The book “The Artist’s Way” by Julia Cameron is a spiritual path to creativity, one that aids in breaking through a creative block. The book provides steps to the goal of unlocking such a block through activities like “morning pages”, in which artists free-write every morning, and “artist dates”, in which an artist must go somewhere foreign to open their mind to new experiences and get the creative juices flowing.
One activity from Cameron’s book has been adopted by the Heritage House in East Brainerd and is now called the Ambi Artists Creative Cluster. The AACC is a cross-discipline group of artists that gathers to reignite their creative spark. The meetings have no teacher, no guru, and no agenda; just creative minds that serve as a cross-pollinator of ideas.
“Creativity is like breathing,” said Julia Cameron about the creative clusters, “pointers may help, but we do the process ourselves.” Chris Holley, Heritage House manager, said the meetings are effective because they give the artists an outside opinion on a piece or idea.
Artists are encouraged to bring in works in progress to the meetings for positive feedback and further inspiration. The event is a potluck, so bringing some kind of dish is also encouraged. The group meets the first Thursday of every month at 6 p.m.
Heritage House, 1428 Jenkins Rd. (423) 855-9474, chattanooga.gov/youthandfamily/senior-and-cultural-facilities/heritage-house