The Colours and The Shapes

Ever since I was a depressed, angst-ridden teenager in Manchester, I’ve zoned out / self-soothed / chilled out by wandering round shops.

So when I read about the wonderful Artist’s Date tool in Julia Cameron’s The Artist’s Way, I thought:  I already do that.

Costume jewellery and art supplies, fabric departments and toy shops, tropical fish and flower stalls… it’s about the colours and the shapes, the patterns and the fragrances… junk shops and museums, hardware stores and stationers, ethnic bazaars and thrift shops.

It’s not about buying or bargain-hunting.  It’s about allowing yourself  to take a break from logical word-based thinking and lines of print on paper or screen, and to  revel in colours and shapes, sounds and smells. Experience your inner artist aka child hop-skip-jumping for joy as though  released from a stifling schoolroom  into a funfair packed with exciting rides, twinkling lights and scrumptious ice creams. Drink in the sounds, sights, smells. Finger the fabrics and treasure the textures. Live!