The Artist’s Way is a 12-week creative recovery program you can work through either by yourself or with a small group. Each chapter includes reading and some exercises and has a “recovery” theme, like Recovering a Sense of Identity, or Recovering a Sense of Abundance. Over the course of 12 weeks, you will uncover the things that are blocking you from being creative and learn to follow your creative instincts.

There are two basic tools in The Artist’s Way: morning pages and artist’s dates. Morning pages are three pages written longhand, whatever comes to mind, stream-of-consciousness style. (Yes, you can cheat and do your pages on a laptop, but we believe longhand is more effective!)

Artist’s dates are times you set aside intentionally to “feed your artist.” These are meant to be done alone and can be anything that interests you or nurtures your creativity. (We fully support the occasional date with a friend, spouse, or child.) Attendees in our previous cohorts enjoyed dates such as: attending a concert, going to a garden center, planning a solo overnight retreat, taking a Zumba class, and visiting the Library of Congress.

Walking in This World is the second book in The Artist’s Way series and is another 12-week program. You’ll revisit the two basic tools from The Artist’s Way (morning pages and artist dates), and add in a new tool: weekly walks.

While The Artist’s Way focuses on removing creative blocks, Walking in This World is designed to help artists and creatives find clarity and encouragement as they continue to walk the path of creativity.

All you need is a copy of the book (The Artist’s Way or Walking in This World by Julia Cameron), a journal, the (free) Slack app, and the willingness to prioritize the time for the group. Whether you’ve been creating for years or are only beginning to explore your creativity, our cohort will help you on your journey.

We will spend twelve weeks going through the twelve chapters in the book. The more time you take to read and engage with the exercises, the more of a transformation you can expect to experience.

Between the morning pages, artist’s dates, reading, and weekly exercises, you can expect to spend 30-60 minutes a day (and occasionally longer) dedicated to your creative recovery. Life circumstances are guaranteed to get in the way. We’re here to cheer you on and help you stay on track as much as possible. You won’t regret prioritizing your creativity for 12 weeks.

We also encourage participation on Slack and ask participants to engage in discussion at least once a week. The group accountability and dialogue are what make this cohort so special.

Laura Rennie & Laura Bass have been facilitating creative cohorts together since 2022.

Laura Rennie is the Editorial Manager for MarylandRoadTrips.com and also enjoys copywriting for several destination marketing organizations. She lives with her husband and daughter in a small rural town outside of Frederick, Maryland.

Laura Bass lives in North Carolina with her husband and kids, where she fills all her free minutes with words—both writing and reading them. Her work has been published by Coffee + Crumbs, Literary Mama, Kindred Mom, Fathom Mag, The Wake Forest Review, and the Joyful Life Magazine. She works part-time as a freelance writer and editor.

Accountability and encouragement are invaluable as you work through the twelve-week program. Doing either The Artist’s Way or Walking in this World as a small group means you have others to walk with you during this journey.

“Hands down the most valuable part for me was the accountability and the community aspect of participating in a group. I love the connections that I made due to this experience.” — Kim, previous participant

As with anything, you get out what you put in. Going through this process is a time commitment, so please consider if this is the right time for you to participate.

We’ve heard from previous participants that they have discovered new things about their creativity, experienced creative breakthroughs, and shifted their perspectives on their art.

There are eight seats available in each cohort, with two facilitators.

Registration for our fall 2024 cohorts is coming soon! Be the first to know when registration opens by adding your name to our Artist’s Way interest list or our Walking in This World interest list.

We’ll let you know when applications are open. Once you’ve applied and been accepted, you’ll pay the $129 fee to confirm your spot (PayPal, Venmo, & Zelle accepted). This fee is non-refundable.