The Capacity for Delight
A proposal to push back the dark with creativity + your invitation to Summer Art Club
“In times of pain, when the future is too terrifying to contemplate and the past too painful to remember, I have learned to pay attention to right now... the capacity for delight is the gift of paying attention.” — Julia Cameron, The Artist’s Way
We need the artists. The prophets, the poets, the painters. We need dancers and drama. We need home cooks who make a nourishing meal out of almost nothing, and we need radically grounded caretakers and deep listeners and creative peacemakers. We need punks making weird music and nonconformists wearing weird clothes, and we’ll definitely need basement D&D games and knitting circles at the park and junk journaling parties.
This is what I’d like to believe when everything’s on fire. Creating and playing feel frivolous now. But we need it for ourselves and each other, for resilience and courage.
So here is a humble proposal: who wants to start a Summer Art Club?
An Invitation
Last summer, on my third attempt, I finally finished working through Julia Cameron’s The Artist’s Way. Listen, if you run in creative circles, this book needs no introduction. It’s an iconic 30+ year old text about reconnecting with the artist that lives in all of us and unblocking our creativity. At minimum, you or someone you know has tried to do morning pages or talked about going on an Artist Date. Sometimes it feels a little hokey, a little woo woo self-helpy.
And yet.
I picked it up last June and spent my summer writing morning pages and trying to figure out artist dates. I squirmed a little bit when she told me to write affirmations, until something clicked and it became helpful. Before I knew it, I was playing 2000s emo in the car again and making collages out of recycling bin trash and inviting my inner artist kid to come out and play. I can’t say it changed my life and led to a ton of new art-making, but it did unlock a freedom and playfulness I hadn’t felt in a while.
So now I’m curious what it would be like to take that journey again this summer, but this time with some friends along for the ride.
So Wait, What Exactly is Summer Art Club?
A 12 week The Artist’s Way book club, hosted right here on Substack, June 1 - August 23. It’s like summer vacation for grown-ups.
Cool, How’re We Gonna Do This?
You do a little bit of reading and write a lot of morning pages. I’ll set the table with:
A Sunday paywalled post with a weekly reading assignment, a little summary of the chapter ahead, a few suggested exercises, and check in questions.
A private Discord server so we can chat throughout the week and share art and insights. (If you’ve never used Discord, fear not! I’ll make the instructions as clear as I can to help you get started. Optional, but fun and encouraged!)
At least one Zoom call a month for a face to face check in.
Wait, Did You Say Paywall?
Yep, but hear me out. To protect the space and use the tools Substack’s already got, I’m setting up a paid tier here, at least for the summer.
If you want to try it out, choose the $5/month. You can cancel anytime if you find it’s not a good fit for you right now. I’ll turn on paid subs May 20 and send an email reminder out.
If you want to pay up front, please Venmo $10 to @Jen-Yokel and include your email address in the Venmo note so I can add you. It’s an extra step, but think of it as one month free!
It takes a bit of work to set something like this up, so consider the subscription fee a small contribution to help support my work. That said…
Please know I don’t want money to be a barrier! Art club is for everyone!
If you want to join but the paywall is holding you back, DM me or email hello [at] jenroseyokel [dot] com and I’ll set you up with a complimentary subscription. If you want to be there, I want you there. 💛
Other than that, you’ll just need something to write morning pages in and a copy of The Artist’s Way which shouldn’t be too hard to find used or at your library. Any edition will do.
Whether you’re creative by career or in the margins, and whether you think yourself an Artist or not, I hope you’ll consider joining us. If you have any questions, please leave them in the comments below.
