Latest news with #TheArtist'sWay
Los Angeles Times
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Los Angeles Times
To nurture your creativity, take yourself on these 11 ‘Artist's Way' dates in L.A.
'The Artist's Way,' Julia Cameron's self-help book for creatives, may have been published over 30 years ago, but it's having a big moment in 2025. Grammy Award-winning artist Doechii credited the book for playing a major role in her success — even documenting her three-month experience with it on YouTube. (That prompted legions of fans to try it too.) Author Elizabeth Gilbert and pop singer Olivia Rodrigo have also shouted out the book for helping them push through creative blocks. With over 5 million copies sold worldwide, and the book's inclusion on the Southern California Independent Bookstore Bestsellers list for years, its staying power is remarkable. Cameron wrote 'The Artist's Way' as a 12-week course (a nod to her own 12-step journey to sobriety), using affirmations and exercises in self-reflection and exploration as methods to help artists recover or discover their inner creative child. The 'two pivotal tools in creative recovery,' as Cameron writes, are the morning pages and the artist's date. Think of this duo as the yin and yang of getting creative juices flowing. The morning pages serve as the output: a daily practice of writing three pages of stream of consciousness in longhand — a brain dump, if you will. The artist's date is an act of receiving: a once-a-week commitment to taking yourself on a solo excursion to fill your creative cup. The plans don't have to be grand, prescriptive or cost money, but rather activities that bring out the curious, fun and playful side of yourself. It could be as simple as listening to a new album on a walk, or cooking a recipe you've been wanting to try. But then, there are the moments when you want to go out and explore what the world has to offer — and Los Angeles is a wondrous city full of adventures to be had. Here are some under-the-radar ideas for artist's dates to help nurture your creative soul.
Buzz Feed
7 days ago
- Entertainment
- Buzz Feed
36 Items So Amazing, It's Hard To Find A Single Hater
A high-end bottle of Takesan Kishibori soy sauce if you ever want to learn what you're missing by sticking with grocery store brands. No offense to Kikkoman, but this elevated sauce from Shodoshima, Japan offers a richer, more complex flavor that has happy reviewers pledging their allegiance. Taco Cat Goat Cheese Pizza — a card game delivering a heavy dose of high-energy, adorably illustrated fun right when you need it. It boasts a glowing 4.8 stars on Amazon (less than 1% of the 52,000+ ratings are below 3 stars) because people of all ages absolutely love it! The Reverse Coloring Book, which starts with watercolor-like blobs — it's up to you to add the lines! This is great for anyone who loves to find shapes in the clouds. A luxurious soap bar enhanced with goat milk and shea butter that reviewers are saying is perfect on all fronts: It smells good, lathers well, lasts a long time, and leaves skin feeling moisturized. A Capri Blue Volcano-scented multipurpose cleaner — yes, that's right, the signature Anthropologie scent — to make cleaning feel extra rewarding. Now you can clean and leave behind a luxurious scent that'll have guests looking at your home in a new light. Was it always so chic in here? Julia Cameron's The Artist's Way chock-full of affirmations, fill-in lists and tasks, and prompts to help you connect with your creative side. Anti-pickpocketing clips to keep your zippers in place and immune to sticky fingers. You'll still be alert, but maybe you can now stop hugging your backpack like a baby while you waddle through town. A "Skoy Scrub," your personal assistant for deep cleans. Reviewers say this reusable, dishwasher-safe scrub withstands months of heavy use, which is good because it's about to be your go-to cleaning tool. Its rough surface is tough on dirt and grime but safe to use without scratching or damaging non-stick pans, ceramic, glass, and cooktops. A Lego cherry blossom kit for decor you can build yourself. The 430-piece set comes with everything you need to build two stems, and at less than $10, it's a steal compared to most Lego kits. Weiman silver cleaning wipes because the last thing you need is a set of dirty silverware ~tarnishing~ your reputation. These ammonia-free wipes offer long-lasting shine, protect items from scratching, and work faster than polishing paste. Dawn Powerwash, an impressive spray-on dish soap capable of giving you those clean swipes through nightmarish messes previously only seen in commercials. Spray this on dishes, but you can also use it to tackle dirty range hoods, backsplashes, bathtubs, grills, or anywhere else with caked-on food or dirt. A charming waterproof shelf liner to protect your fridge from stains and give it a little glow-up. Who knew the inside of a fridge could be Eos' Cashmere Skin Collection Shave Oil — a new iteration of the TikTok-famous Eos "cashmere" body lotion — that uses the same swoon-worthy scent of whipped vanilla, musk, and soft caramel. Use this scrumptious oil to protect your skin from any razor mishaps; reviewers love that it helps them avoid razor burn and get an extra close shave. A dishwasher cleaner and disinfectant to help make the thing that cleans your clean. If you've noticed a funky aroma coming from your machine, this citrusy formula can help remove limescale, rust, grease, and other nasty buildup so your machine can run more efficiently, and you don't have to pick up the slack. A Burt's Bees sunburn soother crafted with aloe and coconut oil to hydrate skin and turn