’s Way for Parents will find themselves cultivating their own creativity. They will see how their common sense and simple encouragement will benefit their children. They will learn the value of their alert participation in their children’s unfolding lives.
ABOUT THE BOOK
BOOK DETAILS:
Genre: Non Fiction, Parenting & relationships
Published by: Tarcher
Publication Date: August 15, 2013
Number of Pages: 288
ISBN-10: 0399163727
ISBN-13: 978-0399163722
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ABOUT THE PUBLISHER
We think your readers would be interested in learning about the charitable promotion that Tarcher/Penguin is running now through August 15th: To celebrate the release of The Artist’s Way for Parents, Tarcher/Penguin has teamed with the LilySarahGraceFund and the International Child Art Foundation to help underprivileged children everywhere gain access to the arts. For every copy of The Artist’s Way for Parents sold now through August 15th, Tarcher/Penguin will donate $1 to these organizations. In addition, if the total number of copies sold within this timeframe (hardcopy or ebook) exceeds 1,000, Tarcher/Penguin will double its contribution. To make each order count, simply e-mail your receipt or an image of your receipt to: AWforParents@gmail.com.
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