Dating my Inner Artist

So I am finishing up Week 2 in The Artist's Way and stuff is starting to happen.  First, I noticed that I'm really avoiding working on my book, which is funny because I really love it (it involves Henry VIII, boys, time travel, self-discovery, and in-and-out burgers - who wouldn't love working with that?) so I think there must be some kind of fear of really putting myself out there.

But the best thing to happen so far was on Friday, when I took myself out on an Artist Date.  The Artist Dates are where you get to spend time with your inner-artist, nurturing it like you would a child, providing it with inspiration and stimulation. I wasn't sure I'd be able to do an Artist Date because it was Friday night and my in-laws were coming, and there was stuff to do, AND I didn't want to go down the hill to one of the big museums in LA because I was feeling lazy.  But I said to myself, "Self, you promised you would do an Artist Date, so you have to go do one."

I know that in Lake Arrowhead there is a gallery run as a co-op by the artists, and I figured I could have fun poking around looking at all the stuff there.  So I head to the lake, park my car, and walk to the gallery which is, sadly, closed.  At 5pm on a Friday?  What the heck?

My inner artist wanted to have a tantrum.  "I told you that you should have planned it better," she screamed at me.  "I want an Artist Date, and I want to be inspired, and you're not letting me," she pouted.  So I took her on a walk around the lake where we looked at ducks, swans, and geese.  I walked the long way back to my car, through most of the Village, and noticed another gallery I'd never seen before.  It was next to a bar, and looked empty, but my inner artist got seriously excited and pushed me forward.

And I'm so glad she did, because I got to meet Daniel Gerken, who makes these strikingly beautiful crosses with all kinds of materials including distressed wood from the badlands of South Dakota.  He owns the gallery, and was kind enough to walk me around, showing me his favorite paintings and telling me about the artists.  I told him I was on an Artist Date, and that I was learning how to let out my own inner artist, and he suggested that I hang out at his gallery and write, whenever I want.  I could even be the "Writer-in-Residence," and he'd even make me a plaque, he said.  It was so inspirational to meet someone who followed his dreams, and listened to his own inner artist, and is expressing himself fully.  And now I'm totally inspired to go back and take up my "Writer-in-Residence" duties.

On the way home, my own inner artist gloated.  "I told you that you should take me out to play," she said.  "Look how you got to meet an awesome person by doing that!  How much does life rock when you just listen to me?"