back time to before you stayed out in the sun a little too long. It's nongreasy and absorbs quickly, so you can go from "AHHH" to ahhhh. A Howard Products Feed-N-Wax wood polish and conditioner to give your furniture an impossibly lustrous shine previously never seen in your home. The carnauba wax and beeswax enhance and protect your wood from drying out, so you can keep your great-grandmother's rocking chair in tip-top shape with just a few swipes. A set of itty bitty vintage-inspired spoons — if these aren't cottagecore, I don't know what is. Set them out at your next tea party and let the compliments roll in. Praise for your good taste? Sweeter than two lumps of sugar. A set of 10 retractable Crayola markers, which honestly should have always existed. How many of us suffered the fate of losing a marker cap or attempted to color only to find the red has completely dried out? Kids these days have it easy — just click and a fresh marker tip pops out, ready for art. Lottabody Wrap Me Curl Mousse, a whipped-cream-like delight that defines curls, moisturizes with shea and coconut oil, and tackles frizz. The foam makes it super easy to distribute throughout your hair, and the heavenly scent will make you feel like you're on a tropical vacation. 44,000 customers have given this budget-friendly find a thumbs up! A saline nasal gel with soothing aloe to combat dry nostrils suffering from summer allergens and ever-shifting temperatures. Just apply a drop or two around your nostrils to moisturize and help prevent discomfort and future nosebleeds. A beginner watercolor kit for anyone who's been a little art curious lately. Reviewers love this model for its wide range of colors, impressive pigmentation, and beautiful packaging. One reviewer said the paints are "smooth and creamy," which is enough to convince me. For all you floss-haters — a toothbrush sporting two layers of bristles to really get in there. Although not a complete substitute for your daily flossing, these are great for sensitive teeth and can also be used to clean grout and other small areas of your home in need of a refresh. Bio-Oil, which has a laundry list of uses. It's made with vitamin E, chamomile, and lavender oil to moisturize your face and body and help improve the appearance of scars, stretch marks, dark spots, and more. One reviewer loves using it in place of a pricey serum! A jalapeño corer so you can get rid of unwanted seeds in seconds and minimize the risk of you slicing your hand open. Best to get this step done ASAP so you can enjoy some jalapeño poppers in record time. A pack of eco-friendly sponge cloths that are highly absorbent and dishwasher-safe, so you can cut down on your — quite frankly — ridiculous paper towel waste. Use them for quickly cleaning dishes, counters, walls, furniture, and more. A moisturizing Dove body scrub so you can scrub away both dead skin and all your worries. It offers a thick, dessert-like experience that'll help your skin feel fresh, bouncy, and soft. Oh, and DELICIOUS SMELLING! Murdle: Volume 1 — a book featuring 100 logic puzzles from the popular daily puzzle site, Murdle. Armchair detectives can work to crack the case and find out who did it, where, and with what. There are four levels of difficulty, ranging from elementary to impossible, so you can stay challenged as you go. Jergen's Weightless Wet Skin Moisturizer you can apply *right* out of the shower, no toweling-off period needed. The shea butter and hyaluronic acid body cream absorbs quickly, locking in all that moisture before it has time to evaporate — or you have time to forget this crucial post-bathing step! A jewelry cleaning pen to bring that brilliant shine back to your cloudy gems, no cleaning kit or costly trip to the jeweler required. As someone who refuses to take off rings before washing dishes, showering, etc., I need this! An expanding file folder you can fill with up to 200 pieces of paper and free up sooo much desk space. These things are top-notch for organizing everything from restaurant menus to *sigh* tax forms. Burn After Writing — a guided journal with questions and thought experiments that encourage readers to reflect, explore their feelings, and get to know themselves a little deeper. Reviewers say it's a stress reliever! A set of Command spray bottle hangers to stick to the inside of a cabinet door for easy storage, so you can grab the multi-cleaner *the second* you hear food hit the floor. Customers keep these in cabinets, bathrooms, and laundry rooms so they can be prepared for any mess. Laneige Lip Glowy Balm for anyone who loves the smell and hydrating power of the lip mask and wishes they could wear it all day. With mouthwatering scents like grapefruit, peach iced tea, mango, and — OK, fun — gummy bear, skincare has never been so sweet. A miniature Stanley tape measurer keychain so you no longer have to wonder how tall something is and try to guesstimate with your hands. This would come in clutch when furniture shopping or calling out a date for lying about their height (JK, JK). A pack of Miracle-Gro water storing crystals that'll prevent both under- *and* over-watering, which I believe are the top two killers of plants. When you water your houseplants, the crystals retain the moisture and release it as the soil dries. Now, if you forget to water your plants for a month and then just drown them in water for a week as an apology, they might survive. An Overmont cast-iron Dutch oven if you love the charm and function of Le Creuset, but not the price. This durable pot can still provide for all your stewing, boiling, roasting, and frying needs: It's oven safe up to 500 degrees F, cooks evenly, and cleans up like a dream.
Irish Independent
16-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Independent
Saxophonist and composer Melissa Aldana: ‘As someone who left Chile at 17, I'm always drawn to stories that explore the tension between origin and evolution'
Home > Entertainment > Music My Cultural Life Melissa Aldana. Photo: Ebru Yildiz BOOK: The Artist's Way The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron is something I come back to when I need to reconnect with why I create. The daily writing exercises help me clear my head and tap into a deeper emotional space, something that feeds directly into my improvisation and composition. I'm also reading essays on identity, culture and creative practice, especially from Latin American and immigrant perspectives. As someone who left Chile at 17 to pursue music, I'm always drawn to stories that explore the tension between origin and evolution. FILM: Straight, no chaser I recently rewatched the 1988 documentary Thelonious Monk: Straight, No Chaser – his intensity and individuality always hit me hard. He reminds me that freedom in music comes from knowing yourself and not compromising that. I've also been watching Pedro Almodovar's films again. The way he uses colour and emotional nuance feels musical to me, like phrasing in a ballad. And sometimes I just need something quiet, like nature documentaries or short films that allow space to reflect. That silence can be just as inspiring as the music itself. ALBUM: Emanon Wayne Shorter's Emanon has been on repeat, it's like entering a universe where anything is possible. His compositions are so expansive, and I admire the way he weaves story and sound. I've also been revisiting South American folk artists like Violeta Parra and Victor Jara. Their emotional honesty really moves me, and I find parallels between that rawness and the way I try to express myself on the saxophone. I also listen to podcasts that explore creativity and vulnerability – The Third Story is a favourite. EVENT: Montreaux Jazz Festival Montreux Jazz Festival is one of the most inspiring places I've been to as a listener. You feel surrounded by history, but it's also full of surprises – people taking chances, new voices coming through. It respects tradition while embracing change, which I relat e to as an artist. Have you tried Focail and Conundrum? Daily word puzzles designed to test your vocabulary and lateral thinking skills. People & Culture Magazine
Elle
15-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Elle
How SZA, Ariana Grande, and a ‘Formative' Experience on Broadway Inspired Natalie Gurrero's Debut Novel
Every item on this page was chosen by an ELLE editor. We may earn commission on some of the items you choose to buy. Spoilers below. Natalie Guerrero didn't intend to write a New York story. Her initial plan for her captivating and charming debut novel, My Train Leaves at Three, was to set it in California, where she had recently moved, and use her evocative new surroundings to explore power dynamics in the workplace. But, as she drafted, something about that concept wasn't working as Guerrero had hoped. So she turned to an exercise popularized by Julia Cameron's The Artist's Way: waking up each morning to write three pages of stream-of-consciousness in longhand. 'The 'morning pages' work,' the New York native tells me from her sunny Los Angeles abode. 'I know it sounds very woo-woo, but the book revealed itself to me. I did a free-write one morning, and the first few lines I wrote were, 'I was supposed to have a poodle and a pool, but my sister's dead and my hair is still frizzy.' All of that just came out. I thought to myself, 'Oh. This [book] is about grief and sisterhood.'' Soon, Guerrero had re-positioned her main character, Xiomara Sanchez—a gifted Afro-Latina singer in her late 20s who dreams of performing on Broadway—in Manhattan's uptown neighborhood of Washington Heights. 'I was so happy that it landed there,' she says. The novel—out today—follows Xiomara as she grieves the tragic loss of her older sister, Nena, while also trying to kickstart her budding theater career. Her journey to self-actualization is complicated by monotonous odd jobs, a thorny relationship with her mother, and predatory dynamics with older men. (Oh, and she must also navigate her Saturn Return.) Below, Guerrero sits down with to discuss the sprawling themes behind My Train Leaves at Three; the childhood connection to Broadway that inspired the story; and the forthcoming feature adaptation that's currently in the works. My older sister and I are 11 months apart, and she's someone whom I couldn't ever imagine losing. She often jokes that this book is like a eulogy and love letter to her. Sisterhood in all its forms is important to me. I thought about the worst thing that could happen that would make someone lose their voice and sense of self, and that was losing a sister. I also grew up in a house where my mom experienced sibling loss when she was pregnant with me, so I always felt called to the topic. That kind of experience forms grief over generations, and I grew up around that energy. So once those themes came out on the page that morning with my free-write, I decided to go in that direction. Oh, I had such a hard Saturn Return. And that's probably the L.A. part of me that snuck its way into the book. I do think when you say 'Saturn Return' to women who are in our age range, it's a vocabulary we can all relate to. I was in mine when I started writing, and I just kept thinking, 'When is this gonna end? This is really hard.' I went through a big heartbreak, moved across the country, had an intense job, and was stressed about finances. Everything that could happen during a Saturn Return was happening to me. But then I started having a lot of conversations with my white friends about it, and I felt like there weren't many opportunities to talk to Black girls about this woo-woo thing. The stark difference I notice between my white friends and my Black or Latina friends is that most of my Black girlfriends aren't as self-indulgent. I thought Xiomara deserved to indulge in the wild world of getting to know herself—something we really don't often get to do. And it's something I feel committed to doing in my own life. But it's quite an American thing. My dad's Dominican, and my mom's Puerto Rican. I didn't grow up seeing Black or Latin women asking themselves about themselves, so the Saturn Return was a wonderful way to get there. I'm gonna go way back for a second. I was a child actor, and I played Young Nala in The Lion King on Broadway. It was a really gratifying and formative experience, but it was also incredibly traumatic. I don't talk about it a lot, but I usually like to say that it was the first place I learned that women 'shouldn't' be bigger than men. I was constantly scrutinized for how tall I was getting. Mind you, I was 12. And I'm 5'4 today. But everyone kept saying to me [at the time], 'You're getting too tall, and your contract's not going to get renewed. You can't be taller than Simba.' It was so horrifying to me, and I would look in the mirror and try to be smaller. After I finished acting and put that chapter aside, I worked at WME in the books department, then came out to L.A. and worked for a production company. And the common denominator in those spaces was that there were men who I felt were smaller than me who were allowed to take up so much more space than I was. Manny's power looms over Xiomara in such a horrific way. He deliberately uses his power to get what he wants. But then I also think it's a commentary on the line of consent when you're talking about someone who has so much more power. A lot of their relationship was consensual, and also, there's a gray area of how much of it was a transaction. I always had two non-negotiables when I was selling the book: Xiomara is Black, and she's also never getting the part. Those were two things that I was never going to change. So much of Broadway had been tainted for me because of my experience and my growing pains away from it. I distanced myself for so long, but it's my first love, so I was excited to write about it. I can dissect so much of this book, and it can be a little heady, but with this, I was like, 'She's grieving her sister, having horrible sex, and getting assaulted. Let's give her a voice. Let's let her have some fun.' I also loved the playlist that I listened to while I was writing, and being able to dive into what songs she might sing. I genuinely believe that people who hate musical theater haven't seen the right musical. You have to inherently believe in hope and storytelling to love musical theater. A lot of musical theater like the Songs for a New World soundtrack. I was also listening to Olivia Dean and SZA. SZA is such a storyteller. I was listening to her on repeat because she really captures that angst that Xiomara was feeling. Then there was a lot of Latin music, like Elvis Crespo and Juan Luis Guerra, and the classics: bachata, merengue, and salsa. Oh, 100 percent. That and Ariana Grande's 'Saturn Returns Interlude.' Harmony, not balance, babe. [Laughs.] But no, there are some days when I'm not promoting the book at all because I'm at this amazing writers' residency and I want to give those writers my full attention. I'm also working on my second book right now. I'm still figuring out where I need to pour into myself so that I can have the energy to pour out. I'm definitely a writer who can get into that mode of like, 'I didn't write today. What am I doing?' That 'grind' work ethic has really gotten into me, so I'm trying to get out of that. But I'm committed to being in community with other writers, and it's something that my day job has allowed me, and I want to continue to do that. She's amazing. She's one of those Black writers from the generation before me who helped hold the door open. Jenifer Lewis is another one. I worked with her on her essay collection, Walking in My Joy. I've found mentors in Mara, Jenifer, and Jennifer Rudolph Walsh, who I worked for when she was at WME. I think mentorship is so important. I do look at it that way. I definitely don't want this cycle to end with me. And I'm just getting started, so by no means am I on the top of the mountain. But I would really like to help other people while simultaneously growing with them, too. It's a little too early. I haven't even given it to my editor yet, but please stay tuned! I can share, though, that I'm now starting to adapt My Train Leaves at Three for film, and I'm really excited. Thank you! I'm adapting the feature script, and I just started writing act 1. I'll be working with Dominican filmmaker Gabriella Ortega. In deciding who to collaborate with, it was important to me to work with another amazing Dominican voice to bring Xiomara's story to life. We're circling a few high-level producers who I can't name just yet, but it's going to be indie, gritty, raw, sexy, and fun. All the things! This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
Yahoo
27-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Column: Jazz singer Elaine Dame takes a new road with ‘Reminiscing'
The singer Elaine Dame has had an interesting life, so far. She was telling me about its latest chapter earlier this month. It was a few days before her performance at Winter's Jazz Club and she said, 'There will be songs that I have performed for years, but also a great deal of material from my new CD. It's called 'Reminiscing' and, well, it's something different.' Before we get to that, know that Dame grew up in Stevensville, Michigan, where she was introduced to music by her parents, especially her mother, who was a flutist and singer. Her grandparents were also influential, with one grandmother often taking her to concerts and plays and a grandfather who was a Protestant minister. She took piano and flute lessons and was so talented that she earned a scholarship to Pepperdine University in California, where she studied classical flute, singing and theater. She moved to nearby California State University to participate in the school's inaugural theater repertory program and then spent nearly a decade attempting to craft a life and career in theater in Los Angeles, which, I've heard, doesn't have much of a theater scene. And so she came home in 1992. The Chicago theater scene proved kinder and livelier than that of LA but after a few years she began feeling unfulfilled. And then she read a book titled 'The Artist's Way' by Julia Cameron, who was once married to film director Martin Scorsese but also once wrote articles for the Tribune, before the unlikely success of her book — first distributed as photocopies in stores before selling millions in book form — took her to self-help superstardom. Some of the book's lessons and advice on 'recovering your creative self' and unleashing 'your own inner artist' convinced Dame it was music and not theater that was her calling. 'Her book is very powerful and put me in such a positive mood,' Dame says. She dove boldly into music again and the local scene, finding, she says, 'A very nurturing place and one filled with understanding people. The members of the jazz community support one another because we know how hard it is out there.' She started working with a pianist, refining her skills and, in time, success began at a steady pace. She performed at jazz festivals, at New York City's Rainbow Room and Michael Feinstein's 54 Below, at most of the city's clubs and others across the country. She recorded two acclaimed CDs, 'Comes Love' (2005) and 'You're My Thrill' (2014). Like many artists, notably musicians, she also taught, in her case classical flute, piano and singing at her home in the East Lakeview neighborhood, saying, 'There are some students who have been with me for more than 10 years and they have run in age from 7 to 72.' One of the advantages of the internet is that it enables one to view and listen to performers, though I feel it is always preferable to see them in person. You can hear some of her music at and also read what critics have had to say. Few have written more about Dame than local critic Neil Tesser. He has written the liner notes for all of Dame's CDs, and here is a bit of what he has written in the past: 'The Dame stands straight up at a microphone, like she owns it — or rather, like she co-owns it with her onstage collaborators. She sings with confidence and craft, letting her upper register swell open with a cocky confidence, but she doesn't overdo it; same thing with that vibrato, now slight, now thrilling, perched between jazz and Broadway — between Ella Fitzgerald and Ethel Merman.' And now, comes Dame's new chapter, featuring 'Reminiscing.' It took some time to get here, tragically delayed by the death of her parents and the pains of the pandemic. But, released in February, it is a flat-out delight. 'It was not just my desire to do something new but, as much as my first two CDs are devoted to the American Songbook tradition, I love '70s music and this is it,' she said. It is a gathering of nine songs, arranged by Dame and saxophonist Chris Madsen. Here's Tesser again: 'On 'Reminiscing,' Elaine does more than just cover her teenage soundtrack; with a blend of nostalgia and adventure, she claims these songs as her own and adds them to the ever-expanding American Songbook. She isn't the first to do this, but on Reminiscing, she shows she's among the best. And she comes at them with the perspective of a woman artist in an era of change.' It is now, then, time for you to have a listen. rkogan@ 7 p.m. May 30 at CityGate Grille, 2020 Calamos Court, Naperville; Then 6 p.m. June 5 at The Chicago Firehouse, 1401 S. Michigan Ave.;
